The digital wave that we are witnessing today is keeping retailers on toes. Brands are increasingly focussing on product enhancement, greater visibility, personalisation and resolution to build customer engagement and experience. With a view to serve a wide range of customers from varied backgrounds, today's retailers are investing in modern technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), data analysis, Artificial Intelligence (AI), chatbots, and more to provide and give customers what they exactly want, so as to avoid any friction in the purchase journey's. Many retailers have already started using these technologies to remain competitive. To share insights and experiences, KPMG in India and CNBC-TV18 organised a panel discussion with experts Harsha Razdan, Partner and Head- Life Sciences and Consumer Markets, KPMG in India; Damodar Mall, CEO-Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail; Jamshed Daboo, Managing Director, Trent Hypermarket; Yash Mishra, Founder & CEO, VoxWeb; and Mukul Bafana, CEO, Arvind Internet.

I am a broadly interdisciplinary artificial intelligence researcher specializing in natural language processing and methods inspired by cognition and the brain. I apply these to application areas in science and health care. A central focus of my science research is on how we can teach computers question answering in the form of passing standardized science exams, as written. In particular, I focus on methods of automated inference that generate explanations for why the answer is correct, largely using graph-based methods. In terms of health care, I study how we can use natural language processing and inference to improve electronic health records and improve nurse communication, as well as detect potentially dangerous clinical events before they happen.

When it comes to the issue of health in South Africa, particularly when it concerns matters of life and death, artificial intelligence (AI) is seen to offer enormous promise regarding improving outcomes. The technology's ability to gain information, process it and deliver an output, all while recognising patterns in behaviour and creating its own logic, is what distinguishes it. The reality, though, is that AI has already moved beyond the'promise' stage, explains Ronelle Naidoo, head of sales at Mint Group. There are, in fact, already tangible examples of it in use within the healthcare sector. Naidoo points to Dr Raymond Campbell, of Phulukisa Healthcare Solutions, as one example of the type of out-the-box thinking that, when applied to such technology, is beginning to revolutionise the sector.

Last year the credit reporting agency Equifax announced that malicious hackers had leaked the personal information of over 143 million people after their system was hacked, and while that's concerning it's long been known that if a hacker wants to access your online data by simply guessing your password then there's a high chance you'll be toast in less than an hour. Now though after a recent announcement there's even more bad news for users – scientists at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey have found a way using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create a program that, when combined with existing hacker tools, took just minutes to figure out more than a quarter of all the passwords from a set of more than 43 million LinkedIn profiles. And perhaps yours was one of them…? Despite this concerning turn of events though the same researchers say the technology may also be able to be used to beat hackers at their own game by helping users measure the strength of their passwords. "The new technique could also potentially be used to generate decoy passwords to help detect breaches," says Thomas Ristenpart, a computer scientist who studies computer security at Cornell Tech in New York who wasn't involved with the study, which is something that another team accomplished last year by creating a bot that tells you when your accounts have been hacked even when the companies being hacked didn't know, or didn't fess up to the fact.

AI-powered technology that can learn the movements of elderly people may be able to warn carers of falls and declining health – potentially saving the NHS £2bn a year. Retirement house-builder McCarthy & Stone has partnered with London technology start-up MySense to trial the sensor and wearable technology in eight of its residential developments this year. As part of the trial, residents will have "smart" sensors that can measure temperature and movement installed in their homes. The sensors can learn an older person's activity patterns to quickly identify health issues or immediate care needs. Residents will also be offered a wearable wristband that can measure steps and heart rate.

The belief in our distinctiveness is central to human self-understanding; however, time and again, what was seen as our distinguishing attribute has proven to be a mirage. For millennia, humans have asserted themselves as superior to other living forms. From Mesopotamia to China, the mythologies of ancient civilizations traced humankind's origin to divine creation. Religious doctrines have echoed and solidified this sentiment. In the Bible and the Qur'an, humans are portrayed as divinely ordained to have dominion over all creation.

Is there a magic formula for brewing the perfect beer? If there is, then given the drink's timeless popularity, whoever finds it is likely to be very successful. It's a question that the world's largest brewer is hoping to answer with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). AB InBev – producer of renowned brews including Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Corona - is building machine learning into key areas of its business, as it seeks to bring one of the world's oldest industries into the digital age. The company has invested in a raft of data-driven initiatives with the aim of improving everything from how it brews beer to how it manages its relationships with customers and markets its products to the public. It began its steps towards digital transformation several years ago by establishing what it refers to as its Beer Garage – a Silicon Valley-based hub of innovation, where it researches, develops, and tests technology-driven solutions.

This week Jordan Erica Webber is joined by Alex Hern, as they look at the scandal that rocked the voice assistant world, and ask whether or not we can trust that voice assistants aren't eavesdropping on our most private moments

Roundup Hello, here's a list of all this week's AI and machine learning related news beyond what we've already covered.