As drones become a more common sight overhead, the government has started to think more and more about how to protect the skies. At CES 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that it is researching new ways to detect and defend against drones. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta took to the stage in Las Vegas to discuss new technologies designed to spot unauthorized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating near important areas, with an emphasis on airports. According to Huerta, the organization has already tested some of its systems in busy airports in New York and Denver and smaller locales like Atlantic City. Later this year, the FAA plans to extend it tests at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

It looks like the job automation trend is getting to Japan, bringing the country a step closer to a future of layoffs in favor of intelligent machines. Japanese firm Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co. is laying off more than 30 of its employees and is replacing them with artificial intelligence (AI) systems that will perform payout calculations for policyholders. For Fukoku Mutual, the move is seen as a practical and beneficial, with expected increase in productivity at 30 percent and a calculated return on investment in less than two years."The "Meanwhile, it's expected that Fukoku Mutual will save about 140 million yen per year by cutting the 34 staff." Understandably, the 34 employees whose jobs are set to be eliminated by March 2017 aren't going to be so happy.

WASHINGTON – The part of the human brain involved in face recognition keeps developing into adulthood, a pair of new studies found, surprising scientists who thought brain tissue growth stopped in early childhood. Researchers led by Kalanit Grill-Spector, a psychology professor at Stanford University, examined the brains of children and adults using a new type of imaging technique, focusing on an area of the cerebral cortex that plays a key role in face recognition. In a study published in Cerebral Cortex, the researchers showed that regions of the brain that recognize faces have a unique cellular makeup. In a separate study published in Science, they explained how they found microscopic structures within that region that change as children grow into adulthood. The growth in tissue mirrored changes in a person's ability to distinguish faces, which would explain why adults are better than children in telling faces apart.

Virtual assistants are everywhere at CES this year - but one speaks louder than the rest. Amazon's Alexa has popped up in a bewildering list of devices including fridges, cars and robots. Manufacturers are clearly interested in making their appliances voice-operable, and many see Alexa as a great way to do this. But having Alexa also allows the appliances to gain capabilities, such as streaming music and turning smart lights on and off. How did Alexa come out on top and how will it benefit Amazon?

In an experimental trial, the National Health Service across parts of London is going to test an artificial intelligence app as a way for potential patients to find out how urgent their problems are. More than 1.2 million people living in Camden, Islington, Enfield and Barnet will be able to use a chatbot created by Babylon as an alternative to the non-emergency 111 number. The trial, which will run for six months, will allow people to enter their symptoms into the app and receive responses based on what they have entered. When the app is looking for answers to the questions it will consult a large database of symptoms and illnesses. According to a report in the Financial Times, the app's algorithm will "judge the urgency" of a person's condition and then advise the patient what to do next.

Here are our top 7 AI predictions for 2017. For too long the thrust of AI has been to replace humans. For the last 30 years the media has loved to portray AI as meaning'Machines are better than Humans'; whether it's Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator or Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina. We think this has incorrectly framed the adoption of AI within businesses. It has set unrealistic expectations for how AI will perform, as well as created scaremongering about the large scale loss of jobs.

It was/is a lot material to cover in 90 minutes, and conceptual understanding / developing intuition was the main point. Of course, there is great online material to make use of, and you'll see my preferences in the cited sources;-). This year, having covered the basics, I hope to be developing use cases and practical applications showing applicability of Deep Learning even in non-Google-size (resp: Facebook, Baidu, Apple...) environments.

This year has been rollercoaster crash for many with numerous tragedies and crises occurring all over the world, but it doesn't mean that everything was grim in 2016. Join IBTimes UK as we take a closer look at the many new developments across various fields of technological research, each with the potential to revolutionise human life for the better. This section is devoted to the computer science research into replicating the human mind and helping computers solve complex tasks. For developments concerning the machines themselves, see our articles on robotics. In 2016, computer scientists have begun concentrating more efforts on building deep learning neural networks which are large webs of artificially intelligent classical computers that are trained using computer algorithms to solve complex problems in a similar way to the human central nervous system, and where different layers examine different parts of the problem to combine to produce an answer.

He asks Scott how Audi keeps up. We're now at the forefront of technology and at improving society, Scott says. The fact we can bring this kind of safety onto the road is amazing. Self-driving, he said, gets him out of the bed in the morning, letting the elderly enjoy cars and helping kids get transportation. Says Jen-Hsun: "This is the largest consumer show in the world. It's so fun to be in the middle of technology industry right now. The technology that will reshape how we use tech in the coming years. We can realize now the dreams we've had for years." We want to bring video games to everyone.

OZY and Giant Spoon are excited to partner on special live coverage from CES 2017 -- where the most forward-looking technology and media come together. Rather than cover just the latest gadgets, though, we're taking you deeper with key takeaways, little-known rising stars, unconventional trends and, yes, the coolest sh*t from the convention. Apparently, though, his affection is pre-programmed. Robots may be unfeeling servants, but they don't have to be cold and unblinking, says Lau. Which is why she's got her little one here and a fleet of other "unruly robot children" under her wing. Casual and calm during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Lau doesn't seem the type to play God.