Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a concept has been around since the development of computational devices, as early as the creation of Turing machines during World War II. The term itself was first coined by University of Washington professor John McCarthy in 1956, and now, 60 years later we see the actual commercialization of AI. Why now, and what has finally enabled this? AI is designed to process and interpret vast sums of data (aka Big Data), and while humanity has always generated a lot of data, the volumes in the last few years have spiked sharply. Right now we are generating 2.5 quintillion bytes of data, per day, and this number is just a preview.

Facebook Dating launched in the US last week, giving users ages 18 and older access to typical dating app features like specialized profiles and matchmaking algorithms. Though the dating app space is crowded, Facebook has an opportunity to set itself apart by simplifying what's arguably the most vexing aspect of online dating: setting up a profile. Jonathan Kay, founder of app analytics platform Apptopia, explains that aside from offering users a new, more curated experience, Facebook could potentially ease the tedious process of putting together a profile--users' top dating app pain point. "The real problem with dating sites is that the barrier to entry is extremely high," Kay said. "Not only do you need to invest time in actually setting up a profile, you also have to create this profile from scratch--finding pictures, crafting an'About Me'--those things can be awkward and difficult to do."

Rhythmic flashes from a computer screen illuminate a dark room as sounds fill the air. The snare drum sample comes out crisp and clean by itself, but turns muddy in the mix, no matter how the levels are set. Welcome to the world of modern music-making -- and its discontents. Today's digital music producers face a common dilemma: how to mesh samples that may sound great on their own but do not necessarily fit into a song like they originally imagined. One solution is to find and audit dozens of different samples, a tedious process that can take time to finesse.

Over the past several years, the retail industry has undergone a tremendous transformation. With the rapid growth of eCommerce, spearheaded by tech giants like Amazon, retail has become as much as an online experience as a physical one. It's been estimated that by the end of 2019, 1.92 billion people in the world will be shopping online. With such a large growing audience, shifting consumer preferences, and innovative new technology, it's no wonder that the retail industry is in a constant state of transformation. In order to shed some light on how much the industry has evolved, I had a conversation with Ajoy Krishnamurti, Chief Business Officer for Retail and eCommerce at Crayon Data.

Suggest to Samsung's Virtual Personal Assistant Bixby "Let's talk dirty", and the female voice will respond with a honeyed accent: "I don't want to end up on Santa's naughty list." Ask the same question to the programme's male voice and it replies "I've read that soil erosion is a real dirt problem." In South Africa, where I live and conduct my research into gender biases in artificial intelligence, Samsung now offers Bixby in various voices depending on which language you choose. The voices of Julia, Lisa and Stephanie are coquettish and eager. John is clever and straightforward.

Brad Smith, Microsoft's president, last week told the Guardian that tech companies should stop behaving as though everything that is not illegal is acceptable. Mr Smith made a good argument that technology may be considered morally neutral but technologists can't be. He is correct that software engineers ought to take much more seriously the moral consequences of their work. This argument operates on two levels: conscious and unconscious. It is easy to see the ethical issue in Microsoft's sale of facial recognition technology to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement while the Trump administration was separating children from parents at the US's southern border.

Brad Smith, Microsoft's president, last week told the Guardian that tech companies should stop behaving as though everything that is not illegal is acceptable. Mr Smith made a good argument that technology may be considered morally neutral but technologists can't be. He is correct that software engineers ought to take much more seriously the moral consequences of their work. This argument operates on two levels: conscious and unconscious. It is easy to see the ethical issue in Microsoft's sale of facial recognition technology to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement while the Trump administration was separating children from parents at the US's southern border.

Intelligent machines may not be driving us to the movies yet. But a small Israeli company called UVeye has created a smart-machine inspection service that should help end those nasty damage arguments at the rental-car return counter. "It started out as a smuggling and bomb-detection inspection system," explains CEO Amir Hever. Then it leapt over to the auto industry. Hever tells us that his artificial-intelligence-based system can fully inspect a moving car in three to four seconds for any kind of fluid leak and for dents or defects as small as 0.08 inch. That's very significantly faster than a human can inspect a vehicle.

Horticulture NZ's conference for 2019 was held over two days at Mystery Creek in Hamilton from 31 July, under the theme of'Our Food Future'. Mark attended on behalf of PlantTech and contributed to the discussion about the emerging use of technology in horticulture and how the widespread application of drones, robotics and advancing imaging would become easier and more affordable over time. The pace of change has been described as being similar to the principle of Moore's Law, which states that the speed and capability of computers can be expected to double every 18 months. It would appear that these developing technologies are on a very similar trajectory. With the increasing demand for food, there's a great deal of interest in how the industry can respond to that challenge without creating further pressure on the environment.

By the year 2021, cybercrime losses will cost upwards of $6 trillion annually. It's no surprise, then, that the cybersecurity industry is exploding as it grows to protect the networks and systems on which companies and organizations operate and store data. Because effective information security requires smarter detection, many cybersecurity companies are upping their game by using artificial intelligence to achieve that goal. A new wave of AI-powered solutions and products keep bad actors on their toes while giving IT teams much needed relief. Here are 30 companies merging artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to make the virtual world safer.