A year ago today, I published my original attempt at mapping the machine intelligence ecosystem. So much has happened since. I spent the last 12 months geeking out on every company and nibble of information I can find, chatting with hundreds of academics, entrepreneurs, and investors about machine intelligence. This year, given the explosion of activity, my focus is on highlighting areas of innovation, rather than on trying to be comprehensive. Despite the noisy hype, which sometimes distracts, machine intelligence is already being used in several valuable ways.

The government is using artificial intelligence in tasks ranging from planning space missions to forecasting job growth. Given the potential effects of these technologies on culture and economy, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith says the government's larger challenge is to bring "humanity's greatest talent" to bear on the development and direction of AI. To hear more, watch her talk at the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit partner event, "The Future of Artificial Intelligence."

The author reflects on new research reports on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workplace. His prediction: AI will make internal politics nastier within management ranks. Artificial intelligence is a hot topic these days. Not surprisingly, news outlets north of the 49th parallel jumped on the release of a new research report cleverly titled "The Talented Mr. Robot: The Impact of Automation on Canada's Workforce." The study was conducted by the Brookfield Institute for Innovation Entrepreneurship, a newly created independent and nonpartisan institute, housed within the Ryerson University of Toronto, dedicated to advancing Canada's innovation and entrepreneurship.

THE last time I saw Hubo, it was zipping around an assault course on wheeled knees and hacking through walls with a saw. Today, its 80 kilograms hang lifeless from a bright yellow gantry, arms limp by its sides. It's been a year since Hubo won the DARPA Robotics Challenge – the hardest robotics competition ever staged – and I've come to the Korean Institute for the Advancement of Science and Technology to catch up with Hubo and its creator Jun-Ho Oh. Oh has been busy, getting his life-size humanoid robot ready for an even tougher challenge: making the leap from assault course to your home. An unassuming single-storey construction, Building N9, houses one of the most advanced robotics labs in the world.

Internet access many be taken for granted by many, but some 4 billion people around the world are still missing out with an estimated 1.6 billion of those living in remote areas with no mobile network coverage. Facebook plans to tackle the problem with a range of technologies including its high-altitude solar plane Aquila, which has just completed its first successful test flight. The flight, which has just been confirmed by Facebook, took place on 28 June at Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) in Yuma, Arizona. Internet access many be taken for granted by many, but some 4 billion people around the world are still missing. The solar-powered aircraft is designed to beam internet access to hundreds of millions of people in hard-to-reach areas around the globe.

Analytics, statistics, operations research, data science and machine learning - with which term do you prefer associate? Are you from the House of Capulet or Montague, or do you even care? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo was from the house of Montague, Juliet, the house of Capulet, and this distinction that meant that their families were sworn enemies. The play is a tragedy, because by the end the two lovers end up dead as a result of this long-running feud. Statistics, data science and machine learning are but a few of the "houses" that feud today over names, and while to my knowledge no deaths have resulted from this debate the competing camps have nearly come to blows. How has the emerging field of Analytics impacted the Operations Research Profession? Is Analytics part of OR or the other way around? Is it good, bad, relevant, a nuisance or an opportunity for the OR profession? Is OR just Prescriptive or is it something more? In this panel discussion, we will explore these topics in a session with some of the leading thinkers in both OR and Analytics. Be sure to attend to have your questions answered on these highly complementary and valuable fields."

Detailing their plans during a special event in Tokyo, Softbank and Honda discussed their ideas, expressing a desire for a future where Honda's cars could speak and interact with drives utilizing SoftBank's Pepper robot. The adorable bot is life-sized and would ideally be utilized when it comes to assessing drivers' speech and other data compiled via multiple sensors and cameras. Vehicles would be given the autonomy to offer advice to drivers as well as company after assessing situations. If that sounds bizarre, think of it as having your own personal KITT in your car. With SoftBank's push into robotics and AI, it wouldn't be too far off to see additional sensors and other equipment to be entered into the "internet of things" as far as automobiles go.

Is Honda's walking robot Asimo marrying Pepper, the chattering robot from SoftBank? Automaker Honda Motor Co. and internet company SoftBank said they will work together on artificial intelligence to develop products with sensors and cameras that can converse with drivers. Asimo, first shown in 1996, walks, runs, dances and grips things. Asimo (left), first shown in 1996, walks, runs, dances and grips things. Pepper (right), which went on sale last year, doesn't have legs but is programmed to recognize mood swings in people it interacts with.

The human eye is considered to be a wonder of evolution, yet despite decades of study, scientists have been unable to pinpoint just how good people are at seeing in the dark. But now a new study has revealed that our eyes may be far better than we could possibly have imagined in dark conditions. It found that the human eye is capable of detecting as little as a single photon - the subatomic particles that make up light - hitting the retina in a dark room. The study found that the human eye (pictured) is able to detect single photons - tiny particles of light - suggesting that people's night vision may be much more advanced than previously thought More than 30,000 trials were carried out by three men in their 20s, with one wearing contact lenses. For each test, the men sat in a completely dark room while wearing headphones with their heads kept motionless using a headrest.

Microsoft has a brand-new conference, exclusively for data scientists, big data engineers, and machine learning practitioners. The Microsoft Data Science Summit, to be held in Atlanta GA, September 26-27, will feature talks and lab sessions from Microsoft engineers and thought leaders on using data science techniques and Microsoft technology, applied to real-world problems. Other topics of interest include building with bot frameworks, deep learning, Internet of Things applications, and in-depth Data Science topics. To register for the conference, follow the link below. Discounted day passes to Microsoft Ignite on September 28-29 are also available to Microsoft Data Summit registrants.