The global artificial intelligence in agriculture market size is expected to reach USD 2.9 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is anticipated to register a CAGR of 25.4% from 2019 to 2025. Artificial intelligence solutions in the agricultural industry are emerging in various forms, such as soil and crop monitoring, agricultural robots, and predictive analytics. Farmers and agribusiness corporations are increasingly using soil sampling and artificial intelligence -enabled sensors for data gathering for better analysis and processing. The availability of these processed data has paved the way for the deployment of artificial intelligence in agriculture and farming.

CES 2020 got rolling on Monday with massive displays being finished up and VIP previews. There also were quite a few expert panels that were getting people up to speed on what's coming to a future near you. I focused on artificial intelligence, or AI, on day one. The development of AI is continuing as the convergence of data, neural networks and computing power help it improve everyday. Challenges remain and what people expect in the next two years might disappoint, despite the massive changes likely to occur in the next 10.

Together with the rise of the Internet, access to large repositories of data has helped machine learning technology grow exponentially. The incredibly quick pace of growth was unprecedented. As a result, it is obvious that AI will make a significant impact on the world in the years to come. However, with the numerous established and emerging fields of AI around today, such a blanket statement doesn't provide much concrete meaning. What fields and applications of AI are receiving the most investment and development?

Headphones have the ability to seal us in our own isolated sound bubbles; putting an invisible wall around wearers, even in public spaces. At least, it can feel that way. In reality, while the world might seem like it disappears when you put on your fancy AirPods Pro, it doesn't actually. As walking across a busy street without paying attention would quickly remind you. Could machine intelligence help where human intelligence fails us?

One of the most senior policing figures in Wales has warned that the use of facial recognition technology at the country's biggest football derby this weekend could create miscarriages of justice. Arfon Jones, a veteran Welsh police officer and the North Wales police and crime commissioner, has expressed grave concern about the deployment of the surveillance technology at Sunday's clash between Cardiff City and Swansea City. Civil liberties and fan groups have also criticised South Wales police's decision to train cameras on supporters and employ facial recognition on them at the Cardiff City stadium. Jones, who served as a police officer in North Wales for 30 years, described the plans as "disproportionate". He also accused the South Wales force of being engaged in a "fishing expedition where, once again, football fans are being unfairly targeted in a way that supporters of other sports are not".

PARIS – Several international airlines said Wednesday they would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq. Lufthansa and its Austrian Airlines unit nonetheless decided to maintain flights to the Iranian capital, Tehran, this week, a statement said. Iran launched more than 20 missiles at bases housing U.S. troops in the early hours, officials in Washington and Tehran said. Iran's supreme leader called the attacks a "slap in the face" after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad international airport last week. In Germany, Lufthansa said it had halted overflights of Iran and Iraq until further notice.

An autonomous shuttle bus put on display at CES in Las Vegas by German tech giant Bosch gives a glimpse at what the future of inner-city transport may look like. The spacious electric vehicle is a concept which features interactive screens for every passenger as well as high-tech camera systems used to ensure no belongings have been forgotten - and ensure no chewing gum is left stuck to the seats. Passengers will climb in and out of the vehicle using Bosch's own keyless entry system. It forms part of its growing Internet of Things initiative and shows off its market-leading sensors and hardware. The Sony Vision S car unveiled at CES this year was a similar idea, with Sony trying to muscle in on the autonomous car market by making its own hardware.

Samsung has shown off an 8K QKED bezel-less TV that is 99 per cent screen and ultra-thin – only 15mm. Fellow South Korean rival LG has its own set of OLED TVs that double as'a piece of art' thanks to an outer edge that mimics a picture frame and the ability to display HD art pieces when not in use. Sony unveiled a concept connected car loaded with sensors and technology from its audio/visual business as part of its own push into mobility. Panasonic had as part of its CES showcase a miniature, battery-powered prototype fire engine that can transport the same level of equipment as a full-sized fire engine but at a fraction of the cost and energy. Lenovo has showcased its foldable PC with a 13.3-inch screen that it says is more durable than Samsung's Galaxy Fold.

For a country that holds 12 percent of the planet's water supply, Brazil faces significant water management issues. In addition to its commonly known sanitation problems, the country's infrastructure lends itself to distribution issues, including fraudulent use. Fraudulent water use can be particularly hard to track and identify, and often goes unaddressed for significant periods of time – especially in highly populated areas where physically checking people's homes and water meters isn't an option. Instead, companies need to find ways to swiftly identify and eliminate fraudulent water activity which impacts an already scarce supply and costs communities money. To address this challenge, a utilities company from Mato Grosso, Brazil recently worked with a group of data engineers at ScientificCloud. The goal was to develop a solution that could better locate fraudulent water usage by tracking data patterns based on home location and property attributes. As a Sao Paolo-based data science company that develops and deploys machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered applications, ScientificCloud understood these problems first hand.

Google introduced new speech technology for the Assistant. The Google Assistant just picked up some new reading skills. Google on Tuesday announced new technology for its digital helper software that lets it read long-form text out loud. For now, the feature is meant mainly for listening to articles, blog posts and short stories on the web. Google said the technology is different from other screen-reading software because it's meant to read stuff in a natural-sounding voice and cadence, so people won't have trouble listening to the audio for longer periods of time.