One hundred fifty-two packages made it to CRAN in December. Here are my "Top 40" picks in ten categories: Data, Genomics, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Medicine, Science, Statistics, Time Series, Utilities, and Visualization. Look here for more information as well as the vignette. Loads and creates spatial data, including layers and tools that are relevant to the activities of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ( CCAMLR). Have a look at the vignette.

Today, when we look around, the technological advances in recent years have been immense. We can see driverless cars, hands-free devices that can turn on the lights, and robots working in factories, which prove that intelligent machines are possible. In the last four years in the Indian startup ecosystem, the terms that were used (overused rather) more than funding, valuation, and exit were artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). We also saw investors readily putting in their money in startups that remotely used or claimed to use these emerging technologies. From deeptech, ecommerce, fintech, and conversational chatbots to mobility, foodtech, and healthcare, AI and ML have transformed most industry sectors today.

As one of the most irregular phenomena in nature, lightning is very disturbing. Scientists have lately made an AI system that forecasts lightning up to 30 minutes before it strikes. Lightning regularly kills animals and people, initiates fires, destroys power lines and keeps aircraft stranded. Till now, it has been almost out of the question to predict lightning, with no simple technology for predicting where and when it will strike the earth. Engineers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne's (EPFL) School of Engineering built a simple and cheap system to forecast when lightning will strike.

Traveloka is an online travel company that provides a one-stop platform for a range of ticketing services, including flights, accommodation, and attractions. As one of Southeast Asia's "unicorn" startups valued at over $1 billion, Traveloka is constantly searching for ways to improve their user experience. As part of this initiative, Traveloka has invested heavily in a number of artificial intelligence and machine learning projects. With an expanding list of 19 core product offerings, improving search capabilities was key to their continued growth. To do this, Traveloka built a search function to make it easy for users to browse the full range of products from a single search bar.

Artificial intelligence-based (AI) programs are quickly improving at writing convincingly on many topics, for virtually no cost. It's likely in a few years they'll be churning out C-grade worthy essays for students. We could try to ban them, but this software is highly accessible. It would be a losing battle. Long-form writing, especially essay writing, remains one of the best ways to teach critical analysis.

The news: US government use of facial recognition technology should be banned "pending further review," according to 40 organizations that signed a letter calling for a recommendation to be made to the president. The letter, drafted by the privacy advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, cites the recent New York Times investigation of a facial recognition service used by more than 600 law enforcement agencies in the US. The company, Clearview AI, scraped public photographs from Facebook, YouTube, and other websites to create a database of more than three billion images. Such technology, the letter argues, not only risks being inaccurate for people of color but could be used to "control minority populations and limit dissent." The letter was signed by organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Color of Change, Fight for the Future, and the Consumer Federation of America, and sent to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board, an agency within the executive branch.

The news: US government use of facial recognition technology should be banned "pending further review," according to 40 organizations that signed a letter calling for a recommendation to be made to the president. The letter, drafted by the privacy advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, cites the recent New York Times investigation of a facial recognition service used by more than 600 law enforcement agencies in the US. The company, Clearview AI, scraped public photographs from Facebook, YouTube, and other websites to create a database of more than three billion images. Such technology, the letter argues, not only risks being inaccurate for people of color but could be used to "control minority populations and limit dissent." The letter was signed by organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Color of Change, Fight for the Future, and the Consumer Federation of America, and sent to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board, an agency within the executive branch.

A model invented by researchers at MIT and Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) that uses satellite imagery to tag road features in digital maps could help improve GPS navigation. Showing drivers more details about their routes can often help them navigate in unfamiliar locations. Lane counts, for instance, can enable a GPS system to warn drivers of diverging or merging lanes. Incorporating information about parking spots can help drivers plan ahead, while mapping bicycle lanes can help cyclists negotiate busy city streets. Providing updated information on road conditions can also improve planning for disaster relief.

We have seen many applications of AI in industry sectors but in regards to the entertainment niche, Artificial Intelligence continues to diversify day by day operations. Video Games are an essential part of almost every person out there, after a tiring day of work, we all relax with a video game whether it is on our handheld device or dedicated gaming rig. The goal of Artificial Intelligence in video games is not limited to competitive gameplay but rather it intends to create the most enjoyable AI for players to compete with. The inclusion of AI in games dates back to the early 90s when Wolfstein 3D came out but the AI non-player character (NPC) was at the beginning level at that time. It implemented simple concepts such as to evade the player's attacks and attack when the appropriate time came, all in an enclosed finite state machine.

Construtech magazine has published detailed information on the trends that will star in the construction sector over the coming months. It will be difficult to get it right, but they point out that technology, data analysis and digital solutions, together with the aging of the workforce, will be decisive in construction. I highlight below a summary of the short-term future. And then I invite you to watch a video about the most ambitious projects that will be culminated in this exercise. According to its analysts, the construction industry is in the middle of a move toward new business models that are technology-driven and data-driven, provide better collaboration between stakeholders, and result in higher productivity.