Deep learning has revolutionized how we process the vast firehoses of data that define modern life. Yet, the daily drumbeat of AI headlines tends to center on the commercial applications of AI and how it is reshaping how companies do business. In a refreshing twist, a new open AI challenge by the World Bank, in collaboration with WeRobotics and OpenAerialMap, illustrates the incredible potential of deep learning for humanitarian applications, especially in the critical hours and days after a major natural disaster. One of the most exciting application areas of modern deep learning tools has been the use of neural networks to examine imagery at accuracy and detail levels impossible just a few years ago. Today state-of-the-art neural systems can examine hundreds of millions of images, cataloging them into tens of thousands of categories, estimating the location they were taken, their emotion, look in the background for pollution and natural disaster damage and even estimate the level of "violence" they portray, while creating new models is increasingly becoming point-and-click.

From hurricanes to wildfires, 2017 brought the world a number of natural disasters -- as well as some tech to deal with them. We have more information than ever following a disaster thanks to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and sophisticated satellites that can capture images of disasters from the air, but we are still working on ways to process the data so it is valuable for relief efforts. That's where deep learning comes in, says the World Bank in collaboration with WeRobotics and OpenAerialMap. On Jan. 10, 2018, World Bank issued an artificial intelligence (AI) challenge to explore how deep learning could be used in the wake of natural disasters. Deep learning is what enables AI to recognize patterns in images, sounds, and other data using a neural network that mirrors our own grey matter.

CANBERRA – A flying drone has dropped a flotation device to two teens caught in a riptide in heavy seas off the Australian coast in what officials describe as a world-first rescue. Monty Greenslade and Gabe Vidler got into trouble on Thursday at Lennox Head, 750 kilometers (470 miles) north of Sydney. They were about a kilometer (0.6 mile) from lifeguards who were about to start training with the new drones, equipped with a camera, rescue gear and six rotors. After a friend raised the alert, lifeguard Jai Sheridan said he piloted the drone to the swimmers and dropped a rescue pod minutes faster than lifeguards could have reached the pair by conventional means. "I was able to launch it, fly it to the location, and drop the pod all in about one to two minutes. On a normal day, that would have taken our lifeguards a few minutes longer to reach the members of the public," Sheridan said in a statement.

We present a mixed multinomial logit (MNL) model, which leverages the truncated stickbreaking process representation of the Dirichlet process as a flexible nonparametric mixing distribution. The proposed model is a Dirichlet process mixture model and accommodates discrete representations of heterogeneity, like a latent class MNL model. Yet, unlike a latent class MNL model, the proposed discrete choice model does not require the analyst to fix the number of mixture components prior to estimation, as the complexity of the discrete mixing distribution is inferred from the evidence. For posterior inference in the proposed Dirichlet process mixture model of discrete choice, we derive an expectation maximisation algorithm. In a simulation study, we demonstrate that the proposed model framework can flexibly capture differently-shaped taste parameter distributions. Furthermore, we empirically validate the model framework in a case study on motorists' route choice preferences and find that the proposed Dirichlet process mixture model of discrete choice outperforms a latent class MNL model and mixed MNL models with common parametric mixing distributions in terms of both in-sample fit and out-of-sample predictive ability. Compared to extant modelling approaches, the proposed discrete choice model substantially abbreviates specification searches, as it relies on less restrictive parametric assumptions and does not require the analyst to specify the complexity of the discrete mixing distribution prior to estimation. 2 1. Introduction

With an affection for nerd culture that is inversely proportional to its budget, this lo-fi sci-fi comedy is destined for laugh-filled late-night viewing. "This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy" pays homage to favorites like "Doctor Who" and "Battlestar Galactica" while looking like it cost less than a cosplay effort to make. Serious fan Jeffrey (Daniel Pujol) drags his friends Tom (cowriter and director Christian Nicolson) and Gavin (Lewis Roscoe) to a science-fiction convention. There, they get far more than their passes offer when they're sucked into an alternate universe that looks just like a black-and-white B movie set in space, where they're the heroes who have to fight intergalactic supervillain Lord Froth (Joseph Wycoff) alongside heroine Emmanor (Sez Niederer). Fans of the silliness of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and "Galaxy Quest" will find that Nicolson and his co-writer Andrew Beszant are on their wavelength with this inventive New Zealand film.

Two teenage boys, struggling to make their way back to shore, were saved by a drone in Australia on Wednesday, in what officials say is a first-of-its-kind rescue mission by an unmanned aircraft -- one captured by the drone's camera and later broadcast by Arab News and other outlets. A beachgoer caught a glimpse of the distressed swimmers, 15 and 17, who were fighting dangerous waves off Australia's Far North Coast in New South Wales. He alerted lifeguards, who happened to be in the middle of a drone training session, learning how the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) work. Lifeguard supervisor Jai Sheridan got the call and piloted the drone, dubbed "Little Ripper," toward the swimmers, about 2,300 feet over the ocean. Within 70 seconds the drone was hovering over the boys and had dropped a self-inflating rescue pod into the water.

For those doubting the usefulness of drones, take a look at this incredible rescue, a world-first, in Australia. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@FantasticMrNate) shows us. A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. For those doubting the usefulness of drones, take a look at this incredible rescue, a world-first, in Australia. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@FantasticMrNate) shows us.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is able to impact almost everything in much the same way electricity did in the early 1900s by replacing steam powered machines. For example, AI can transform FinTech, healthcare, logistics, search engines, etc. The obvious advantages of AI are that errors are reduced, repetitive one second human thought tasks are replaceable (e.g. is that a dog or cat in the photo), scalability and continuous operation. AI is also able to surpass human level capability such as quickly deriving insights from large volumes of data. The benefits to the user include more personalised service (e.g. more targeted advertising to increase sales) and feedback on user behaviour for R&D teams to develop new products/services or improve existing products/services.

Two teenage boys sucked out to sea by a rip tide have been saved from drowning by a in a world-first rescue in Australia. Monty Greenslade, 16 and Gabe Vidler, 17, were spotted struggling in rough surf off Lennox Head, New South Wales, at 10.30am AEST today by two teen girls. The pair were trapped amid 10ft waves and not easily accessible by boat, but were saved after a drone flew out and dropped an inflatable for them to cling on to. Footage shows the remote controlled aircraft fly above the teenagers before dropping an inflatable device which landed almost within arm's reach. Within 35 seconds of take-off the float had been dropped down to the boys, who hung on as waves pushed them back to shore where lifeguards took over.

At the tail end of 2017, Amazon announced that both its unlimited music service and Echo speaker would head to 28 more countries. This packaged expansion seems to be their theme in 2018, as the company stated both would be coming to Australia and New Zealand early in the new year. Today, it confirmed that Amazon Music Unlimited would launch in those countries on February 1st with Echoes on sale at select retailers early that month. While the rollout might be good for Australians and New Zealanders who want Echoes for themselves, it'll be harder for Amazon to wean them off other music streaming services, like Spotify, which has been available in Australia since 2012. At the least, Amazon Music Unlimited is priced competitively.