An African adage that says "if you don't know where you are coming from, you will not know where you are going to" got me studying the history of technology, so I can interpret the technology crystal ball. The advancements in technology is very rapid and it is important to peek into the future, because it belongs to those that shape it today. Throughout my quest to understand how technologies we use today have metamorphosed into what they are, the prophecies about'Singularity' keeps resounding in my head because of its imminence in our society. Singularity literally means the quality or condition of being singular. However, the term can be defined from different perspectives; mathematicians define it as a point at which a function takes an infinite value, while physicists describe it as a time when matter is intensely dense.

The traditional definition of artificial intelligence is the ability of machines to execute tasks and solve problems in ways normally attributed to humans. Some tasks that we consider simple--recognizing an object in a photo, driving a car--are incredibly complex for AI. Machines can surpass us when it comes to things like playing chess, but those machines are limited by the manual nature of their programming; a 30 gadget can beat us at a board game, but it can't do--or learn to do--anything else. This is where machine learning comes in. Show millions of cat photos to a machine, and it will hone its algorithms to improve at recognizing pictures of cats.

In the future, will artificial intelligence be so sophisticated that it will be able to tell when someone is trying to deceive it? A Carnegie Mellon University professor and his team is working on technology that could move this idea from the realm of science fiction to reality. Their work -- rooted in game theory and machine learning -- is part of a larger push for more advanced AI. As AI becomes more commonplace in the technology we use every day, detractors and supporters are becoming more vocal about its potential risks and benefits. For some, smarter AI sets up a dangerous precedent for a future too reliant on machines to make decisions about everything from medical diagnoses to the operation of self-driving cars.

Instead of talking to customer service representatives who adhere to scripts in a robotic manner, soon we might be talking and chatting with customer service employees that are actual robots. While industry experts say that technology isn't quite there yet, the companies that run outsourced call centers, including offshore ones are already worried about having their jobs outsourced altogether to machines. Sure, robots assemble our cars and move Amazon fulfillment center shelves around . Some robots have even taken jobs in hotels. Yet it's jobs that require thinking and speaking that robots will go after next.

Most people have occasionally experienced an awkward hug/handshake combination where one person goes in for a hug while the other extends a hand to shake. Still, more often, humans are able to anticipate how to meet another person's greeting, thanks to years of experience with human interaction. But can a machine develop the same kind of intuition? Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) in Cambridge set out to train a computer to be able to predict how people will greet each other. And their algorithm can do just that.

Swarm intelligence has made some impressive predictions on horse racing this season, by correctly placing the top four Kentucky Derby finishers last month. This might affect bookies but what about horses? If an "artificial" intelligence can benefit betting, can it help keep a horse healthy and performing well? A French startup called Arionea thinks so. The company is betting big that artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) will revolutionize the racetrack -- with the help of a new device dubbed the Equimetre.

This week, the Federal Aviation Administration announced new rules regarding drone operation. Here are 5 things you need to know. A man flies a small drone presented by Japan's toy company Nikko Kyosho EGG at the International Tokyo Toy Show on June 9, 2016. WASHINGTON – New drone rules from the Federal Aviation Administration limit most small commercial drone operations to daylight hours and require operators to get certified every two years. The rules, made public Tuesday, mark the FAA's first attempt at a comprehensive plan to ensure the popular remote-controlled aircraft can safely share the skies with commercial craft.

In the not-too-distant future, Amazon could use a drone to deliver a package from a country warehouse all the way to … a nearby farm. And that, the government said on Tuesday, is about it. The Obama administration green-lit commercial drone flights but said it wasn't ready to let Google and Amazon launch automated drone delivery fleets out across urban areas. The regulations mark the government's first explicit efforts to define the commercial uses for the horde of small, plastic, buzzing aircraft that are invading America's skies. The Federal Aviation Administration said commercial drones are OK so long as the drone and its payload weigh less than 55lb, stay within unaided sight of the pilot and operators pass a test every two years.

Federal regulators just opened the skies to commercial drones, with guidelines that include more than a few caveats designed to encourage entrepreneurs while protecting everyone else. The FAA, which announced the rules today, hopes to facilitate innovative uses for the technology like bringing the Internet to remote areas while avoiding the idiocy of drones interfering with firefighting operations or delivering contraband to prisons. "We are taking a careful and deliberate approach that balances the need to deploy this new technology with the FAA's mission to protect public safety," says FAA chief Michael Huerta. The rules let anyone 16 or older who wants to make a business of flying a drone simply do so. In the past, pilots who hoped to make a buck with drones by, say, inspecting power lines, needed FAA permission, a process that could take months.

Artificial intelligence has gained serious traction within the technology community as a solution for complex problems, though in January 2015, Bill Gates observed robotics and artificial intelligence are entering a period of rapid advances. For example, Google, Apple, and Microsoft are competing to transform vehicle transport with self-driving vehicles. In manufacturing, autonomous production enables companies to adapt products to diverse consumer markets and many more. Unmanned drones provide sustained surveillance and swift attacks on targets, and small robots are used to disarm improvised explosive devices. The military is currently funding research to produce more autonomous and self-aware robots to diminish the need for human soldiers to risk their lives.