For those of you unfamiliar with my work, I write frequently about Fourth Industrial Revolution (#4IR) themes such as Tech Innovation, Agtech, and Industrial Disruption. If I had to pick one area I find most exciting, most potentially disruptive and thus the best opportunity for return on investment, it would be A.I. Artificial Intelligence is the brain that makes everything work. It's easy to get lost in #4IR Tech Innovation jargon with complex topics such as: Industrial Revolution says that, ultimately, the innovation leads to disruption, change, and economic unrest… but also leads to a new era of opportunity and invention. Or is it the other way around? The anatomy of infrastructure is not unlike that of the human body, and we all know it's possible to live long, healthy lives.

LISBON – The Nissan-Renault alliance aims to offer Chinese drivers a new electric car costing just $8,000 within two years, chief executive Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday as he touted an "explosion" in demand amid efforts to offset climate change. The electric auto market as a whole is stepping up a gear thanks to cheaper batteries, government incentives to consumers and better infrastructure for charging vehicles on the go, he said at the Web Summit in Lisbon. "For me, it is a no-brainer: electric cars are going to be a much bigger part of our industry in the future," Ghosn told AFP in an interview. Nissan was a groundbreaker in mass-marketing electric vehicles from 2008 and counts the popular Leaf in its fleet. But that higher-priced model does not compete against cheaper offerings from rival manufacturers such as BYD, Zhidou and SAIC in China, which is now the world's biggest auto market and also one of its worst polluters.

Today, businesses need to be able to predict demand and trends to stay in line with any sudden market changes and economy swings. This is exactly where forecasting tools, powered by Data Science, come into play, enabling organizations to successfully deal with strategic and capacity planning. Smart forecasting techniques can be used to reduce any possible risks and assist in making well-informed decisions. One of our customers, an enterprise from the Middle East, needed to predict their market demand for the upcoming twelve weeks. They required a market forecast to help them set their short-term objectives, such as production strategy, as well as assist in capacity planning and price control.

Language Technologies must be considered an area of particular relevance both at the academic and industrial levels. In recent years, several programs have been designed to promote research and development, entrepreneurship and innovation that have highlighted the key role of these technologies for progress and society. At the European level, we have witnessed a strong funding action in the field from the 7th Framework Programme to the H2020 that have resulted in the creation of what has been called the European Multilingual Digital Single Market. In Spain, for example, the government presented a Plan to Promote Language Technologies with an estimated investment of over 70 million euros. In 2015, a group of professors and researchers at the University of Seville faced the challenge to convene a workshop where experts from different countries could meet to analyze emerging trends in this field so that they could also envision the pace for the future.

Elon Musk's "Alien Dreadnought" is bringing a German crew on board. Tesla, the electric car company based in Palo Alto, announced Tuesday that it will buy Grohmann Engineering, based in Prum, Germany, to be renamed Tesla Grohmann Automation. Grohmann, founded by Chief Executive Klaus Grohman, is a highly regarded supplier of factory automation systems in industries ranging from automobiles to microelectronics. It has outposts around the world, including offices in Charlotte, N.C. and Chandler, Ariz. The German company employs about 700 people.

An overall view of the new Tesla Gigafactory: It will have the largest footprint of any building in the world. The $5 billion structure will produce 500,000 lithium ion batteries each year to meet demand. Musk told analysts the in-house term for the manufacturing advancement he hopes to introduce is'alien dreadnought' and that people will be banned. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Thanks to the likes of Google, Amazon, and Facebook, the terms artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have become much more widespread than ever before. They are often used interchangeably and promise all sorts from smarter home appliances to robots taking our jobs. But while AI and machine learning are very much related, they are not quite the same thing. Google's Digital Justice League: how its Jigsaw projects are hunting down online trolls AI is a branch of computer science attempting to build machines capable of intelligent behaviour, while Stanford University defines machine learning as "the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed". You need AI researchers to build the smart machines, but you need machine learning experts to make them truly intelligent.

Tesla is expanding operations in Europe with the purchase of German engineering firm Grohmann to form a new automated manufacturing research centre. Grohmann Engineering, which will be renamed Tesla Grohmann Automation, specialises in automated assembly systems serving the automotive, telecommunications, consumer electronics and biotechnology industries. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is expected to add more than 1,000 engineering and skilled technician jobs in Germany over the next two years, subject to purchase approval by Germany, Tesla said in a blogpost. Grohmann employs around 700 people and had revenues of €123m (£109m) in 2015. The German engineering firm is expected to help Tesla ramp up production volume and quality, while cutting costs, as it attempts to produce 500,000 of its electric vehicles a year by 2018.

What if turning off your computer was like killing a friend? It sounds farfetched, but if smart devices like most phones, computers, and even thermostats were intelligent and sentient, it might be cruel to switch them off. If they could talk, they might try pleading with you to reconsider. You'd feel pretty awful every time you moved towards the button. But a really clever smart-device, one with a complex understanding of society, might push for something more dramatic.

Tesla's push on automation is extending beyond just self-driving cars. The electric car maker confirmed on Tuesday that it would be buying German automated manufacturing company Grohmann Engineering. Grohmann's 700 workers will join Tesla, with the unit being renamed Tesla Grohmann Automation. Its base in Prüm, Germany, will become the headquarters for Tesla Advanced Automation Germany. Tesla is going to need all the help it can get.