The US military is not discounting the future development of killer robots, or lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), as agents in the US war machine. Artificial intelligence (AI) has shown much promise since its original inception by Alan Turing and his contemplation of machines that can learn to think and act like humans. Machine learning and its subset deep learning have inspired hope that machines can one day develop or even supersede human cognition. This is a potential technology that the Department of Defense (DoD) cannot and will not ignore. Whilst the DoD has established the Directive 3000.09,

Autonomous drones are cautious when navigating the unknown. Now MIT researchers have developed a trajectory-planning model that helps drones fly at high speeds through previously unexplored areas, while staying safe. The model -- aptly named "FASTER" -- estimates the quickest possible path from a starting point to a destination point across all areas the drone can and can't see, with no regard for safety. But, as the drone flies, the model continuously logs collision-free "back-up" paths that slightly deviate from that fast flight path. When the drone is unsure about a particular area, it detours down the back-up path and replans its path. The drone can thus cruise at high speeds along the quickest trajectory while occasionally slowing down slightly to ensure safety.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a topic that's increasingly being explored around the world and on Thursday, Prince Daniel attended the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences's (IVA) Science & Society Forum seminar to learn more about the subject. During the event, held at IVA Konferenscenter in Stockholm, the Prince heard lectures from researchers, professors and experts on AI. "AI offers incredible opportunities – everything from better medical diagnostics and self-driving cars to individualised services and efficient warehouse management," IVA said on their website. "The potential for value-creation and efficiency gains in organisations, in society and for individuals is enormous. But increased awareness is needed about the fact that these gains must be weighed against ethical considerations. How can we create an overview and traceability, and steer AI towards more long-term, sustainable ethical principles? How can AI be part of people's daily lives without the social, ethical and legal consequences getting out of control?"

There are two kinds of elephants in Africa: the forest elephant and the savanna elephant (above), photographed this past spring in Liwonde National Park in Malawi. The Great Elephant Census found that Africa's savanna elephant population decreased by about a third in the seven years between 2007 and 2014. There are two kinds of elephants in Africa: the forest elephant and the savanna elephant (above), photographed this past spring in Liwonde National Park in Malawi. The Great Elephant Census found that Africa's savanna elephant population decreased by about a third in the seven years between 2007 and 2014. A few years ago, Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, published the results of something called the Great Elephant Census, which counted all the savanna elephants in Africa. What it found rocked the conservation world: In the seven years between 2007 and 2014, Africa's savanna elephant population decreased by about a third and was on track to disappear completely from some African countries in as few as 10 years. To reverse that trend, researchers landed on a technology that is rewriting the rules for everything from our household appliances to our cars: artificial intelligence. AI's ability to find patterns in enormous volumes of information is demystifying not just elephant behavior but human behavior -- specifically poacher behavior -- too.

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" accomplishes its mission on multiple fronts with a compelling and dramatic single-player story campaign. Firstly, the video game (out Oct. 25 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PCs, rated Mature for ages 17-up) lives up to its namesake, "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare," the 2007 game that helped launch the video game franchise towards its stratospheric station as a perennial multibillion-dollar seller. The non-stop action spans the globe and keeps the player guessing where the story is headed. And, the story campaign alone suggests "Call of Duty" will continue the series' successful run – it's been the top-selling game each of the last ten years and topped $1 billion in sales annually for the last 15 years. This one has a special coop mode and a 2-vs.-2

BOSTON--Among the phrases used to describe the AI business solution being offered by startups at AI World 2019 "machine learning automation" is used quite frequently. It's an automation services play in many cases. Companies wanting to get started in AI or get to the next step in the journey to operating AI applications, need help. Getting the data to a stage where machine learning can be employed is required. Some startups have an employment skew, offering to help companies find the needed data science or other AI team, or offering a remote workforce.

I was going to do a'day in the life' type post, but then I thought, why do a day when you can do a week? All manner of exciting things might happen! If you're considering doing a PhD, just interested, or my supervisor undercover wondering what on earth I've been doing, read on. I know a lot of PhD students prefer to come in later and leave later, but I find I'm much more productive if I'm in at 9. A few colleagues are at the 11th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementia in Sydney (lucky things) so I check Twitter to see what they have been up to, read a few interesting studies that have been announced, and generally catch up on dementia related news to ease me in to the week. I also have some admin to do – updating the Journal Club schedule (see: 4pm), checking room bookings, sending emails to people to bug them about their presentation titles, etcetera.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to draw a lot of attention as companies and technology vendors look at how machine learning could improve supply chain operations. In particular demand planning, understood here as the process of developing forecasts that will drive operational supply chain decisions, is being touted as the next potential field for innovation. Technology giants like Amazon and Microsoft have announced AI tools for improving demand planning, and several consulting companies are promoting their skills to bring AI to companies' demand planning processes. In fact, a recent survey by the Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning (IBF) identified AI as the technology that will have the largest impact on demand planning in the next seven years.1 It's not hard to see the fit between AI and demand planning. Demand planning involves lots of number crunching and data analytics, and it is repeated cycle after cycle.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced funding to boost the national artificial intelligence (AI) skills base. One of the funding packages comes from industry and government, and will see £200m going towards 1,000 PhD places focused on AI in the next five years. Students will study the application of the technology to support diagnostics in healthcare and enhance processes in industries such as aviation and car manufacturing. Separately, a further £170m will be committed to funding 1,700 places to study PhDs in biosciences. Announcing the funding, prime minister Boris Johnson said the UK must continue to be world-leading in AI and technology.

A few years ago, Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, published the results of something called the Great Elephant Census, which counted all the savanna elephants in Africa. What it found rocked the conservation world: In the seven years between 2007 and 2014, Africa's savanna elephant population decreased by about a third and was on track to disappear completely from some African countries in as few as 10 years. To reverse that trend, researchers landed on a technology that is rewriting the rules for everything from our household appliances to our cars: artificial intelligence. AI's ability to find patterns in enormous volumes of information is demystifying not just elephant behavior but human behavior -- specifically poacher behavior -- too. "AI can process huge amounts of information to tell us where the elephants are, how many there are," said Cornell University researcher Peter Wrege. "And ideally tell us what they are doing."