She received her MS degree in Mathematics at the Universitat de Barcelona and her Ph.D. degree in Computer Science at the Computer Vision Center, at the Universitat Autonoma Barcelona. She was working as a Visiting Researcher in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), from 2012 until 2015. Currently she is also a Visiting Researcher at the Affective Computing Group at MIT Medialab, where she leads the project of Emotion Recognition in Context. At MIT, she also colallaborates in different projects related to Human-Robot Interaction and Machine Perception. Her research interests are related to Computer Vision (Image and Scene Understanding), Natural Language Processing, Emotional Artificial Intelligence, and Explainable AI.

Commitment to developing artificial intelligence (AI) as a national research strategy in the United States may have unequivocally defined 2019 as the Year of AI -- particularly at the federal level, more specifically throughout the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its national laboratory complex. In February, the White House established the Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (American AI Initiative) to expand the nation's leadership role in AI research. Its goals are to fuel economic growth, enhance national security and improve quality of life. The initiative injects substantial and much-needed research dollars into federal facilities across the United States, promoting technology advances and innovation and enhancing collaboration with nongovernment partners and allies abroad. In response, DOE has made AI -- along with exascale supercomputing and quantum computing -- a major element of its $5.5 billion scientific R&D budget and established the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office, which will serve to coordinate AI work being done across the DOE.

Commitment to developing artificial intelligence (AI) as a national research strategy in the United States may have unequivocally defined 2019 as the Year of AI -- particularly at the federal level, more specifically throughout the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its national laboratory complex. In February, the White House established the Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (American AI Initiative) to expand the nation's leadership role in AI research. Its goals are to fuel economic growth, enhance national security and improve quality of life. The initiative injects substantial and much-needed research dollars into federal facilities across the United States, promoting technology advances and innovation and enhancing collaboration with nongovernment partners and allies abroad. In response, DOE has made AI -- along with exascale supercomputing and quantum computing -- a major element of its $5.5 billion scientific R&D budget and established the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office, which will serve to coordinate AI work being done across the DOE.

Friday 20 September saw over 4 million people participate in climate change strikes worldwide, with 300,000 people in the UK taking to the streets to show their anger around the lack of action from global leaders. Another strike is due to take place on 27 September, bookending the newly dubbed Global Week for Future. Technology and climate change have a difficult relationship. As technology has become more pervasive throughout our homes, workplaces and society, the amount of data we create has spiralled, causing data centres across the globe to now have the same size carbon footprint as the aviation industry. Although some might argue that the only way to decarbonise is to decomputerise, like most of these things, the situation is not quite that black and white.

In a workshop at Cardiff University in Wales, 15 expert speakers showcased some of the ways that machine learning applications and computational methods are driving advances in systems medicine. Machine learning and computational methods in systems medicine are among the keys to advances in healthcare and personalized medicine. These approaches help researchers turn massive amounts of patient data into new treatments and therapies that promote better health and save lives. But what exactly is "systems medicine"? The European Association of Systems Medicine (EASyM), an organization devoted to the topic, offers this definition: "Systems medicine is a novel approach to medicine. It is the first step on the path to personalised medicine. Systems medicine is based on computer models, in which vast amounts of clinical data are used to analyse the health of individual patients."1

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) has a celestial ambition. The project aims to discover the origins of the universe through the lens of the world's largest radio telescope. The telescope will search outer space for signals travelling through the cosmos and could reveal how the first stars and galaxies were formed after the big bang and the nature of the mysterious force of dark energy. It may even answer the question that humans have pondered since the dawn of civilisation: are we alone in the universe? It will also provide the scientific foundations for more practical applications.

Microsoft will work with organisations in the UK to develop artificial intelligence that helps the planet and people with disabilities, the company has announced at Future Decoded. Lucas Joppa, Microsoft's Chief Environmental Officer, used his keynote speech at the London event to launch the second AI for Good programme and invited ventures to apply. The four-month accelerator will have space for 12 start-ups, charities, social enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses that have a social mission. It will give them credits for Azure, Microsoft's cloud platform, a curriculum designed by Microsoft Startups, Social Tech Trust and Microsoft, access to workshops that will help develop their products and bring them to the market, and contact with relevant speakers. "AI is one of the most important tools we have to accelerate innovation at the speed and scale we need to address climate change and other important societal challenges," Joppa said.

Artificial intelligence is at the center of many emerging technologies today, and perhaps nowhere are the implications more meaningful than in healthcare. So where is AI making an impact in healthcare today? What will the future bring, and how should healthcare providers and technologists get ready? On the Season 4 premiere of GeekWire's Health Tech Podcast, we address all of those questions with three guests: Linda Hand, CEO of Cardinal Analytx Solutions, a venture-backed company that uses predictive technology to identify people at high risk of declining health, and match them with interventions; Colt Courtright, who leads Corporate Data & Analytics at Premera Blue Cross; and Dr. David Rhew, Microsoft's new chief medical officer and vice president of healthcare. This episode was recorded on location at the dotBlue conference in Seattle, hosted by the returning sponsor of the show, Premera Blue Cross.

Today at our flagship technology event, Future Decoded, we announced the launch of the Microsoft UK AI for Good 2020 accelerator programme to help UK purpose-driven ventures advance their AI solutions and create positive social change. Now in its second year, the Accelerator builds on last year's success, which saw 11 organisations graduate, all of whom reported positive impact on their business following the programme. Unveiled this morning by our Chief Environmental Officer Dr Lucas Joppa, the UK AI for Good Accelerator will be run by Microsoft for Startups and the Social Tech Trust from our accelerator space in Shoreditch, London. "AI is one of the most important tools we have to accelerate innovation at the speed and scale we need to address climate change and other important societal challenges. It's exciting to see Microsoft's AI for Good initiative evolving to engage new partners and help catalyse social impact organisations across the UK." "We have an exciting opportunity to help more social tech ventures to shape the future we want to see, using AI. I'm inspired by the growth we've seen from the 11 ventures in our first cohort and can't wait to see the very best UK social tech innovations that emerge as we open applications for our second AI for Good programme, in partnership with Microsoft."

Today at our flagship technology event, Future Decoded, we announced the launch of the Microsoft UK AI for Good 2020 accelerator programme to help UK purpose-driven ventures advance their AI solutions and create positive social change. Now in its second year, the Accelerator builds on last year's success, which saw 11 organisations graduate, all of whom reported positive impact on their business following the programme. Unveiled this morning by our Chief Environmental Officer Dr Lucas Joppa, the UK AI for Good Accelerator will be run by Microsoft for Startups and the Social Tech Trust from our accelerator space in Shoreditch, London. "AI is one of the most important tools we have to accelerate innovation at the speed and scale we need to address climate change and other important societal challenges. It's exciting to see Microsoft's AI for Good initiative evolving to engage new partners and help catalyse social impact organisations across the UK." "We have an exciting opportunity to help more social tech ventures to shape the future we want to see, using AI. I'm inspired by the growth we've seen from the 11 ventures in our first cohort and can't wait to see the very best UK social tech innovations that emerge as we open applications for our second AI for Good programme, in partnership with Microsoft."