Neural interfaces that link human brains to computers using artificial intelligence will allow people to read other people's thoughts, according to leading scientists. A new report by the Royal Society outlines the benefits of such technology but warns that there could be severe risks if it falls into the wrong hands. Brain-computer interfaces are already being developed by Facebook and Elon Musk's Neuralink and the report estimates that by 2040 neural interfaces will be an "established option" for effectively treating diseases like Alzheimer's. More futuristic applications are expected to follow, such as brain implants that allow people to virtually taste, smell and see without actually physically experiencing the sensation. The report also details how such hardware could boost people's memory, improve their vision and even allow thoughts to be transmitted from one person to another.

If you thought we had perfected fast food ordering, think again. McDonald's is going to drag us all into the future, whether we like it or not. The golden arched burger empire announced Tuesday that it plans to acquire Apprente, a startup that specializes in speech-based AI technology. The McDonald's press release claims this will "allow for faster, simpler and more accurate order taking" at its drive-thru kiosks. Kiosks like this have been more and more common in McDonald's restaurants in recent years. Somewhat crucially, McDonald's didn't say how much it's paying for Apprente.

In July 2017, China published its Next Generation AI Development Plan. As analysts such as Jeff Ding of Oxford University point out, it was not a green-field programme. It rather sought to gather and focus a diverse set of existing initiatives in response to what local academics called a'Sputnik moment': the 2016 defeat of the world's best Go player, Lee Sedol, by a Google-owned AI. For context, China's AI industry was estimated to be worth around RMB15bn (£1.7bn) when the plan was released. The plan often provokes sceptical responses outside China but the country has made significant advances toward the 2020 goal (indeed large parts of it have arguably already been achieved).

Investment in artificial intelligence (AI) reached an all-time high in the first six months of 2019, as it was revealed that a Glasgow brain tumour detection firm will feature in the UK's first AI scale-up programme. AI funding for UK firms reached more than $1 billion (£810 million) in the first half, already surpassing 2018's 12-month total, according to entrepreneur network Tech Nation. It comes as the entrepreneur network unveiled the 29 firms accepted onto the UK's inaugural applied AI growth programme. The cohort includes Glasgow-based ClinSpec DX, which uses AI to provide cost-effective blood tests for the early detection of brain tumours. The UK is currently third globally for raising investment in AI, behind China and the US, and has the second-highest number of AI companies in operation.

Lufax chief product officer Jeff Li spoke about the roles of data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in wealth management at the inaugural Greater China Alternative Investments and Alternative Data Conference organized by the Beryl Consulting Group and Global Tone Communication Technology (GTCOM). "Lufax conducts its business completely online. Our interactions with customers are mainly achieved through mobile apps," explained Li. "This makes behavioral data all the more valuable and imperative." Instead of constructing customer profiles through in-person meetings, Lufax leverages behavioral data generated from the use of its platform, as well as official and public data to formulate a multi-dimensional risk profile, where risk attitude, capacity, and appetite combine to inform the determination. The system takes into consideration the biographical, financial, and lifestyle information customers voluntarily enter themselves to understand and anticipate their wants and needs, and project their future investment paths.

On August 22, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a request for comments on patenting artificial intelligence inventions. Written comments must be received on or before October 11, 2019. The AI inventorship issue came to a head earlier this year when the inventor of an algorithm named DABUS (device for the autonomous bootstrapping of unified sentience) filed beverage container and flashing light patent applications in DABUS' name in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. Additionally, many today see patent eligibility as a significant hurdle to obtaining patent protection in AI technologies. China and the United States lead in patent filings in all AI techniques and functional applications, as well as AI application fields.

L'Oréal as a global cosmetics and beauty care company (the largest in the world), but you might not be aware of the company's commitment to research, innovation, and technology. In fact, since 2012, L'Oréal operates its own technology incubator, a group that operates like a start-up but focused on where beauty and technology meet. Here's an overview of the company's incubator and some other ways they are using artificial intelligence such as with its AI-powered digital skin diagnostic. L'Oréal's first incubator lab was located in New Jersey, but it now also operates additional labs in San Francisco, Paris, and Tokyo that are focused on a small number of products--a mix of apps and wearables and objects to help cosmetics be connected and customized to meet the specific needs of each customer. The incubator partners with entrepreneurs and academia to develop the latest and greatest products by using technology.

The robots are coming, but not necessarily for your job. The likelihood that robots, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will completely wipe out large swaths of the workforce is exaggerated, a new MIT report finds. The report, from MIT's "Work of the Future" task force, examines the relationship between technology and work, drawing on research from more than 20 faculty members. There's no doubt technology will impact jobs, but researchers say there is a larger concern when it comes to the future of work: Increasing inequality. And the impact of that inequality has given workers legitimate concerns about the role of technology in the future.

McDonald's is exploring ways to automate its drive-thru service with the help of artificial intelligence. It means that you could soon be chatting with a robot rather than a human when you pull up to place your order. Helping the fast-food giant in its high-tech endeavor is Silicon Valley-based Apprente, which McDonald's revealed this week it has agreed to acquire. Apprente was founded in 2017 to create a voice-based, conversational platform for complex, multilingual, multi-accent, and multi-item conversational ordering. According to McDonald's, Apprente's technology, which is already being tested at select restaurants, will pave the way for "faster, simpler, and more accurate order taking at the drive-thru."

Today, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton is expected to introduce a bill that would limit how smart device manufacturers like Amazon and Google can collect your data. The Automatic Listening and Exploitation Act, or the ALEXA Act for short, would empower the Federal Trade Commission to seek immediate penalties if a smart device is found to have recorded user conversations without the device's wake word being triggered. For Google's home devices, for instance, that would mean recording a conversation without being prompted by "Hey, Google." Moulton's bill also addresses smart doorbells and their video capabilities. "Smart speakers and doorbells are great, but consumers should have a way to fight back when tech companies collect more data than Americans have agreed to give up," Moulton said.