An NTHU team has developed an AI chip that follows the streamlined function of a fruit fly optic nerve. A major limitation for aerial drones is the tradeoff between weight and battery capacity, which limits their range and usefulness for applications such as agriculture and infrastructure inspection. To address this challenge, a multidisciplinary team at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan, has developed an artificial intelligence processor that mimics the optical nerves of a fruit fly. This AI chip enables unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to automatically avoid obstacles while staying in an "ultra-power-saving mode," said the researchers. The team was led by professors Tang Kea-tiong of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Lo Chung-chuan of the Department of Life Sciences at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU).

The US is a leader in investing capital into private AI with nearly US$12 billion. China, which came second with US$6.8 billion investment, also files more AI patents than any other country across the globe and three times more than Japan. The majority of AI patents filed between 2014-2018 were filed in the U.S. and Canada, and 94% of patents are filed in wealthy nations. Mergers and acquisitions worth $37 billion were spurred thanks to AI. At the same time, IPOs worth $34 billion were also associated with AI. Investment in AI startups recorded a rapid increase in the last ten years from a total of $1.3 billion raised in 2010 to over $40.4 billion.

As automation drives increased productivity, it is also shrinking the number of'traditional' jobs such as administrative assistants or financial analysts. This is another reason why AI and similar digital skills are seeing mass adoption, and enterprises are molding business strategies around them. Simplilearn, a leading digital skills training provider, published the findings of its annual survey titled "Digital Transformation and Future of Tech Jobs in India". The survey provides insights into how digital transformation is impacting the Indian workforce. Simplilearn surveyed over 1750 learners and IT professionals in India to understand their views on upskilling, emerging digital skills, and the nature of future jobs.

Would you be surprised to learn a 120-year-old company is transforming its business with artificial intelligence and technology? Akron, Ohio-based Tire makerGoodyear might not be the first company you think of when discussing technological innovation, but they continue to announce intriguing developments and offer proof via new initiatives and products that they are altering operations to be competitive in the future. Regardless if it's an autonomous, electric, or a traditional vehicle, they all need a solid foundation of the right Tire for the specific demands of the vehicle. Goodyear uses internet of things technology in itsEagle 360 Urban tire. The tire is 3D printed with super-elastic polymer and embedded with sensors.

Our real-world mobility solutions are driving us toward a safer, greener and better connected future. Aptiv is providing the "brain" and "nervous system" for vehicles that will change the face of mobility for people worldwide. Aptiv's Autonomous Mobility team is focused on developing, and commercializing autonomous vehicles and systems that enable point-to-point mobility via large fleets of autonomous vehicles in challenging urban driving environments. With talented teams working across the globe, from Boston to Singapore, Aptiv was the first company to deploy a commercial, point-to-point autonomous ride-hailing service based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In November 2017, Aptiv acquired autonomous vehicle software startup nuTonomy, an integral part of Aptiv's Autonomous Mobility team.

Researchers have discovered a new means to target voice-controlled devices by propagating ultrasonic waves through solid materials in order to interact with and compromise them using inaudible voice commands without the victims' knowledge. Called "SurfingAttack," the attack leverages the unique properties of acoustic transmission in solid materials -- such as tables -- to "enable multiple rounds of interactions between the voice-controlled device and the attacker over a longer distance and without the need to be in line-of-sight." In doing so, it's possible for an attacker to interact with the devices using the voice assistants, hijack SMS two-factor authentication codes, and even place fraudulent calls, the researchers outlined in the paper, thus controlling the victim device inconspicuously. The research was published by a group of academics from Michigan State University, Washington University in St. Louis, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoin. The results were presented at the Network Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS) on February 24 in San Diego.

Workers have anticipated AI fearfully due to widespread distrust of employers and technology. Things are getting better, says this AI expert. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken over the way we live, work, and do business. Specifically, in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, businesses are adopting AI faster than their counterparts in the rest of the world. Setting out to be the trailblazer in the region, Singapore has developed a National AI Strategy in late 2019 to construct frameworks to facilitate the adoption of AI capabilities.

Rediet Abebe uses algorithms and AI to improve access to opportunity for historically marginalized communities. When Abebe moved from her native Ethiopia to the United States to attend Harvard College, she was struck by how vital resources often fail to reach the most vulnerable people, even in the world's wealthiest nation. She now uses computational techniques to mitigate socioeconomic inequalities. While she was an intern at Microsoft, Abebe formulated an AI project that analyzes search queries to shed light on the unmet health information needs of people in Africa. Her study revealed such information as which demographic groups are likely to show interest in natural cures for HIV and which countries' residents are especially concerned about HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination.

Until January few had heard of Clearview AI, a company that has scraped billions of publicly available images from millions of websites in order to build a facial image search engine app. Clearview claims that more than six hundred law enforcement agencies have used its technology in the last year. News that police officers can search against a plethora of images uploaded to the most popular social media platforms has prompted outcry from officials, activists, and civil libertarians. Clearview's technology should concern everyone who values privacy and security. Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That has been on the defensive since a New York Times report raised the company's profile from relative obscurity to the topic of a nationwide privacy discussion.

Traditional AI has significant challenges and limitations. As an example let us look at computer vision for automotive safety or autonomy. These systems need to detect objects like a traffic sign, a car or a pedestrian. In order to learn about objects they have to be taught about how those look. One big problem is that there are many so called Edge Cases in which objects look slightly different from the hundreds / thousands which have been taught so far. So if traffic signs are partly covered, dirty or bended, trucks have a odd load, pedestrians are particularly small or tall or they wear different clothing, that is a problem for traditional neural networks.