Like Brexit before it, the shock victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election has not only upended the political order in the short term, but it has also re-routed the types of technological futures that America might now get. On the road up to November 8th, technology companies sold visions of an advanced economy powered by technological step-changes--self-driving cars, smart infrastructure, and sustainable power. Those dreams may fade as the United States scrambles to satisfy a populism that cares far less for imagining shiny, high-tech futures and much more about reviving industrial pasts. At best, we see the technology sector entering an uncertain climate for breakthrough developments. At worst, its forthcoming innovations may be steered toward applications that more risk-averse--or less democratic.

Detecting bird sounds in audio is an important task for automatic wildlife monitoring, as well as in citizen science and audio library management. The current generation of software tools require manual work from the user: to choose the algorithm, to set the settings, and to post-process the results. This is holding bioacoustics back in embracing its "big data" era: let's make this better! In collaboration with the IEEE Signal Processing Society we propose a research data challenge for you to create a robust and scalable bird detection algorithm. We offer new datasets collected in real live bioacoustics monitoring projects, and an objective, standardised evaluation framework – and prizes for the strongest submissions.

Technology is playing an ever-important role in the shopping side of the holiday season. Logistics aside, which is of course critical at this time of year, tech is also proving increasingly key from an experiential and a customer service perspective both online and offline. Leading that charge for 2016 are virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI). Google has employed the former this year, for instance, to allow consumers to'walk' along Fifth Avenue in New York to experience all the holiday window displays. Window Wonderland, as the initiative is called, is a VR experience that lets users view 18 different retailers including Bloomingdale's, Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co, Burberry and more.

Could we live INSIDE the moon? Stable tubes up to three miles wide could exist under the moon's surface These networks of caverns could be used to provide shelter for lunar bases Sub-lunarean bases could avoid the hazards associated with living on the surface, including meteor showers and increased radiation Stable tubes up to three miles wide could exist under the moon's surface Networks of lava tubes which snake under the moon's surface suggests they could be larger and more stable than previously thought. The large caverns are thought to have been formed from lava flows which have dried out. Scientists have found a way to tap into... Ford wants to use drones to guide its self-driving cars:... The mystery of the'Amazon Stonehenge': 1,000-year-old... What the internet looked like in 1973: Tiny map shows the... Scientists have found a way to tap into... Ford wants to use drones to guide its self-driving cars:...

'It only weighs 50lbs!' Hilarious 1970s advert for IBM's first'portable' computer shows just how far technology has come in 40 years Ford wants to use drones to guide its self-driving cars:... South Korea comes a step closer to LIMITLESS energy:... What the internet looked like in 1973: Tiny map shows the... The REAL cost of a meal: Expert warns it takes 200 gallons... Ford wants to use drones to guide its self-driving cars:... South Korea comes a step closer to LIMITLESS energy:... What the internet looked like in 1973: Tiny map shows the... The REAL cost of a meal: Expert warns it takes 200 gallons... Weighing 50lb (23kg), and slightly larger than a typewriter, this computer isn't exactly what you would describe as lightweight The Model 5100 was IBM's first minicomputer, which was also considered one of the world's first portable computers The hilarious video advertising the device shows how far technology has come in the past 40 years. Pictured is the ThinkPad Yoga 460. Amir Khan's wife Faryal was called'Michael Jackson' by family Motorist screams after being caught red-handed taking selfie She May be a loner!: Theresa May is ignored by world leaders Amir Khan's wife Faryal Makhdoom snapchats an'apology' Female students at Bristol Uni reveal how they trim pubic hair Tragic video shows a man filming himself smoking Ice Chicken rushes in to gobble up a mouse that a cat was hunting Dangerous Porsche driver cuts up fellow motorists in Liverpool Trump supporter and suckerpunch victim embrace in court Terrifying moment mountain lion drags deer off front porch Lamborghini shredded by Taiwan government for illegal importation Chris Grayling knocks cyclist off his bike and into a lamppost Amir Khan's wife Faryal was called'Michael Jackson' by family She May be a loner!: Theresa May is ignored by world leaders EXCLUSIVE: Ex-British ambassador who is now a WikiLeaks... Mexican immigrant married American woman so he could get a... 'I never knew that a human being could be so evil': Woman,... EXCLUSIVE: Rocky goes to Washington! Trump taps Sylvester... Stay dead still: The gruesome 19th-century portraits of...

Nintendo Switch may feature virtual reality: Patent hints that the console could slot into a VR headset when in'portable mode' A patent illustration suggests that the console's handheld screen would be slotted into VR headset, while the user would use the detachable hand controllers to play. 'The touch panel may sense position, pressure or other characteristics of touch,' says the patent. 'In the present embodiment, the touch panel is of a type (e.g. the capacitive type) that enables a multi-touch input'. Ford wants to use drones to guide its self-driving cars:... South Korea comes a step closer to LIMITLESS energy:... What the internet looked like in 1973: Tiny map shows the... UK surgeon streams gruesome operation using Snapchat glasses... Ford wants to use drones to guide its self-driving cars:... South Korea comes a step closer to LIMITLESS energy:... What the internet looked like in 1973: Tiny map shows the... UK surgeon streams gruesome operation using Snapchat glasses... Along with VR capability, the patent also reveals that the handheld portion of the Switch may feature a touchscreen. The Nintendo Switch allows players to switch instantly between home and mobile gaming.

Nintendo has launched Super Mario Run, its first game for iOS, and found itself worth $2 billion less than when it started. The game received huge amounts of hype for its combination of nostalgia and excitement, and as a signal that Nintendo might look to move more of its games off its less popular consoles. But it has already been hit by some backlash, over its high price and a mode that means it will only work if players have an internet connection. Those concerns appear to have dragged down Nintendo's share price, which fell by about 5 per cent in the wake of the release. That meant that the value of the company dropped by around $2 billion.

Technology is most successful when it impacts society in a positive way, and whilst Artificial Intelligence is still a sensitive subject for some, another benevolent application for AI has been found in fighting crime. AI powered platforms are brilliant at recognising patterns, which also means that they can pick out anomalies. That's why AI is such a valuable tool for detecting fraud, for instance. It can flag up suspicious behaviours amongst datasets that are so huge, human administrators wouldn't know where to start. The latest use of the technology to combat crime isn't on the streets, or even in the courts – it's a prison that is pioneering this new high-tech approach to security.

GM announces plans to test driverless cars in Michigan just... Uber driverless cars hit the streets of San Francisco:... Get ready to'Waymo' a self-driving cab: Google creates new... The blind man that convinced Google to launch a self driving... GM announces plans to test driverless cars in Michigan just... Uber driverless cars hit the streets of San Francisco:... Get ready to'Waymo' a self-driving cab: Google creates new... The blind man that convinced Google to launch a self driving... The idea is that a drone launched from a vehicle would help guide it by mapping the surrounding area beyond what the car's sensors can detect. This could prove most beneficial for hard to access or poorly mapped regions, where GPS may not be able to map the terrain accurately.

So, you bought into the current machine learning craze and went on to collect millions/billions of records from this promising new data source. Now, what do you do with them? Too often, the abundance of data quickly turns into an abundance of problems. How do you extract that "magic essence" from your data without falling into the common pitfalls? In her session at @ThingsExpo, Natalia Ponomareva, Software Engineer at Google, provided tips on how to be successful in large scale machine learning.