Google entering verticals and competing directly against publishers, advancements in machine learning and AI and zero-click searches are the trends most likely to affect SEO in the next three years, according to a SparkToro survey of over 1,500 SEOs. Trends that are here to stay? Respondents were presented with a list of choices and asked, "How much of an impact do you believe the following trends will have on SEO in the next 3 years?" Options were ranked on a zero-to-four scale; zero meaning "no impact" and four meaning "huge impact." The trend that professionals responded were least likely to affect SEO included outcomes from US Congressional and Department of Justice investigations, visual search advances and "content-nudging" products such as Google Discover.

The design of Tesla's Autopilot feature contributed to a January 2018 accident in which a Model S sedan smashed into the back of a fire truck in Southern California, according to federal safety investigators. It is the second time the National Transportation Safety Board has found Tesla partially responsible for a crash involving the semiautomated feature. The federal board says it's also investigating two other Autopilot-involved crashes. No one was hurt in the 2018 crash, but investigators found that the driver had flipped on Autopilot about 14 minutes before the crash and had not actively steered for the final 13 minutes. Investigators said the driver's inattention and overreliance on Autopilot were probable causes of the crash.

The list of existential threats to mankind on which wealthy philanthropists have focused their attention -- catastrophic climate change, pandemics and the like -- has a new addition: artificially intelligent machines that turn against their human creators. Artificial intelligence (AI) could pose a threat "greater than the danger of nuclear warheads, by a lot", according to Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind electric car maker Tesla. As the author James Barrat put it, a superhuman intelligence, equipped with the ability to learn but without the ability to empathise, might well be Our Final Invention. Even if the machines are not going to kill us, there are plenty of reasons to worry AI will be used for ill as well as for good, and that advances in the field are coming faster than our ability to think through the consequences. Between facial recognition and autonomous drones, AI's potential impact on warfare is already obvious, stirring employee concern at Google and other pioneers in the field.

"Legal confidentiality is a shield for citizens." These are the words of Shami Chakrabarti, the one-time director of the UK-based human rights group Liberty, who was speaking in 2018. Well, it seems that this shield has just been broken, because researchers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland have published a study in which they were able to identify the participants in confidential legal cases, even though such participants had been anonymized. By harnessing these technologies in tandem, the study's authors could mine over 120,000 public legal records and then use an algorithm to identify connections between them. Described as "linkage," this process enabled the researchers to identify anonymous parties mentioned in public records of Swiss Supreme Court decisions, simply by linking anonymous records to those where various pieces of information was given.

Many organisations have already embarked on a Robotics Process Automation or Robotics chatbot initiative. However, many firms also experience delays and cost over-runs, and ultimately failed initiatives. The IITPSA invites you to attend an enlightening business breakfast where you will hear from industry experts about the use of these technologies in the South African context, and have an opportunity to network with other AI and Robotics enthusiasts from the local industry. Free to IITPSA members in good standing (paid up fees).

There could also be a number of challenges that tax authorities in India may face when using artificial intelligence. These can include the need to balance centralisation of tax assessment with on-ground experience, uncertainties around being able to develop models which deliver a positive impact on performance, the varying range of choices in AI solutions, and the need for skills to leverage those advanced solutions. India may soon become the first country to use artificial intelligence and machine learning in the tax assessment process. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that the government will deploy a faceless assessment system based on AI and ML, starting October 2019. The overall process will increase the accuracy and transparency of India's tax assessment process, thereby improving the tax base and compliance.

We learn to lie as children, between the ages of two and five. By adulthood, we are prolific. We lie to our employers, our partners and, most of all, one study has found, to our mothers. The average person hears up to 200 lies a day, according to research by Jerry Jellison, a psychologist at the University of Southern California. The majority of the lies we tell are "white", the inconsequential niceties – "I love your dress!" – that grease the wheels of human interaction. But most people tell one or two "big" lies a day, says Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire. We lie to promote ourselves, protect ourselves and to hurt or avoid hurting others. The mystery is how we keep getting away with it. Our bodies expose us in every way. We stutter, stall and make Freudian slips. "No mortal can keep a secret," wrote the psychoanalyst in 1905.

Autonomous vehicles rely on several advanced technologies to self-navigate. We unbundle the AV to see how these technologies work together and which companies are driving them forward. Autonomous vehicles rely on a set of complementary technologies to understand and respond to their surroundings. Some AV companies are focusing on these specific components and partnering with automakers and Tier-1 suppliers to help bring their products to scale while others, such as Zoox and Nuro, are designing their vehicles from the ground up. Technology is disrupting the auto industry from all sides. Get the free report PDF to learn more.

Former Google and Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski, according to a recent Backchannel profile, filed paperwork with the state of California in 2015 to establish Way of the Future, a nonprofit religious corporation dedicated to worshiping AI. The church's mission, according to paperwork obtained by Backchannel, is "to develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society." The documents show Levandowski is CEO and President of Way of the Future. Presumably there was no option for High Priest. Author and religious studies scholar Candi Cann, who teaches comparative religion at Baylor University, said Levandowski's spiritual initiative isn't necessarily that odd from a historical perspective.

Anthony Levandowski makes an unlikely prophet. Dressed Silicon Valley-casual in jeans and flanked by a PR rep rather than cloaked acolytes, the engineer known for self-driving cars--and triggering a notorious lawsuit--could be unveiling his latest startup instead of laying the foundations for a new religion. But he is doing just that. Artificial intelligence has already inspired billion-dollar companies, far-reaching research programs, and scenarios of both transcendence and doom. Now Levandowski is creating its first church.