The DX Summit takes place in Chicago at November 4 – 6, 2019. Gain key digital customer experience skills that help you shape your 2020 initiatives Learn first hand how Google, Shutterfly, SunTrust Bank and the University of Calgary run their digital ops. Get up to speed on the aspirations and realities of AI, Machine Learning and Customer Data Platforms. Take a guided tour through the modern digital customer experience ecosystem, learn strategies for building high performance teams, leveraging the latest in customer data platforms and navigating the procurement minefield. See inside world class digital, VoC and Customer Experience teams Get unique, honest insights via practical case studies delivered by your peers.

Huawei could soon be allowed to do business with US companies again, according to leaks ahead of the current trade talks between the US and China. Don't be fooled – we have been here before only to be disappointed. This appears to be, as usual, a sop to the markets as any trade progress is likely to be no more than pedestrian. Last week, we have seen further evidence that the fractures in the global order are increasing – and that they are being driven by technology. Not only has Donald Trump banned several Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) companies from doing business with US companies, but the European Union (EU) has issued a warning about cyberattacks from state-backed companies that have equipment in the bloc's 5G networks. Chinese state media has attacked Apple for providing a map that has assisted protesters in Hong Kong, forcing it to withdraw the application.

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG), with a virtual monopoly in minimally invasive robotic surgery, faces an influx of competition. Medtronic, Verb Surgical (owned by Alphabet) and CMR Surgical could all launch in the US in the next 18 months. For the first time, Intuitive Surgical could face not only a pause in new system purchases but in a worst case scenario real market share losses and downward pricing pressure in both systems and instruments.

Renault has started a public trial of its on-demand car service on the Paris-Saclay urban campus, according to a press release on Monday (Oct. A panel of around 100 people will use the service -- provided by two electric, autonomous and shared Renault Zoe Cab prototypes -- on the campus from Oct. 14 through Nov. 8. Two cars with different features will be tested, with passengers able to hail them using the mobile app, Marcel Saclay, which was designed specifically for the ZOE Cab experiment. Users can request a car on demand, or book it in advance. The cars will stop en route to pick up another passenger.

Everest Group recently conducted a study with 55 banking and financial services firms to evaluate their digital capabilities in areas including strategy, organization and talent, process transformation, technology adoption, and innovation. Here are the primary insights we collected from that study. More than 60 percent of BFS firms have invested in exploring the various use cases in cognitive- and AI-driven technologies. Typical use cases include helpdesk automation using chatbots and other cognitive capabilities for functions such as sales & marketing, data entry, credit assessment, and information gathering. BFS companies are increasingly leveraging AI-enabled transformation in areas where there is significant customer interaction.

Electrodes are used to pick up electrical signals. Neurons however are tiny units of the nervous system and it is difficult to create an electrode small enough to record all the workings of a neurons. Researchers from Harvard University have overcome this obstacle by creating an electronic chip that could be implanted within these networks and could thus perform highly sensitive intracellular recordings of the neurons individually. This could be a boon for neuronal research believes the team as it could help provide an in-depth knowledge of the neuronal connections and synaptic workings. The team wrote, "Current electrophysiological or optical techniques cannot reliably perform simultaneous intracellular recordings from more than a few tens of neurons."

These modifications show up not only through new jobs replacing old ones but also from the transforming skill profile of existing jobs. Instead of an exam for the survival of the fittest, these days we are able to count on a workforce that's a combination of human and machine intelligence. If automation guarantees a smarter and more secure presence for us, there ought to be no reluctance in embracing it. The "M project" launched by Facebook is possibly a prime example of man-machine bonhomie. The project seamlessly blends robots and humans in a means that it gets unlikely for the conclusion user to determine whether they're talking with a machine or maybe a living person. Automation is short to challenge the fabric of the traditional employment scenario. I think there's a need to refine present policymaking to be able to endure this transition. Definitive actions like dedicated investments in human capital (early childhood development) and drawing social contracts that are applicable to the new era should have the center stage and ensure economic development through the workforce of effective members within the society. In a world of growing worldwide worth chains, gig economies, and the dynamism of work, just through acknowledging this particular paradigm shift can we view the truth of people and robots working together a lot more carefully than ever before.

With so much debate around the ethical use of technology, news like this certainly provides hope for the future. I personally believe technology will provide the biggest breakthroughs in the Healthcare industry and this is just another example of that happening. A 30-year-old Frenchman named Thibault, who was paralyzed from the shoulders down was able to walk in the controlled environment of a lab in an exoskeleton suit. For someone who hasn't been able to walk for the four two years due to a spinal injury, imagine the emotions he must have gone through when he took that first small step. Earlier, I had written about a couple of other mind-reading devices already in the making.

After winning 74 consecutive games and earning $3.3 million in prize money, he finally lost to his fiercest opponent -- a newcomer, no less, that went by a single name: Watson. Really, though, it was no contest. With four years of training and a huge research budget, Watson had been born for this moment. If a computer can be born, that is. Created by IBM to answer questions posed in natural language, Watson was initially designed to excel at Jeopardy! but after its win it began tackling other projects: assisting in the treatment of lung cancer patients at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; conversing with kids via smart toys; teaming up with education company Pearson to tutor college students; even helping H&R Block customers file their taxes.

A group of data, technology, digital services and other organizations on Tuesday launched the AI Global Marketplace. The marketplace is, in essence, an artificial intelligence app store. It will host more than 2,000 high-value AI assets focused on customer engagement and process intelligence problems for the banking, insurance, healthcare and digital commerce markets. The launch group includes CognitiveScale, HyperGiant, the IEEE, USAA, the Saxena Foundation, the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, and the University of Texas at Austin. Software assets in the AI Global Marketplace will be based on the beta version of an open interface: the Cognitive Agent Modeling and Execution Language, or CAMEL.