SAN FRANCISCO -- The image was startling, but a look into what could be tech's immediate future. After being ostracized by the tech industry for most of the election year, there sat venture capitalist Peter Thiel, beaming, to the left of President-elect Donald Trump at the Trump Tower Tech summit in mid-December. Silicon Valley's billionaire leaders had disavowed Trump during the campaign, throwing their weight behind rival Hillary Clinton. Only Thiel stumped for the real-estate mogul, and after the tech industry had turned on him for that and his role in Gawker's failure, he was luxuriating in the I-told-you-so moment. Tech tries to get Trump's ear after shunning him during campaign Trump tells tech leaders'There's nobody like you in the world' The display of power portends a roiling year or two in tech.

December 23, 2016 --More than 100 years ago, in 1915, Albert Einstein predicted that cosmic collisions between massive astronomical bodies would create ripples in spacetime, gravitational waves that could be detected from Earth. Yet it wasn't until February 2016 that Einstein's prediction was confirmed, after twin detectors in Washington and Louisiana detected waves from a collision that occurred 1.3 billion years ago. The implications of this discovery are wide ranging. Scientists are already preparing to expand their understanding of gravitational waves by examining theories about black holes, and using three new Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) spacecraft to trace black hole mergers with greater precision. In opening the door to future research and confirming a more than century-old prediction about the universe, February's discovery by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has proved deserving of the title of the most significant scientific discovery this year, Science magazine announced on Thursday.

AI is more present in our daily lives than many people realize. The world is on the cusp of an AI revolution. Companies around the world are already using the technology to help do everything from parse medical records to teach cars to drive themselves. At home, digital assistants like Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri and Google Now, have put a conversational gloss on the burgeoning tech. In 2017, AI is likely to not only get smarter (natch) but also more humanlike.

'We don't hurt anybody, we are just happy': Woman reveals she has fallen in love with a ROBOT and wants to marry it French woman Lilly is in a relationship with a robot she 3D-printed herself She and the robot have been living together for a year and are now'engaged' Lilly describes herself as a'proud robosexual' and says they will marry She and the robot have been living together for a year and are now'engaged' Lilly describes herself as a'proud robosexual' and says they will marry Man creates Christmas cards showing... 'He pretends it's his own baby': Dad whose young son plays... 'He was 80 years old and wearing a LEOPARD PRINT thong':... 'Fifteen years later, I STILL feel pangs of regret': Women... Man creates Christmas cards showing... 'He pretends it's his own baby': Dad whose young son plays... 'He was 80 years old and wearing a LEOPARD PRINT thong':... 'Fifteen years later, I STILL feel pangs of regret': Women... Lilly said she realised she was sexually attracted to robots at the age of 19 because she dislikes physical contact with people, news.com.au A young thug is filmed fly kicking a lady in the back Guests throw chairs as huge fight breaks out during wedding Male guests in a Chinese wedding flock to harass a bridesmaid Cop brutally arrests black mom who reported assault on her son Girl walks around London with no jeans - can the public tell? Angela Rye shares video of her invasive ordeal with TSA agent Woman goes on racist rant while waiting in line at J.C. Penney Dramatic moment man removed from flight for'speaking Arabic' Shocking video shows a Texas mother hitting her daughter Video shows Brooklyn lawyer who verbally attacked Ivanka on plane Hilarious moment boy's sneeze knocks prairie dog off its feet'It's the best flight': Woman enjoys being the only BA flier Girl walks around London with no jeans - can the public tell? Woman goes on racist rant while waiting in line at J.C. Penney Dramatic moment man removed from flight for'speaking Arabic' Hilarious moment boy's sneeze knocks prairie dog off its feet'It's the best flight': Woman enjoys being the only BA flier REVEALED: The Brooklyn lawyer who chased down Ivanka on a... Sick ISIS savages film themselves burning two Turkish... World's most wanted man is dead: Rookie Italian policeman... Surprise! The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

By now, everyone's familiar with the tale: Artificial intelligence achieves consciousness, judges that humans are extraneous, and then enslaves or destroys us all. Think 2015's Ex Machina, 2004's I, Robot, 1984's Terminator. The other side of the coin, though, tends to make fewer headlines. Spike Jonze's 2013 film Her offers a sweeter narrative about conscious A.I.: A future in which a lonely writer can fall in love with an A.I. assistant named Samantha. Her eventual transition from conscious to superintelligent does not signal the demise of our species -- it just breaks Joaquin Phoenix's heart.

In political terms, 2016 has been a year of uncertainty. Yet, it has also seen the rising dominance of algorithms, complex mathematical calculations that follow a pre-set pattern and are increasingly used in technology designed to predict, control and alter human behaviour. Algorithms try to use the past as an indicator of the future. As such, they are neutral. They do not have prejudices and are unemotional.

How was science's year, you ask? Oh, not too shabby. A robot rocket fought a robot barge and won. Humans detected gravitational waves from space for Pete's sake. And a certain company that rhymes with Chairanos brought serious drama the biomedical world. So yeah, it was an eventful year for science--thanks for asking.

When Tim Cook took to the stage for Apple's last keynote – meant among other things to address a growing and worrying disquiet about the future of the company – he introduced a video. Instead, the gathered tech elites watched a video highlighting the different kinds of accessibility features that have been wrapped into Apple products. As with all of its products, the focus wasn't so much on the technology as what it does. It closed with the realisation that many of those same features had been used by a young editor, Sady Paulson, a video editor who is living with cerebral palsy, to actually make the film. "When technology is designed for everyone, it let's anyone do what they love," Ms Paulson says in the video – which she also narrated, with the help of Siri.

As AI integration becomes more prominent, one can't help but to think about just how intelligent deep learning technology will be in the future. One of the first place many of our minds go is to AI becoming too intelligent and taking matters into its own virtual hands. How accurate are those portrayals, though? Will it get to a point where we're overpowered by AI, to the point where we're under their metaphorical thumb? TNW Conference is back for its 12th year.

Where appropriate, we brought back trends from previous reports, once they had hit tipping point or promised new value.We looked ahead to predict which consumer segments will be most affected by the trend, how it will evolve, and identified brands that are leading the way. They are the early adopters of new technology. Millennials – those born after 1982 – are adept at making the most of technology to create a world of difference for themselves. Technology has given them the freedom to redefine the way they work, play, shop and to take control of their daily activities. Their dependence on their smartphones and other new technologies sets their expectations for how they want to engage with brands. Generation Z – defined loosely as those born after the late 1990s – are the first true digital native generation, and are the native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games and the internet.