Advanced data processing, image recognition and natural speech systems are being applied by innovative start-ups across a diverse range of health and social care services, from cancer diagnostics to genomics and mental health. With support from Government and industry, UK-based start-ups can have access to a robust library of anonymised patient data which accelerates the development of effective solutions. So what start-ups are making waves in the health and social are sector using artificial intelligence and machine learning? CW has identified a number of UK-based companies developing solutions across a range of healthcare areas. Consider registering for one of our upcoming related events, "Increasing the speed and diversity of invention in AI" on 4 December or "AI & Robotics in Neurocritical Care & Neurosurgery" on 20 April.

BOSTON – A few years ago, toward the end of his life, my father battled severe depression. As a physician and professor, he did not lack access to mental-health care. But he had grown up in a society that stigmatized mental illness, and he was unwilling to seek professional help. As a son, it was devastating to watch my father suffer. As a public-health researcher, I gained a new awareness of the myriad systemic failures in the provision of care.

Amazon's voice assistant Alexa is set to become more emotional as it was announced that developers in the US can now have the device respond to questions in different tones of voice, including expressing disappointment that your favourite sports team had lost. Alexa will be able to respond in an excited and happy or disappointed and empathetic tone, should developers make use of the new feature. Amazon said the intonations would also be particularly useful in voice-based games. Should a user correctly answer a question in a quiz, for example, Alexa can respond with "high-intensity" excitement to congratulate the winner. If your team has lost, Alexa will read out the result with due disappointment and sympathy.

Embedded AI can transform a tabletop speaker into a personal assistant; give a robot brains and dexterity; and turn a smartphone into a smart camera, music player, or game console. Traditional processors, however, lack the computational power to support many of these intelligent features. Chipmakers, startups, and capital are taking this opportunity to the market. According to a Gartner report, the chip market's total revenue hit US$400 billion in 2017, and the figure is expected to exceed US$459 billion in 2018. Traditional chip makers are putting an increasing focus on AI chip development, venture capital is pumping significant investments into the market, and AI chip startups are emerging.

A new report finds that many publishers impressed by artificial intelligence generated writing and similar technologies are doing double-takes on its price tag. Essentially, 47% of key players in publishing surveyed say they like what they see, but they're uncertain that AI can deliver a solid return on investment. The irony, according to the researchers: Other evidence gleaned from the same survey shows even minimal investment in AI brings back significant sales increases for publishers. That additional investment coin could involve little more than hiring AI-savvy employees, or training existing employees in AI. "Those who have invested in artificial intelligence are happy with their experience and will continue to invest on all levels," the researchers observe. The study, "The Future Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Publishing Industry" -- released Gould Finch and Frankfurter Buchmesse -- is available for free download.

With more than 4,000 patents registered in 2018 in technologies like AI, cloud computing, security and quantum computing, IBM inventors from India received over 800 of patents, the second highest contributor to the global record tally. Leading the charge, it is Gargi Dasgupta who coordinates everything to bring innovation to the forefront. In an interaction with Analytics India Magazine, Gargi Dasgupta – Director, IBM Research India and CTO, IBM India and South Asia shares the various facets of her research work, and the way forward. "After I completed my PhD I returned to India to pursue this passion and fulfil my ambition to contribute and drive this change and while doing so help establish India as a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI)," told Gargi Dasgupta. Gradually Gargi leveraged this expertise in creating leadership for IBM in AI-driven business processes and IT automation – embedding AI capabilities into IBM's Automation platform, bringing together assets and capabilities from our worldwide research into business use and establishing right relationships with industry verticals and services partners to drive impact.

We hear it said all the time, most recently in a national campaign for BT: "Technology will save us." The slogan was plastered on billboards across the country as part of BT's new advertising campaign, linked to a "UK-wide digital skills movement" developed partly with Google. The sentiment is so ubiquitous that it even led to a dispute with a startup of a similar name. But in an era dominated by the "big four" (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple) the idea that tech will save us rings hollow, an example of utopian messaging being used to conceal the simple pursuit of profit. Having proposed solutions to everything from food shortages to suicide prevention to climate breakdown, companies such as Google and Facebook – two of the leading western companies in the artificial intelligence arms race – claim there's almost nothing that cannot be tackled through tech.

Businesses and organisations could face multimillion-pound fines if they are unable to explain decisions made by artificial intelligence, under plans put forward by the UK's data watchdog today. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said its new guidance was vital because the UK is at a tipping point where many firms are using AI to inform decisions for the first time, such as human resources departments using machine learning to short-list job applicants based on analysis of their CVs. The regulator says it is the first in the world to put forward rules on explaining choices taken by AI. Around two thirds of UK financial service companies are using AI to make decisions, including insurance firms to manage claims, and half of the public are concerned about algorithms making decisions humans would usually explain. AI researchers are already being called on to do more to unpack the "black box" nature of how machine learning arrives at results.

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The only large-scale, global summit focused purely on AI in healthcare – And CPD Accredited! Intelligent Health gathers the world's brightest AI health brains from pharmaceutical, biotech, medtech, health provisions, clinicians, tech companies, startups, investment and science every September in Switzerland. We work in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and have a big focus on making sure the benefits of AI are distributed globally. To progress discussions about how AI can be used to prevent and solve some of the world's greatest healthcare problems, improve the health of the human race and set the global AI agenda in healthcare for 2020 and beyond. Think like a physician and code like a developer, with practical, real-world AI use cases, deep dive tech talks, announcements from the tech giants, nitty-gritty coding and AI clinicians workshops, hear from the health tech transformers of tomorrow and of course, passionate debate on social and behavioural determinants of health, ethics and AI for global health.