Robots may not yet have the authority to influence their human masters, according to new research. The study stationed a cyborg guard beside a table of food marked with a'reserved' sign in a student common room. Researchers from New York-based Cornell University used a mObi robot manufactured by Bossa Nova in a simple test. While the robot is not designed to look particularly menacing or authoritative, it has cameras that enable it to'see' what people around it are doing. The behaviour of hundreds of students was captured by a hidden GoPro action camera, reports New Scientist. The results showed that a disappointing seven per cent snaffled reserved food from the table, despite the robot guard's presence.

It was a simple enough question, at least in this part of the world. "How can we mosey on down to the rodeo?" my friend Ben Crook drawled, sat in a rocking chair on his front porch, a can of Lone Star beer in his left hand on a humid night in Houston. Only one thing jarred with this otherwise stereotypical Texas scene: Crook was asking Siri, the voice-activated digital personal assistant on his iPhone, rather than, say, a passing sheriff on horseback with a cowboy hat wider than the Buffalo Bayou. Siri understood the individual words but didn't know how to respond. But Crook had other questions. He was hungry; heck, so hungry he coulda eaten the north end of a southbound billy goat.

Robots may not yet have the authority to influence their human masters, according to new research. The study stationed a cyborg guard beside a table of food marked with a'reserved' sign in a student common room. Researchers from New York-based Cornell University used a mObi robot manufactured by Bossa Nova in a simple test. While the robot is not designed to look particularly menacing or authoritative, it has cameras that enable it to'see' what people around it are doing. The behaviour of hundreds of students was captured by a hidden GoPro action camera, reports New Scientist.

Researchers have filmed an extremely rare white southern right whale calf off the coast of Western Australia.

Retailers are looking towards artificial intelligence (AI) such as image recognition technologies to help enhance sales staff productivity as well as make them be more competitive against their peers. Alexander Laugomer, project manager digital merchandising at consumer and industrial goods firm Henkel, says: "The major benefit of the AI technology is that it not only provides us with information on our own and our competitors' products, but it also gives us an actionable report straight to our mobile devices. "This allows our sales reps to improve our brands' situation in-store there and then, without the time-consuming task of manually compiling data." Henkel outsources this function to retail image-recognition firm Trax. The technology works by being able to recognise more than eight million images on a shelf.

Americans have a pressing problem: Nobody is saving money. Consider this: One out of every three people has a grand total of zero dollars saved, and 63 percent of Americans do not have enough money saved to cover an unexpected 500 expense. That s bad enough, but these folks are also going to live a lot longer than prior generations all these people drinking kombucha and eating kale chips aren t saving anywhere near enough to pay for the long, long lives they have ahead of them. So, what should we do? Should we put more pressure on employers to nudge their employees into retirement accounts?

Everything in our online life is indexed. Every idle tweet, status update, or curious search query feeds the Google database. The tech giant recently bought a leading artificial-intelligence research outlet, and it already has a robotics company on its books. So what if Google, or Facebook, or any of the companies we entrust our information to, wanted to use our search histories to create an artificially intelligent robot? Writer and director Alex Garland's new film, Ex Machina, looks at just that.

Work on a new project by Deakin University and Melbourne-based software company Ytek has begun, aimed to develop skills of those training in the emergency response, defence, and aerospace sectors using machine learning algorithms. Dr James Zhang, a researcher from Deakin University's Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation, is working with Ytek to develop simulation solutions used to train surgeons, emergency workers, soldiers, and pilots. As part of the project, Zhang and Ytek will research how machine learning algorithms can help monitor and evaluate a trainee's conduct in mission-critical simulations by using sensors on training tools, such as manikins, to evaluate how trainers can assess students in practical training. Ytek CEO Richard Yanieri said the desired outcome of the project is to improve the practical training for students. "We've been working with Deakin's School of Medicine to understand their needs so that we can tailor a solution that works for this industry," he said.

Dubai: In keeping with the global decline the growth of assets under management (AuM), the Middle East also witnessed a sharp fall in the total AuM last year, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Globally, AuM stalled with marginal growth last year. The BCG report shows the global value of AuM rose just 1 per cent in 2015, to 71.4 trillion (Dh262 trillion) from 70.5 trillion in 2014, after growing 8 per cent that year, and at an average annualised rate of 5 per cent from 2008 through 2014. In contrast, the Middle East's AuM declined 10 per cent and net new flows of assets, revenue growth, and revenue margins all dipped lower in 2015. In absolute terms the region's AuM plummeted from 1.4 trillion in 2014 to 1.3 trillion in 2015.

Neota Logic has extended its law school partnership programme, this time with the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in Australia. The legal AI and expert systems company's most recent outreach venture will see 20 UTS students develop AI applications to improve the delivery of social justice, which in this case centres around working with not-for-profits. The project, that launches next Spring is also supported by Australian law firm, Allens, whose partners will be involved directly in the programme. Allens is also the alliance partner of UK Magic Circle law firm, Linklaters. The latest educational venture follows on from several others, including last October's partnership with Melbourne Law School, where the aim was to build websites to provide legal help to the public. The programme dealt with common legal problems including inaccurate credit reports, handling and managing fines, and assessing employment rights.