There are two unmistakable sides to the debate concerning the future of artificial intelligence. In the "boom" corner are companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft aggressively investing in technology to make AI systems smarter and smarter. And in the "doom" corner are prominent thinkers like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking who've said that AI is like "summoning the demon." Now, one of the the most advanced AI outfits, Google's DeepMind, is taking safety measures in case human operators need to "take control of a robot that is misbehaving [that] may lead to irreversible consequences," which I assume includes but is not limited to killing all humans. However, this paper doesn't get nearly so apocalyptic and keeps examples simple, like intelligent robots working in a factory.

For Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and the like, Computex in Taipei this week is the Oscars of the information technology world. There is the flurry of product hype, from virtual reality (VR) headsets to the internet of things (IoT) to artificial intelligence (AI) devices. One big topic that everyone has in mind is: machine learning. The idea of a thinking machine goes back at least as far as 1950, when British computer scientist Alan Turing famously wrote that if a machine was indistinguishable from a human during text-based conversations, then it was "thinking." Naturally, big tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and IBM, have all set up corporate labs to advance machine learning.

DemandJump, a Indianapolis, IN-based Artificial Intelligence Marketing (AIM) platform, raised 1.8m in seed funding. Investors include 4G Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, and Bob Davoli (Managing Director at Sigma Prime). The company intends to use the funds to expand its sales and development teams and to increase client success teams. Established in 2015 by Christopher Day, CEO, and Shawn Schwegman, CSO, DemandJump has just launched its new platform for marketers and brands to calibrate disparate online and offline data, using proprietary artificial intelligence techniques coupled with graph theory and algebraic topology, to identify the best allocation for any budget and resource.

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When we were planning our approach this year to covering Computex, the largest IT trade show in Asia, there was some confusion about where exactly Intel had gone. At that point there was a sense that maybe this year would be a little flat. The Taipei show has always been a big song and dance around the latest CPUs (central processing units) from Intel and the changes they'll bring to computing in the years ahead. As it turned out, Computex was fascinating. On day zero, Nvidia and Asus put on a great show that quickly reminded us that the future is moving beyond the CPU, the chip that traditionally has been the brains of the computer.

No one wants to walk with a walker, but age has a way of making people compromise on their quality of life. The team behind Superflex, which spun out of SRI International in May, thinks there could be another way. The company is building wearable robotic suits, plus other types of clothing, that can make it easier for soldiers to carry heavy loads or for elderly or disabled people to perform basic tasks. A current prototype is a soft suit that fits over most of the body. It delivers a jolt of supporting power to the legs, arms, or torso exactly when needed to reduce the burden of a load or correct for the body's shortcomings. A walker is a "very cost-effective" solution for people with limited mobility, but "it completely disempowers, removes dignity, removes freedom, and causes a whole host of other psychological problems," SRI Ventures president Manish Kothari says.

Google's cuddly-looking robotic cars have taken a big step on the way to developing a harder edge: they've learned to honk. In the Google Self-Driving Car Project's latest monthly report (PDF), the company says it has been testing horn algorithms in its prototype cars for some time, playing the horn sound inside the cars as a way to make sure they're not beeping in a way that would confuse other drivers. As the algorithm has improved, the cars have recently begun "broadcasting our car horn to the world." Google says its cars are meant to be "polite, considerate, and only honk when it makes driving safer for everyone." That would represent a significant departure from how most humans use their horns.

Already, the electronic brains of the most advanced robotic models surpass human intelligence and are able to do things that will make some of us shudder uncomfortably. But what is your reaction going to be after learning about recent advances in robotics and artificial intelligence? Scientists at the University of Texas (Austin) have simulated mental illness for a computer, testing schizophrenia on artificial intelligence units. The test subject is DISCERN – a supercomputer that functions as a biological neural network and operates using the principles of how human brain functions. In their attempt to recreate the mechanism behind schizophrenia, the scientists have applied the concepts described in the theory of hyper-learning, which states that schizophrenic brain processes and stores too much information too thoroughly by memorizing everything, even the unnecessary details.

If you want to get under Diane Bryant's skin these days, just ask her about GPUs. The head of Intel's data center group was at Computex in Taipei this week, in part to explain how the company's latest Xeon Phi processor is a good fit for machine learning. Machine learning is the process by which companies like Google and Facebook train software to get better at performing AI tasks including computer vision and understanding natural language. It's key to improving all kinds of online services: Google said recently that it's rethinking everything it does around machine learning. "It's a big opportunity, and there will be a hockey stick where every business will be using machine learning," she said in an interview.

Elon Musk has spoken out against artificial intelligence (AI), declaring it the most serious threat to the survival of the human race. Musk made the comments to students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during an interview at the AeroAstro Centennial Symposium, talking about computer science, AI, space exploration and the colonisation of Mars. "I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably that. So we need to be very careful," said Musk. "I'm increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don't do something very foolish."