Recently we wrote about the development of AI and neural nets beyond the second generation Convolutional and Recurrent Neural Nets (CNNs / RNNs) which have come on so strong and dominate the current conversation about deep learning. Our research shows that the next generation of neural nets is most likely to be led by Spiking Neural Nets (SNNs) that are a return to the'strong' AI tradition and closely mimic actual brain function. Unlike CNNs that fire signals to every one of their deep layer connections every time, SNNs are modeled after the fact that in the brain neurons do not constantly communicate with one another. Rather they communicate in spikes of signals or more correctly short trains of spiking signals. As each spike in the train arrives at a neuron it raises the potential of that neuron until finally a spike arrives that tips it over its potential threshold and it in turn fires, propelling the signal onward.

As the global population ages, the number of cancer cases is going up. New cancer diagnoses are expected to rise by 70% in the next 2 decades, from 14 million to around 22 million, according to an estimate by the World Health Organization. Corporate giants like Google and IBM are already focusing on making breakthroughs in oncology, using advanced AI algorithms for early detection and personalized treatment of cancer. Google DeepMind announced a research partnership with the University College London Hospitals' radiotherapy department. DeepMind will test the use of machine learning to reduce the time it takes to plan radiotherapy treatment for hard-to-treat cancers of the head and neck.

Many current fears around AI and automation center around the idea that superintelligence could somehow "take over," turning streets around the globe into scenes from The Terminator. While there is much to be gained from discussing the safe development of AI, there's another more imminent danger: Autonomous weapons. On Friday, after three years of negotiations, the UN unanimously agreed to take action. At the Fifth Review Conference of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, countries around the world agreed to begin formal discussions--which will take place for two weeks at the 2017 UN convention in Geneva--on a possible ban of lethal, autonomous weapons. Talks will begin in April or August, and 88 countries have agreed to attend.

Talis Capital has invested in Luminance. Luminance, of London, provides document analytics software for the legal industry. Investors include Invoke Capital and law firm Slaughter & May. London, 15 December 2016 – Luminance, a pioneer of artificial intelligence for the legal industry, has secured funding from Talis Capital, which values the company at over $20 million. Launched in September, with the backing of Invoke Capital and Magic Circle law firm Slaughter & May, demand for Luminance's product is growing rapidly, with the company recently completing its tenth data room project.

If one is looking for signals from an extraterrestrial civilization, why not practice on some of the non-human communication systems already known on our own planet? Whales have had a global communication system for millions of years--longer than Homo sapiens has even existed. Bees, which communicate in part by dancing, had democratic debates about the best places to swarm millions of years before humans came up with democracy as a political system. No person I know of who has studied another animal's communication system has ever concluded that the species was dumber than they'd previously thought. Through the study of animal communication, my colleagues and I have developed a new kind of detector, a "communication intelligence" filter, to determine whether a signal from space is from a technologically advanced civilization or not.

Evernote reverses course on opt-out privacy policy that would've exposed users' content to ... How today's machine learning systems could spot another FX or Libor scandal Evernote backs off from privacy policy changes, says it'messed up' Australia's NCI gets supercomputing systems from IBM for AI and analytics Stay up-to-date on the topics you care about. We'll send you an email alert whenever a news article matches your alert term. It's free, and you can add new alerts at any time.

For a change, Kevin Sanders has decided to let someone, or more accurately, something else count the apples in his orchard. This isn't the first time his idyllic farm down in Australia's Yarra Valley has played host to robots and their handlers, so Sanders knows what to expect. Moving soundlessly down the corridors between trees, an electric robot will scan each plant, identifying individual fruit and flowers. An algorithm is then used to classify and count the apples in each image and provide a yield estimation, a critical figure for farmers that will inform Sanders' plans to manage his orchards and the harvest. A fourth generation farmer, Sanders and his brothers have an interest in innovation that has created an unconventional operation.

Australia's NCI gets supercomputing systems from IBM for AI and analytics Civilization's Giant AI Battle Royale Died, Returns Way Better What the heck is machine learning, and why should I care? Stay up-to-date on the topics you care about. We'll send you an email alert whenever a news article matches your alert term. It's free, and you can add new alerts at any time.

Australia's NCI gets supercomputing systems from IBM for AI and analytics Civilization's Giant AI Battle Royale Died, Returns Way Better What the heck is machine learning, and why should I care? Stay up-to-date on the topics you care about. We'll send you an email alert whenever a news article matches your alert term. It's free, and you can add new alerts at any time.

If your name is Lucas or Hannah, you owe your parents a thank you for all the success you've likely had with online dating. According to Tinder, those were the most right-swiped names on the dating app in 2016. The numbers were pulled from all left and right swipes in the U.S. between December of 2015 and November of this year.