For many in the field of technology and computer science, the future doesn't exist without artificial intelligence. That was the topic of discussion and interest at the AI & the Future of Houston Conference in April, where professionals and science educators, including University of Houston-Victoria faculty, gathered to discuss the future of the field. The two-day conference was held April 29-30 in Houston and hosted by Houston Community College. Representatives from HCC, Houston-area universities, businesses and health care facilities and HCC students attended the event. UHV participated in the conference as sponsors and vendors, and UHV faculty also spoke at the event.

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Jose Siri and Chas McCormick hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, rallying the AL West-leading Houston Astros over the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 on Sunday. Carlos Correa also homered as the Astros held their comfortable division lead over Oakland. Houston won for the fourth time in five games and cut Tampa Bay's lead for the best record in the AL to 3 ½ games.

The oil and natural gas industry is turning to artificial intelligence technology to save billions of dollars in maintenance and production costs. Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes, tech giant Microsoft and Silicon Valley artificial intelligence company C3.ai have signed an agreement to develop and deploy the technology for industry customers around the globe, the companies said Tuesday. In the oil field, artificial intelligence technology is being used to compile massive amounts of data transmitted by sensors and so-called smart equipment, look for patterns, make predictions and inform decisions by operators. "Companies that adopt this technology will be the next Amazon, and those that don't adopt will be the next Sears," Tom Siebel, C3.ai founder and CEO, said in an interview. Baker Hughes and C3.ai launched a joint venture in June to deploy artificial intelligence in the oil patch.