The online world has blossomed with machine-driven riches. We don't send letters; we email. We don't look up a restaurant in a guide book; we look it up on OpenTable. When a computer that makes any of this possible goes wrong, we even search for a solution online. We thrive on the multitude of "signals" available. But where there's signal, there's "noise"--inaccurate, inappropriate, or simply unhelpful information that gets in the way. For example, in receiving email, we also fend off spam; while scouting for new employment, we receive automated job referrals with wildly inappropriate matches; and filters made to catch porn may confuse it with medical photos. We can filter out all of this noise, but at some point it becomes more trouble than it's worth--that is when machines and their algorithms can make things much easier. To filter spam mail, for example, we can give our machine and algorithm a set of known-good and known-bad emails as examples so the algorithm can make educated guesses while filtering mail. Even with solid examples, though, algorithms fail and block important emails, filter out useful content, and cause a variety of other problems. As we'll explore throughout this report, the point at which algorithms fail is precisely where there's an opportunity to insert human judgment to actively improve the algorithm's performance.

Researchers from Germany are developing an artificial nervous system aimed at teaching robots how to feel pain. As well as allowing robots to quickly respond to potential damage to their systems, it could also protect humans who are increasingly working alongside them. The scientists plan to base the system on "insights from human pain research". To test it, they fitted a robotic arm with a fingertip sensor that could detect pressure and temperature. The researchers, from Leibniz University in Hannover, are developing a system that would allow a robot to "be able to detect and classify unforeseen physical states and disturbances, rate the potential damage they may cause to it and initiate appropriate countermeasures, ie reflexes", they explained.

The world of artificial intelligence (AI) is making rapid strides in technological development, from Google's AI program defeating a human in the game of Go, Russian scientists building the'Terminator' and another project from Google's Brain Team, where the AI program attempts to write post-modern poetry. The AI market is projected to expand to USD 5.05 billion by 2020 (from USD 419.7 million in 2014), at a CAGR of 53.65% from 2015 to 2020, largely due to greater applications in diversified fields, enhanced productivity and increasing consumer satisfaction. Machine learning technology, a key component of the overall AI market, is estimated to gain traction over the next five years, on account of higher anticipated demand in media & advertising and finance sectors, as well as retail, healthcare, law, and oil & gas. Multinational technology giants such as Google, IBM, Microsoft, and governments of different countries across the globe are looking to boost their investment in AI. According to reports, Google has announced a new research project dubbed'Magenta' that is aimed at exploring the use of AI to produce art. The research team will initially study what kind of algorithms are used to generate music and then subsequently move to video and other visual arts.

McRobots are not coming to a McDonald's near you just yet, according to Steve Easterbrook, the company's chief executive officer. His comments came two days after one of the fast-food giant's former US chief executives suggested that a minimum wage of 15 an hour could lead to McDonald's replacing its workers with robots. Easterbrook was speaking at the company's annual shareholders' meeting when he said that technology is not likely to lead to "job elimination" at McDonald's. Related: Ex-McDonald's CEO suggests replacing employees with robots amid protests "It's a topic of discussion right now," he said, when asked by one of the shareholders if the higher minimum wage would lead to shift to more automated services. McDonald's is in a service business and "will always have an important human element", Easterbrook said.

Those of a certain age may remember a BBC TV programme called Tomorrow's World that reported on technological, scientific and medical innovations (If robots are the future of work, where do humans fit in? 24 May). The way these were described suggested an end to drudgery – soul-destroying jobs like stacking supermarket shelves. We'd all have shorter working hours and longer holidays; the production of abundant food would abolish famine; medical advances would eradicate deadly diseases like malaria and cholera. Science and technology would be used for the benefit of all humanity. We would all have longer, healthier, happier lives.

We're delighted to announce the winner of IK Prize 2016, an annual award that celebrates digital creativity in all its forms. This year we challenged digital creatives to use a form of artificial intelligence to explore, investigate or'understand' British art in the Tate collection. Fabrica's winning idea, RECOGNITION, is an A.I. project that will uncover the hidden links between current events and art from the Tate collection. Imagine an intelligent machine searching the never-ending stream of news images on the internet, learning to analyse thousands of photographs in terms of composition, style and content. What if this image-hungry'brain' could learn to understand great artworks too?

Your.MD, a London-based Artificial intelligence (Al)-powered Personal Health Assistant, has launched a new service that enables users to find relevant and trustworthy health services and products called OneStop. Your.MD launched the beta version of its AI Personal Health Assistant in November 2015 on iOS and Android platforms, marking the world's first Personal Health Assistant to offer medical guidance through end-to-end AI, together with Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Your.MD says OneStop is the first one-stop-shop in digital health to allow people to take full control of each stage of their health issues from understanding their symptoms to finding the best treatment via a chatbot on Facebook Messenger or WeChat. The chatbot aims to achieve three things: Finding out what's wrong with you, suggesting the most likely solution and then offering both public and private services which can help. "Your.MD is truly revolutionary and can make a seismic impact on the global healthcare system by providing accessible, trustworthy and instant healthcare to everyone with a mobile phone," said Your.MD's CEO, Matteo Berlucchi, in the announcement.

The technology world may seem to be locked in an endless cycle of renewal - but not when it comes to the floppy disk. More than 50 years after the technology was invented it has emerged that the US nuclear weapons force uses the disks in the 1970s computer system it still employs. As it turns out the Pentagon is not alone in retaining an affection, sometimes born of technical necessity, for the humble disk. But why has it survived when so many other technologies have fallen by the wayside? "They are just too useful," said Ian Rainsford, a spokesman for media firm Verbatim - one of several companies that still makes the disks.

Researchers from Germany are developing an artificial nervous system aimed at teaching robots how to feel pain. As well as allowing robots to quickly respond to potential damage to their systems, it could also protect humans who are increasingly working alongside them. The scientists plan to base the system on "insights from human pain research". To test it, they fitted a robotic arm with a fingertip sensor that could detect pressure and temperature. The researchers, from Leibniz University in Hannover, are developing a system that would allow a robot to "be able to detect and classify unforeseen physical states and disturbances, rate the potential damage they may cause to it and initiate appropriate countermeasures, ie reflexes", they explained.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display