NEW YORK - Google on Thursday released new details about its cloud streaming video game service Stadia, which will be available in 14 countries starting in November. For the launch, Google will sell its "founders edition bundle" hardware pack for $129, with a monthly subscription price of $9.99. In Europe, the price will be €129 and €9.99 per month. The new gaming platform aims for a Netflix-style subscription that enables players to access games on any device, powered by the cloud. That could disrupt the huge gaming industry by allowing users to avoid consoles and game software on disc or download.

Founded in 2014 as a technology transfer venture company for the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, the Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture-based Miraisens Inc. says its haptic technology would make it possible to get a realistic sensation of touch through subtle changes of vibration patterns traveling through the fingertips. Miraisens founder and Chief Technology Officer Norio Nakamura, the developer of the technology, says the important thing is "how we trick our brain, which means what stimulus patterns should be given." Similar devices using haptic technology, which creates the sense of touch through force, vibrations or motion, have been developed by other companies to achieve just that, but they are generally expensive and inconvenient. Miraisens says its technology, dubbed 3D Haptics, can eliminate these worries as it is lightweight and small enough to be embedded in a game controller or TV remote at an affordable price. Miraisens Chief Executive Officer Natsuo Koda notes that haptics itself is not a novel technology; it has already been used in the flat and stationary home button on some iPhone models, Koda explains, which provides the clicking sensation when we press the button. But the firm's own technology can re-create a variety of sensations of touch in a 3D world, rather than on a surface -- a technology Koda says is "the world's first."

The government on Friday adopted a draft bill to realize its "supercity" initiative to create cities that make use of artificial intelligence, big data and other advanced technologies. In such cities, autonomous driving, cashless payments, goods delivery by drone and novel services using sophisticated technologies will be introduced in an integrated manner. Initially, the government planned to submit to the Diet a bill to revise the national strategic special zone law by the end of March. But it was unable to do that because of difficulty obtaining support from the Cabinet Legislation Bureau for related deregulation. The bill is unlikely to pass the Diet before the end of the ongoing ordinary session, set for June 26.

Actors who flub dialogue may become less of a bane to producers thanks to an AI that allows such to be edited just by retyping a transcript of their lines. The software works by combining existing clips with digital face models to create new footage that is lip-synced to match the desired edits. The technology could have the potential to be abused to create more creepy deepfake videos that make people appear to say things that they never did. However, the researchers say that these risks are more than outweighed by the benefits of the program, which could also cheaply localise or translate content. At present, the technique only works on videos with a forward-facing interview that are of a particular length - 40 minutes or over.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market based on segmentation involving both economic as well as non-economic factors Provision of market value (USD Billion) data for each segment and sub-segment • Indicates the region and segment that is expected to witness the fastest growth as well as to dominate the market • Analysis by geography highlighting the consumption of the product/service in the region as well as indicating the factors that are affecting the market within each region • Competitive landscape which incorporates the market ranking of the major players, along with new service/product launches, partnerships, business expansions and acquisitions in the past five years of companies profiled • Extensive company profiles comprising of company overview, company insights, product benchmarking and SWOT analysis for the major market players • The current as well as future market outlook of the industry with respect to recent developments (which involve growth opportunities and drivers as well as challenges and restraints of both emerging as well as developed regions • Includes an in-depth analysis of the market of various perspectives through Porter's five forces analysis • Provides insight into the market through Value Chain • Market dynamics scenario, along with growth opportunities of the market in the years to come • 6-month post sales analyst support

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is showing that tech companies are finally getting a grasp on robotic appendages. In a demonstration at the re:MARS conference in Las Vegas -- a Bezos sponsored event to showcase the latest advancements in machine learning, automation, robotics and space -- the CEO showed off a duo of surprisingly agile robotic hands. In a video on Twitter, Bezos can be seen using high-tech gloves to manipulate a pair of robotic arms. By mimicking his motions, Bezos is able to summon the arms to carry out sophisticated actions using fine motor skills. In one exercise, Bezos is seen passing a ball back and forth between hands and in another he uses the arms to adeptly place plastic rings around a rung.

Artificial intelligence is playing a major role in exacerbating the problems being blamed on large digital platforms such as a Facebook Inc. and Google LLC, according to a U.S. expert who testified before the International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy meeting in Ottawa this week. Ben Scott, a Stanford fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society and a former advisor to Hillary Clinton, said that it wasn't until the tech giants got hooked on machine learning that concerns about their polarizing effect and impact on democracy really took off. "It's not just the ads that get targeted. The entire communications environment in which we live is now tailored by machine intelligence to hold our attention," he said. "The more time people spend on the platform, the more ads they see and the more money they make. It's a beautiful business model, and it works."

At the beginning of 2019, there were an estimated 2.77 billion social network users worldwide, a number that's continuing to grow. Artificial intelligence is making its way into nearly every industry and facet of life, and social media is no exception. AI influences much of what we do on social networks, from gathering invaluable user data to enabling Facebook's use of neural networks and image recognition to find and tag friends. As the use of AI for social media marketing continues to gain popularity, social media's uses are expanding far beyond networking and connecting with old friends, especially for brands looking to leverage social media to better connect with their consumers. In this article, we answer the question, "How does social media use AI?" and outline 5 ways in which brands are using AI for social media marketing.

NHS chief Simon Stevens today called on tech firms to help the health service become a world leader in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. He also asked staff to work with us and share ideas on reforms to the payment systems that would help encourage and facilitate quicker adoption and expansion. The technology can help speed up diagnosis of cancer and other diseases and deliver more convenient care by revolutionising outpatient services. Speaking at the Reform Health Conference today, NHS chief executive Simon Stevens announced a global call for evidence from technologists for how the NHS can best incentivise the use of carefully targeted AI across the NHS from April 2020 and beyond. The NHS boss challenged tech innovators to come forward with proposals for how the NHS can harness innovative solutions that can free up staff time and cut the time patients wait for results.

BenevolentAI, founded in 2013, creates and applies AI technologies to transform the way medicines are discovered and developed. BenevolentAI seeks to improve patient's lives by applying technology designed to generate better data decision making and in doing so lower drug development costs, decrease failure rates and increase the speed at which medicines are generated. The company has developed the Benevolent Platform - a discovery platform used by BenevolentAI scientists to find new ways to treat disease and personalise drugs to patients. BenevolentAI is HQ'd in London with a research facility in Cambridge (UK) and further offices in New York and Antwerp. BenevolentAI has active R&D drug programmes from discovery to PhaseIIb in disease areas such as ALS, Parkinson's, Ulcerative Colitis and Sarcopenia.