Accenture Interactive has created a project for the Swedish energy company, Stockholm Exergi, that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle elderly loneliness. Following medical research into elderly health, Accenture Interactive discovered that loneliness accelerated health problems including depression and early-stage dementia in the elderly. To combat this, it created a project titled'Memory Lane' that uses a voice assistant combined with conversational artificial intelligence to capture stories for future generations. Using Google Voice Assistant, 'Memory Lane' invites someone who is lonely to tell their life story. Once captures, the discussion is then instantly converted into both a physical book and a podcast.

Automation is good for business. It means delegating manual, mundane administrative tasks that suck up valuable hours to software or machines, freeing up time for human employees to focus on more complex, challenging, and creative work. Its benefits are twofold–better working conditions and employee engagement, as well as improving the bottom line by cutting costs. Think of it as the modern-day equivalent of the cotton gin. Before the invention of the cotton gin, people had to separate the cotton from their seeds by hand manually.

It's no secret that the health of our planet is declining. Deforestation, melting sea ice, rapidly disappearing species and more have weakened Earth's ecosystems, and climate change is arguably the most pressing issue of our time. We need to think outside of the box – and move swiftly – to recover a sustainable future. Once considered the stuff of science fiction, artificial intelligence (AI) is not only playing a growing role in our everyday lives, but it could be a critical tool in helping save the planet. In fact, reversing what could soon be permanent damage is the impetus for Microsoft's AI for Earth program, which awards grants to researchers and innovators dedicated to solving environmental challenges.

Researchers at UC Davis and UC San Francisco have found a way to teach a computer to precisely detect one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in human brain tissue, delivering a proof of concept for a machine-learning approach capable of automating a key component of Alzheimer's research. Amyloid plaques are clumps of protein fragments in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease that destroy nerve cell connections. Much like the way Facebook recognizes faces based on captured images, the machine learning tool developed by a team of University of California scientists can "see" if a sample of brain tissue has one type of amyloid plaque or another -- and do it very quickly. The findings, published May 15, 2019 in Nature Communications, suggest that machine learning can augment the expertise and analysis of an expert neuropathologist. The tool allows them to analyze thousands of times more data and ask new questions that would not be possible with the limited data processing capabilities of even the most highly trained human experts. "We still need the pathologist," said Brittany N. Dugger, PhD, an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UC Davis and lead author of the study.

It's not yet clear how this collaboration will go down, especially since the military's previous efforts to collaborate with industry have proved problematic. Most notably, a project involving Google's Cloud AI team, established through a program known as Maven, sparked a backlash among employees. This involved using the Cloud platform to identify objects in aerial images, and some worried that it could eventually lead to using AI to target weapons. As a result, Google chose not to renew its contract with the Air Force and issued a new AI code of ethics, which precludes working on technology that could be weaponized.

This is not a blog about Old MacDonald or his farm. Instead it is about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the mortgage industry. And we will NOT allow any sarcastic, caustic or offhand remarks about the mortgage industry needing some kind of intelligence. First of all, exactly what is artificial intelligence, at least how it is described of late? One thing it is not is fake intelligence (not related to fake news … and you might like this site that helps YOU create your own fake news … but I digress, and so soon ... sorry).

Sure, Siri can open Netflix for you and search for a George Clooney movie, but only if you spring $179 to $199 for the Apple TV accessory streamer. Now, Apple's personal assistant can turn on the TV, change the channel and find a specific TV show, on certain newer TVs from Vizio, Samsung, Sony and LG. It's part of a radical rethink on Apple's part to bring Apple outside of the ecosystem, and onto mainstream television sets. Samsung pushed out Apple's AirPlay features on new smart TVs that began shipping May 13. AirPlay lets you mirror what's on your device.

In this Oct. 31, 2018, file photo, a man, who declined to be identified, has his face painted to represent efforts to defeat facial recognition during a protest at Amazon headquarters over the company's facial recognition system, "Rekognition," in Seattle. San Francisco is on track to become the first U.S. city to ban the use of facial recognition by police and other city agencies. These days, with facial recognition technology, you've got a face that can launch a thousand applications, so to speak. Sure, you may love the ease of opening your phone just by facing it instead of tapping in a code. But how do you feel about having your mug scanned, identifying you as you drive across a bridge, when you board an airplane or to confirm you're not a stalker on your way into a Taylor Swift concert?

The US government is warning businesses about the risks of using Chinese-made aerial drones on claims they may pose a spying threat. On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security issued an industry alert over the alleged spying dangers, according to CNN. The alert doesn't name a specific company, but one of the biggest drone manufacturers in the world is DJI, which is based in Shenzhen, China. The department is worried the drone technologies can collect information and secretly send it back to their manufacturers in China. If this occurs, the Chinese government has the power to compel the manufacturer to hand over all the acquired data.

The first legal battle in the UK over police use of face recognition technology will begin today. Ed Bridges has crowdfunded action against South Wales Police over claims that the use of the technology on him was an unlawful violation of privacy. He will also argue it breaches data protection and equality laws during a three-day hearing at Cardiff Civil Justice and Family Centre. Face recognition technology maps faces in a crowd then compares results with a "watch list" of images which can include suspects, missing people and persons of interest. Police who have trialled the technology hope it can help tackle crime but campaigners argue it breaches privacy and civil liberty.