From machine learning to artificial intelligence, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is gaining popularity for helping automate certain internal business processes, increasing efficiency and freeing up corporate workers so they can focus on higher-value work. RPA refers to software programs that can eliminate or streamline tedious, repetitive or manual labor tasks – such as your typical data entry work, to pick one example. While RPA uses robots that can be programmed to effectively complete a task, these tools don't "learn" the way they do in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning, where they're trained to make judgments about future outputs. In other words, RPA is not exactly full-blown IA (intelligent automation). But the benefits of automating repetitive, manual tasks to free employees to focus on more important work should be obvious...right?

Every time Elon Musk or Bill Gates warns that humanity could soon be destroyed by rampaging hyperintelligent machines, I comfort myself with the thought that actual researchers in the field of artificial intelligence scoff at such alarmism. I am not comforted any more. Stuart Russell calls the AI industry attitude "a kind of denialism" and argues that AI threatens our species. And he is professor of computer science at Berkeley, California, and one of the world's leading experts in AI. He invites us to imagine the UN receiving an email from an advanced alien civilisation.

This group is for anyone interested in Computer Vision, Deep Learning, AI, and other related topics. We'll be getting together to learn, exchange ideas, network, and hear expert speakers from both academia and industry discuss their work, focusing on new ideas, technologies, developments, and best practices in the above fields. The group is sponsored by RSIP Vision (http://www.rsipvision.com).

Sign in to report inappropriate content. Speakers: Ehsan Adeli - Researcher at Stanford University Confounders in Medical Studies and Deep Learning Tullie Murrell - Applied Research Scientist at FAIR (Facebook AI Research) Robust, accelerated MRI acquisition using AI Join the Meetup: Computer Vision, Deep Learning, AI in the Bay Area https://www.meetup.com/Bay_Vision/ This event is fully sponsored by RSIP Vision (http://www.rsipvision.com/)

Just like a knife can be used to slice a fruit as well as to commit a murder, artificial intelligence can be used for improving healthcare, but also for discrimination based on facial features and complexion; 3D printing can make organs as well as guns. Technologies are creating new jobs but also leading to displacing workers. Companies complain of difficulty in finding people with requisite skills, even as millions of graduates (and, even more others) remain jobless. Narendra Jadhav, prolific author and Rajya Sabha MP, explores these conundrums in New Age Technology and Industrial Revolution 4.0 and argues for development of a rubric of conducive public policies alongside development and deployment of technology. The book starts with an overview of technologies like AI, augmented reality (AR), additive manufacturing (aka 3D printing) and blockchain. Jadhav puts these within the realm of education, healthcare, digital payments, national security and jobs to discern policy aspects pertaining to economic growth, social inequalities and yes, financial services and banking.

"Let's not use society as a test-bed for technologies that we're not sure yet how they're going to change society," warned Carly Kind, director at the Ada Lovelace Institute, an artificial intelligence (AI) research body based in the U.K. "Let's try to think through some of these issues -- move slower and fix things, rather than move fast and break things." Kind was speaking as part of a recent panel discussion at Digital Frontrunners, a conference in Copenhagen that focused on the impact of AI and other next-gen technologies on society. The "move fast and break things" ethos embodied by Facebook's rise to internet dominance is one that has been borrowed by many a Silicon Valley startup: develop and swiftly ship an MVP (minimal viable product), iterate, learn from mistakes, and repeat. These principles are relatively harmless when it comes to developing a photo-sharing app, social network, or mobile messaging service, but in the 15 years since Facebook came to the fore, the technology industry has evolved into a very different beast. Large-scale data breaches are a near-daily occurrence, data-harvesting on an industrial level is threatening democracies, and artificial intelligence (AI) is now permeating just about every facet of society -- often to humans' chagrin.

As portrayed so aptly in the Netflix documentary The Great Hack that shed light on Cambridge Analytica's Facebook data scandal, there are rising concerns around how users' data is leveraged for political and commercial gain. With the growth of artificial intelligence or AI, technology will play an even greater role in our lives. AI will significantly change not only the type of work performed in many professions but also the roles themselves over the coming years. But what about the ethical challenges that AI also bring? If AI is used for simulation of human intelligence processes, what role do professionals have as ethical guardians in the work they do?

The document, called'Malta the Ultimate AI Launchpad: A Strategy and Vision for Artificial Intelligence in Malta 2030', aims to ensure that benefits brought about by this next wave of innovation delivers benefits across all segments of Maltese society. Speaking at the Summit, Muscat highlighted that this year's summit doubled in size, from 4,500 people registering last year, to 10,000 this year. "This summit is one of the best opportunities for Malta to showcase our progress, our achievements and our dedication in areas of emerging technology to the world," Muscat said. "We made great strides compared to other countries as we were ambitious in our initiatives." He said other jurisdictions were sometimes reluctant to regulate tech, like Blockchain, unlike Malta.

Check out "Designing Data-Intensive Applications" to explore the pros and cons of various technologies for processing and storing data, and to learn how to make full use of data in modern applications. Artificial intelligence has come a long way since the concept was introduced in the 1950s. Until recently, the technology had an aura of intrigue, and many believed its place was strictly inside research labs and science fiction novels. Today, however, the technology has become very approachable. The popular TV show Silicon Valley recently featured an app called "Not Hotdog," based on cutting-edge machine learning frameworks, showcasing how easy it is to create a deep learning application.

People from across the artificial intelligence (AI) world came together in San Jose, Calif. Below you'll find links to highlights from the event. Kenneth Stanley discusses how open-ended algorithms can offer an entirely different level of automated creation. Get a free trial today and find answers on the fly, or master something new and useful. Srinivas Narayanan takes a deep look into the next change we're seeing in AI--going beyond fully supervised learning techniques.