In Part 3 of our series on how utilities are using artificial intelligence, we look at how AI amplifies analytics for grid operations. Duke Energy saved some $130 million in avoided costs by using predictive data analytics to identify problems before they caused equipment failures. A utility in Brazil estimates savings in the range of $420,000 USD each month through better, analytics-based theft detection. Because, as an article published by Forbes notes, "Machine learning is a continuation of the concepts around predictive analytics, with one key difference: The AI system is able to make assumptions, test and learn autonomously." With these enhancements, data science will become more powerful than ever, and utilities stand to gain.

When Tony Huffman stepped away from the production line at the Denso auto part factory in Battle Creek, Michigan, to talk with WIRED earlier this month, the workers he supervised were still being watched--but not by a human. A camera over each station captured workers' movements as they assembled parts for auto heat-management systems. The video was piped into machine-learning software made by a startup called Drishti, which watched workers' movements and calculated how long each person took to complete their work. "In the past, we would take a line that was struggling and bring a bunch of people down with stopwatches to try and make it better," Huffman says--at least for problems that seemed serious enough to justify the time and expense. Drishti tirelessly logs the "cycle time" for every worker and station all day, for every shift.

The city of Espoo, Finland (second-largest city in the country) has been an early adopter and leader in digitizing government services. One of the really effective ways they have been testing the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is analyzing who is most using city services and why, so they can then model out potential early interventions and services that can reduce downstream costs and bad outcomes for citizens. This article outlines what Espoo is doing in this area in terms of managing all the data, doing the analysis, modeling the services, applying ethical approaches and protecting citizens' data privacy. I've been tracking Espoo for about six or seven years now, and they are clearly among the most sophisticated governments in the world in their approach to effective uses of technology, and AI specifically. I wanted to pass this along as the latest installment in what they are up to.

With an imperative to empower the youngest minds of the country with the latest technologies, NITI Aayog, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in collaboration with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) today launched an AI based Module rolled out for students in Indian schools. The AI-Base Module has been introduced with an objective for students to leverage the full potential of AIM's Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) and further empowers them to innovate and create valuable solutions benefiting societies at large. The module contains activities, videos and experiments that enable students to work through and learn the various concepts of AI. Sharing his thoughts, CEO, NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said that India can add 1.3% to its GDP on an annual basis through the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. "Indians can find solutions to the challenges of a shared connected zero emission world, improving learning outcomes, disease like tuberculosis, cancer etc. If we are able to find solutions to these challenges for the 1.3 billion people of India, we can find solutions for the 7.5 billion people of the world too," he said.

After six years of study, researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) have developed the world's first artificial intelligence seismic monitoring system. This AI earthquake tracking system can report all source parameters within two seconds. The team, led by Professor Zhao Cuiping at the Earthquake Prediction Institute of China Seismological Administration, said the system underwent testing at experimental fields in the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan for a year, where all parameters were reported in one to two seconds. It can also operate in real-time to process huge seismic network data, mitigating labor pressure and lessening false alarms. When an earthquake occurs, the wave signal is transmitted to the seismic network.

Maintenance workers in the bowels of the Tokyo Metro system are being assisted by emote-controlled 8.5-inch wide drones. The remote-controlled 2.5 pound (1.15kg) drone is encased in a plastic sphere to protect it from any unfortunate bumps and knocks while navigating the labyrinth. Cameras on the custom-built drone will allow operators to scan hard to reach parts of the tunnel network for signs of damage. Current methods involve humans using a torch and looking up to see signs of damage and then having to use vehicles and platforms to reach them. Maintenance workers in the bowels of the Japanese metro system are being assisted by 8.5-inch wide drones.

Facial recognition software firm Clearview AI, which has been criticized for scraping together a database of as many as 3 billion online images, has been hit with a data breach. The New York-based firm apparently had its list of customers including numerous law enforcement agencies stolen, according to The Daily Beast, which first reported the incident. The news site reported it had obtained a notice sent to Clearview's customers that an intruder had "gained unauthorized access" to its customer list, the number of searches customers have conducted and other data. Clearview said in the notice that the company's servers were not breached and that there was "no compromise of Clearview's systems or network." Video game legacy:Kazuhisa Hashimoto, creator of the'Konami Code' for video games, has died However, Clearview's attorney Tor Ekeland said, in a statement sent to USA TODAY, "Security is Clearview's top priority. Unfortunately, data breaches are part of life in the 21st century. Our servers were never accessed. We patched the flaw, and continue to work to strengthen our security."

When your boss calls and tells you to wire $100,000 to a supplier, be on your toes. It could be a fake call. As if "phishing" phony emails weren't enough, on the rise now are "deep fake" audios that can be cloned with near perfection to sound almost perfect, and are easy to create for hackers. "It's on the rise, and something to watch out for," says Vijay Balasubramaniyan, the CEO of Pindrop, a company that offers biometric authentication for enterprise. Balasubramaniyan demonstrated during a security conference how easy it is to take audio from the internet and use machine learning to create recorded phrases into sentences that the human probably never said.

Each evokes memories of the golden age of video games, which brought the first wave of consoles you could connect to your home television. But there's an oft-forgotten person from that era whose contributions to the industry still resonate today: a black engineer named Jerry Lawson. Lawson oversaw the creation of the Channel F, the first video game console with interchangeable game cartridges – something the first Atari and Magnavox Odyssey systems did not use. Those initial consoles had a selection of games hardwired into the console itself. But Lawson, an engineer and designer at Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp., led a team at the Silicon Valley semiconductor maker charged with creating a game system using Fairchild's F8 microprocessor and storing games on cartridges.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a seismic impact across the banking industry. Its utilisation is broad and diverse, ranging in application from chatbots and virtual assistants to profiling customers, streamlining processes, identifying trends and patterns in customer behaviour and risk management. If you're new to the world of AI, getting to grips with the terminology can seem daunting, but getting started in AI is way more straightforward than you might think – and the rewards for taking action early can be vast in terms of keeping your customers happy, providing a unique competitive edge for your business and reaping the associated commercial rewards. According to industry analysts, AI has the potential to drive one of the greatest and most profound technological revolutions in modern history. Artificial Intelligence, or AI as its more commonly referred, relates to the design and creation of systems, machines or applications that possess the ability to undertake complex tasks traditionally performed by humans.