A company can have the best technology in the world. It can have the strongest talent. It can have the coolest product ideas. But to train the algorithms that will deliver the intelligence to transform our cities, it needs data. Sign up to get Backchannel's weekly newsletter. That's why earlier this year, after leaving Microsoft the previous fall, legendary engineer Qi Lu headed to Beijing to become Baidu's chief operating officer. At his former job, he was, among other things, CEO Satya Nadella's top deputy in helping to lead the company's AI strategy. Clearly, he saw more opportunity across the Pacific: In China, 731 million people--nearly twice the entire population of the United States--are online.

Indium, rhodium, platinum, tellurium and gold: these are some of the rarest elements in the world. From smartphones (which contain a whopping 60 to 64 elements) to hybrid cars, wind turbines and medical equipment, much of the technology we depend upon contains a rich list of elemental ingredients. Meanwhile, demand for traditional metals such as copper and aluminium is rocketing, driven by the rapid growth of emerging economies in Asia and South America. If our voracious appetite for these minerals continues at the current rate then rare earth metals may be mined out in 15 to 20 years, and indium may only have another decade of supplies remaining. Even aluminium could run dry within the next century.

Brazil forward Neymar said he needed a new challenge, as he joined Paris St-Germain from Barcelona for a world record fee of 222m euros (£200m). The 25-year-old won seven major trophies in his four seasons at the Nou Camp, including the Champions League once and La Liga twice. He said his father, Neymar Sr, wanted him to stay at Barcelona. "I have won all that a player can win," said Neymar, who will earn 45m euros (£40.7m) a year on a five-year deal. Writing on Instagram, he added: "I have conquered everything an athlete can conquer. I have lived unforgettable moments. But a player [me] needs challenges. "And for the second time in my life, I'll contradict my father." Neymar's transfer smashes the previous record set when Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United from Juventus for £89m in August 2016. His £782,000-a-week wages mean PSG's total outlay is £400m. The French side have called a news conference for 12:30 BST on Friday, and Neymar will be introduced to fans at PSG's first game of the season against Amiens at Parc des Princes on Saturday. PSG reached the last eight of the Champions League last season - knocked out by a Neymar-inspired Barcelona - and were beaten to the French title by Monaco. Neymar said he has joined "one of the most ambitious clubs in Europe". "Paris St-Germain's ambition attracted me to the club, along with the passion and the energy this brings," he added. "I feel ready to take the challenge.

On his first day at work as a security guard, Steve was greeted warmly, drawing attention from passersby, including some taking selfies with him at the tony retail-residential complex he patrolled. Then he fell into the fountain. Steve was a security robot employed by the Washington Harbour center in the Georgetown district of the US capital. Rosie, a five-foot (1.5 meter) tall outdoor K5 security robot, has taken up patrols at the Washington Harbour retail-residential center after her predecessor Steve fell into the fountain It was thought that STEVE threw itself into the fountain to ends its life. We now know his demise was just the result of a malfunction.

Autonomous cars have been a staple of science fiction for years, appearing in films like I, Robot, Demolition Man and Minority Report. Google is nearing the final stages of testing for its autonomous car programme, Tesla drivers can enjoy an'Autopilot' feature for hassle-free motorway driving, and Pittsburgh residents can hail an Uber that drives itself. But how do driverless cars work? When can we expect to try one out for ourselves? We answer all these questions, and more, below. The tech giant finally acknowledged the truth in rumours that it was building driverless technology in June, when Cook told Bloomberg that it was "a core technology that we view as very important". But he declined to give a steer on how the tech would manifest itself in Apple products. Yesterday he painted a clearer picture of its potential on a conference call following the company's quarterly results.

WASHINGTON – On his first day at work as a security guard, Steve was greeted warmly, drawing attention from passers-by, including some taking selfies with him at the tony retail-residential complex he patrolled. Then he fell into the fountain. Steve was a security robot employed by the Washington Harbour center in the Georgetown district of the U.S. capital. According to some tech watchers, robots like Steve herald a new era for intelligent machines assisting in crime prevention and law enforcement. Steve's mishap in mid-July set of a flurry of reaction on social media, with some joking that the robot had "drowned" or committed suicide.

Young Instagram users are now spending over half an hour on the photo sharing app every day. The Facebook owned app revealed users under 25 are on the app for 32 minutes on average daily, while older users spend 25 minutes each day using it. The firm released the latest stats a year after it launched Instagram Stories in its ongoing battle with Snapchat. The Facebook owned app revealed users under 25 are on the app for 32 minutes on average daily, while older users spend 25 minutes each day using it. They show that the younger users now spend three percent of their waking hours using the app.

Yesterday, details about Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 were revealed by engineers who discovered clues in the code for the firm's HomePod speaker. Further details have been discovered today, suggesting the iPhone could have a tap to wake function and facial expression detection. The findings also confirm the long-rumoured removal of the home button, which is expected to be replaced with a virtual button. Because the HomePod speaker will have to work with Apple's new phone, it contains references to some of the upcoming features in its code. Apple revealed its HomePod speaker, which rivals Amazon's Echo and Google's Home, earlier this year.

NEW DELHI: Accenture today said it has developed an artificial intelligence powered solution to help visually impaired people improve the way they experience the world around them and enhance their productivity in the workplace. The solution, called Drishti, was developed as a part of Accenture's focus on Tech4Good, which aims to apply technology to improve the way the world lives and works by solving complex social challenges, a company release said. Accenture, plans to introduce Drishti to more than 100 visually impaired employees in India. The solution is currently being piloted at Accenture in South Africa, and a Spanish language version is being tested with Accenture employees in Argentina. Drishti, which means'vision' in Sanskrit, provides smart phone-based assistance using AI technologies such as image recognition, natural language processing and natural language generation capabilities to describe the environment of a visually impaired person.

FOR a ten-year-old, Amartya is a thoughtful chap. One Monday morning at the Khan Lab School (KLS) in Mountain View, California, he explains that his maths is "pretty strong" but he needs to work on his writing. Not to worry, though; Amartya has a plan. He will practise grammar online, book a slot with an English teacher and consult his mentor. Later he will e-mail your correspondent to ask for help, too. This is the sort of pluck KLS produces. Its pupils do not have homework or report cards or spend all day in classrooms.