"I can't wait to push some paper today!" The mind-numbing work to keep the wheels of commerce rolling--filling out invoices, deciphering hand-written memos, processing insurance claims--can be a real grind. It's been that way since the time when Ebenezer Scrooge refused to provide another lump of coal to help warm overworked clerk Bob Cratchit. Lacking frailty of mind and body, artificial intelligence for business process automation appears to be a no-brainer. In fact, a number of companies are employing AI techniques such as machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing to automate business processes.

Will A.I. make our government smarter and more responsive – or is that the last step towards the end of privacy? As chief scientist of U.S. Government Accountability Office, Tim Persons conceives its vision for advanced data analytics. Learn about the promise and challenges around government A.I. and what those portend for private sector companies. Dr. David A. Bray began work in public service at age 15, later serving in the private sector before returning as IT Chief for the CDC's Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program during 9/11; volunteering to deploy to Afghanistan to "think differently" on military and humanitarian issues; and serving as a Senior Executive advocating for increased information interoperability, cybersecurity, and civil liberty protections. He completed a PhD in from Emory University's business school and two post-docs at MIT and Harvard. He serves as a Visiting Executive In-Residence at Harvard University, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Visiting Associate at the University of Oxford. He has received both the Arthur S, Flemming Award and Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership. In 2016, Business Insider named him one of the top "24 Americans Who Are Changing the World". Dr. Timothy M. Persons is a member of the Senior Executive Service of the U.S. federal government and was appointed the Chief Scientist of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2008. In addition to establishing the vision for advanced data analytic activities at GAO, he also serves to direct GAO's Center for Science, Technology, and Engineering (CSTE), a group of highly specialized scientists, engineers, and operations research staff. In these roles he directs science and technology (S&T) studies and is an expert advisor and chief consultant to the GAO, Congress, and other federal agencies and government programs on cutting-edge S&T, key highly-specialized complex systems, engineering policies and best practices, and original research studies in the fields of engineering, computer, and the physical and biological sciences to ensure strategic and effective use of S&T in the federal sector. Michael Krigsman: Welcome to Episode #216 of CxOTalk. I'm Michael Krigsman, I'm an industry analyst and the host of CxOTalk, where we bring truly amazing people together to talk about issues like the one we're talking about today, which is the role of AI and the impact on public policy; or maybe I should say, the impact of public policy on AI. Our guest today, we have two guests actually, are Tim Persons, who is the Chief Scientist of the General Accountability Office of the United States Government, and David Bray, who has been on CxOTalk many times, the Chief Information Officer of the Federal Communications Commission. And David, let's start with you. Maybe, just introduce yourself briefly.

Employees stand outside the new Amazon Go grocery store in Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. Inc. unveiled technology that will let shoppers grab groceries without having to scan and pay for them -- in one stroke eliminating the checkout line. Are no-checkout stores like Amazon Go going to become common-place by 2025? Why or why not? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. There is little doubt, many if not all of the concepts from the Amazon Go store will be adopted by A-level retailers over the next 5 years.

We are in an age where technology seeps into every aspect of our lives. We communicate with friends and family through Whatsapp and Facebook, sort out our finances on personal banking apps, largely carry out our jobs via email and other online arenas, and singles use dating apps as a platform for prospective partners. So it is no surprise that matters in our relationships can now be sorted online too.In our increasingly busy lives, it can be difficult to co-ordinate diaries, sort out the food shop or fairly split the bills. Meet the couples who are using apps in their relationships. A new study has revealed that Sunday at 9am is the most popular time of the week for Brits to get busy in the bedroom.

The artificial intelligence market is expected to grow to USD $16.06 Billion by 2022. The McKinsey Global Institute says, "Recent advances in machine learning can be used to solve a tremendous variety of problems--and deep learning is pushing the boundaries even further." One such company set to take advantage of this emerging market is ASX-listed BrainChip Holdings (ASX:BRN) which is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California. They have developed a Spiking Neuron Adaptive Processor (SNAP) that essentially mimics the human brain: autonomous and unsupervised learning, evolves and associates information. According to CEO Louis DiNardo, SNAP has many applications, which includes surveillance, casino operations, and even investing.

When she was a practicing occupational therapist, Elizabeth Fain started noticing something odd in her clinic: Her patients were weak. More specifically, their grip strengths, recorded via a hand-held dynamometer, were "not anywhere close to the norms" that had been established back in the 1980s. Fain knew that physical activity levels and hand-use patterns had changed a lot since then. Jobs had become increasingly automated, the professional and service sectors had grown, all sorts of measures of physical activity (like the likelihood that a child walks to school1) had declined, and the personal computer age had dawned. But to see the numbers decline so steeply and quickly was still a surprise, and not just to her.

A drone that can pollinate flowers may one day work side by side with bees to improve crop yields. About three-quarters of global crop species, from apples to almonds, rely on pollination by bees and other insects. But pesticides, land clearing and climate change have caused declines in many of these creatures, creating problems for farmers. Pollination is needed for reproduction in flowering plants. Male flower parts, or stamens, produce pollen that fertilises female parts, known as pistils, to make seeds.

A North-East fintech company is using artificial intelligence (AI) and speech recognition software to allow users to discuss their financial accounts with their phone. Darlington-based MyFirmsApp creates custom app platforms for accountants and has recently secured the right to use next generation AI platform, Amazon Lex. The software will allow the company to build apps with'human-like intelligence' that can see, hear, speak, understand and interact with the world around them. The new tech will allow accountants and their customers to have a conversational experience when using their app. CEO Joel Oliver believes that being able to create chat bots using Amazon Lex will help accountants carry out simple tasks and allow them to become more productive.

Following the 2017 Royal Rumble, the WrestleMania 33 match card looks to be falling into place. Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg has already been made official for the pay-per-view, and a few of the other top matches aren't difficult to predict. There seems to be some uncertainty, however, surrounding the future plans for WWE's biggest full-time performer. With WrestleMania 33 still nearly two months away, Cena's opponent remains unclear. As the current WWE Champion, Cena is in line to face Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton on April 2 in Orlando. That could change at Sunday's PPV when Cena puts his belt on the line against five other wrestlers in the Elimination Chamber.

Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. Over five million cases are diagnosed each year, costing the U.S. healthcare system over $8 billion. More than 100,000 of these cases involve melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, which leads to over 9,000 deaths a year, and the numbers continue to grow. Internationally, melanoma also poses a major public health threat. In Australia, there are over 13,000 new instances of melanoma yearly, leading to more than 1,600 deaths.