Adaptive behavioural analytics software reduces'genuine transactions declined' by over 70% and incidence of undetected fraud by 25% Oakhall, the London based analysis firm, estimates that global financial services firms could save at least 12 billion annually by employing adaptive, machine learning fraud management systems according to a study published in conjunction with Featurespace. For the full study see http://www.featurespace.co.uk/cost-of-card-fraud. By employing adaptive behavioural analytics software to both identify actual fraudulent transactions, and reduce the number of'genuine transactions declined' - as well as reducing the costs associated with managing blocked customers - the industry could reduce the 31 billion total annual cost of card fraud by over 12 billion annually. Featurespace is a world leader in adaptive behavioural analytics software. Its services and products are employed in over 180 countries via a wide range of customers, including the leading US payments processor, TSYS, as well as Vocalink/Zapp, William Hill and Betfair.

Take part in this CrowdChat, hosted by @IBMBigData, to explore Apache Spark's powerful machine learning capabilities while taking a look at the future of Spark. When you do, you'll be able to interact with subject matter experts as they focus on Spark-related technologies and trends, including SystemML and structured streaming. If this event will be your first experience with CrowdChat, don't worry--a CrowdChat merely organizes tweets into streams of conversation. We'll start a conversation thread, and everyone who wants to participate can do so simply by commenting, allowing us all to enjoy an engaging discussion. Vote for your favorite comments so that they can be featured prominently in the conversation.

Microsoft has made no secret of its grand plans for chat bots, and this week it rolled out five new ones for Skype. Surely the most fun is "Spock," a bot that promises to help you "learn the ways of Vulcan logic." Back in April, Microsoft debuted a preview of Skype bots, the artificial intelligence-based helpers it hopes will make it easier for users to get things done. Today, more than 30,000 developers are building bots for Skype, it says. The five new ones introduced this week were all inspired by partners and developers, and they're all now part of the Skype Bot directory in the service's Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, and web apps.

Artificial intelligence driven by deep learning often runs on many computer chips working together in parallel. But the deep-learning algorithms, called neural networks, can run only so fast in this parallel computing setup because of the limited speed with which data flows between the different chips. The Japan-based multinational Fujitsu has come up with a novel solution that sidesteps this limitation by enabling larger neural networks to exist on a single chip. The neural networks used in deep learning typically run on graphics processing units (GPUs) that originated as components for generating and displaying images. By creating an efficiency shortcut in the calculations performed by neural networks, Fujitsu researchers reduced the amount of internal GPU memory used by 40 percent.

Salesforce.com Inc. CRM 2.82 % 's annual Dreamforce customer conference, set to blanket downtown San Francisco next week, will be an unusual blend of business, technology, entertainment, philanthropy and personal empowerment. The conference, which is the world's largest tech get-together sponsored by a single company, will be an expression of the business-software provider's socially conscious corporate culture and the idiosyncratic character of its Chief Executive Marc Benioff. The event, which is expected to draw 170,000 attendees--17% more than last year--comes as Salesforce, whose public profile to date has been confined largely to salespeople and marketers, is stepping onto a larger stage. The company on Thursday vowed to block Microsoft Corp. MSFT -0.57 Meanwhile, Salesforce is considering a bid for the consumer-focused messaging service Twitter.

KLM is piloting DigitalGenius' artificial intelligence (AI) system to help staff respond to the significant number of questions that it receives on social media. When an agent needs to answer an incoming question, he or she gets a proposed answer through AI, which is trained on more than 60,000 KLM questions and answers. The agent then decides whether that is the right answer, can adjust it if necessary and can then send it across the appropriate social network. The AI system learns based on the responses from the agents, meaning it should generate more accurate proposed answers in the future. KLM says it receives around 100,000 mentions each week on social media and has a team of 235 social media service agents.

Dogs have been found to ease loneliness among the elderly, but the responsibility of caring for'man's best friend' can be too demanding for some. Now, Hasbro's Joy For All brand has released'the perfect pet' that doesn't need to be fed, walked or bathed. Called the Companion Pet Pup, this robotic golden retriever has realistic fur, BarkBack technology and built-in sensors that recognize human touch. Dogs have been found to ease loneliness among the elderly, but the responsibility of caring for'man's best friend' can be too demanding for some. Now, Hasbro's Joy For All brand has released'the perfect pet' that doesn't need to be fed, walked or bathed The Companion Pet Pup is part of Hasbro's Joy For All brand, which creates products specifically for seniors.

A wealth of leaks might've taken some of the sting out of Google's big event today, but there was quite a lot to take in nonetheless. Google spent a lot of time talking up its AI Assistant -- the same one that debuted in its Allo messaging app -- but who are we kidding? New hardware was the highlight tonight, and there's a lot of it, from a pair of Pixel smartphones to a new VR headset, 4K Chromecast and more. And now it's time to lay out how much all that new gear is gonna cost you. Nexus is dead, long live Pixel.

Google has placed a virtual assistant at the heart of its latest smartphones and first voice-activated speaker. The two Pixel handsets are the first mobiles to trigger Google Assistant by pressing their home buttons, somewhat like Apple's Siri. The Home speaker lets the same artificial intelligence tool be controlled without use of a touchscreen. Google also unveiled new virtual reality kit and a 4K media streamer. However, the US company will have to overcome privacy concerns and convince users that chatting to a virtual assistant has advantages over using individual apps.

Google has unveiled a new range of phones with a built in smart assistant to take on Apple and Amazon. The search giant has unveiled it's biggest ever range of hardware - with phones, smart speakers, TV dongles, a smart speaker and a wifi router. It says it hopes to use AI to create'a personal Google for each and every user.' At a special event in San Francisco the firm is unveiling a raft of new products - even though most of them have already leaked online. They include two new phones, a Pixel and the 5.5-inch Pixel XL The Pixel runs on a Snapdragon 821 2.15GHz processor.