Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence will be "either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity", and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching the future of intelligence as "crucial to the future of our civilisation and our species". Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. "We spend a great deal of time studying history," Hawking said, "which, let's face it, is mostly the history of stupidity. So it's a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence." While the world-renowned physicist has often been cautious about AI, raising the risk that humanity could be the architect of its own destruction if it creates a superintelligence with a will of its own, he was also quick to highlight the positives that AI research can bring.

DARMSTADT, GERMANY/HESSEN GERMANY – Scientists were waiting for word Wednesday on whether the European Space Agency's experimental Schiaparelli probe had safely touched down on Mars. Signals received from the lander indicated that it entered the atmosphere of the red planet as planned and deployed its parachute. Schiaparelli is meant to test technology for a future European rover and avoid the fate of Europe's ill-starred Beagle 2 robot, which failed to function after landing on Mars 13 years ago. The probe is part of a larger mission called ExoMars that will help in the hunt for life on the planet. Schiaparelli was released from the mother ship, the Trace Gas Orbiter, on Sunday.

There is still no word on the fate of the European Space Agency's Mars lander, Schiaparelli. The robot was supposed to have touched down on the Red Planet at 1458 GMT (1558 BST), but radio contact was lost in the minute before this time. It was hoped that a satellite at Mars might have tracked the full descent, but it was unable to add any further insight. This will likely stoke fears that Schiaparelli has been lost. But the European Space Agency (Esa) will not be rushed to judgement.

For anyone who has yet to experience Virtual Reality, I implore you, seek out a VR experience of some description. Whether Goggle Cardboard or Oculus Rift, it will likely be mind blowing. Why else would everyone who's anyone be talking about it being the future? When it comes to quality VR becoming an actual living room reality, though, there are many questions. Will there ever be a reason to?

The world is going to be a very different place in 2045. Predicting the future is fraught with challenges, but when it comes to technological advances and forward thinking, experts working at the Pentagon's research agency may be the best people to ask. Launched in 1958, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is behind some of the biggest innovations in the military -- many of which have crossed over to the civilian technology market. These include things like advanced robotics, global-positioning systems, and the internet. It's pretty likely that robots and artificial technology are going to transform a bunch of industries, drone aircraft will continue their leap from the military to the civilian market, and self-driving cars will make your commute a lot more bearable.

The European Space Agency appear to have determined that its Schiaparelli probe has landed on Mars. Scientists had initially worried that the hugely important robot – which is intended as a demonstration of the technology used for landing, as well as to test theories about the potential of life on Mars – was lost, because it didn't send back an initial message to say that it was safe. But scientists said that they had received a signal back from Mars Express, a craft currently orbiting around the red planet about the probe. But they didn't initially confirm that meant that the lander had arrived on the planet safely. From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater.

Today with the growth of the internet of things there is a surge in usage of fast internet, smartphones, portable devices, smart TV, smart wearable and connected cars among retail consumers. This indicates the rise of connected consumers. This has made the huge impact in the retail landscape and the retail experience is evolving from multi-channel to Omni-channel. The connected consumer requires connected retail. Omni-channel retailing means establishing a presence on many channels and platforms (i.e. Physical stores remain the foundation of retailing, evidenced by the fact that - in the internet era, 90% of retail sales still take place in physical stores. According to eMarketer, the total retail sales in the US topped 4.53 trillion in 2013, of this brick-and-mortar sales still command a vast majority of the retail market nearly 4.27 trillion. According to A.T. Kearney, 95 percent of all retail sales are captured by retailers with a brick-and-mortar presence in total retail. Two-thirds of consumers who purchase online use the store before or after the transaction. The role of the brick & mortar store is changing, NOT going away. Stores remain at the heart of retailers' relationships with consumers, even in today's "Omni Channel" world where online and physical sales appear to rule. According to a report, When it comes to product trial and tests, respondents indicate a clear preference for physical stores. Despite the growing popularity of e-commerce and digital retailing are capturing headlines in news media and inspiring spirited debates (blah, blah..) retailers plan how best to invest for future success, including a plan to build an another planet. The e-commerce retail market share is only 263 billion. It is only 5.8% of the market share. Small basket, single channel, ineffective delivery, can't see, can't feel or try made it as a hard business model. Is pure play e-commerce is an unprofitable business model? Investment on e-commerce is "river of no returns"? Are we nearing the end of the e-commerce bubble? Is M-commerce the future of retail? Drop out, make an app, go viral and make money?

It does not pay to underestimate a monkey with a rock. Scientists studying the stone-smashing habits of bearded capuchin monkeys in Brazil have found that the primates inadvertently produce stone flakes that look very similar to the flakes used as cutting tools by early humans. The findings, published in the journal Nature, could snarl the links that paleoanthropologists make between early Stone Age artifacts and the emergence of primitive human technology. "It does raise interesting questions about the level of cognitive complexity -- how intelligent a hominin has to be in order to produce what we thought was a sophisticated technology," said lead author Tomos Proffitt, a paleoanthropologist at Oxford University. When anthropologists explore early human settlements, they typically search for signs of tool use, whether by looking at the cuts on butchered animal bones or finding the tools themselves.

There was lots to get excited about this evening thanks to the launch of the Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI), Cambridge University's new 10m initiative to tackle the big questions around the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). The Cambridge cosmologist Professor Stephen Hawking was guest of honour and took the floor to have his say. He has been outspoken about the potential benefits- and dangers- of AI. Speaking ahead of the event, he said: "The rise of powerful AI will be either the best or the worst thing to ever happen to humanity. We do not yet know which. "The research done by this centre will be crucial to the future of civilisation and of our species." Prof Hawking addressed assembled guests and dignitaries in Cambridge, at the newly-refurbished David Attenborough Building. He said: "We spend a great deal of time studying history, which let's face it, is the history of stupidity.

The logo of Microsoft is pictured in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, August 8, 2016. New York: In a major breakthrough in the field of speech recognition, Microsoft researchers have created a technology that accurately recognises the words in a conversation like humans do. The team from Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Research reported a speech recognition system that makes the same or fewer errors than professional transcriptionists. The researchers reported a word error rate (WER) of 5.9 percent, down from the 6.3 percent WER the team reported just last month. The 5.9 percent error rate is about equal to that of people who were asked to transcribe the same conversation, and it's the lowest ever recorded against the industry standard "Switchboard" speech recognition task.