In a nutshell, Sannikov's theories describe how an employer would adjust a contractor's compensation in real time, in response to changing performance and external conditions. Where most previous researchers only allowed contracts to be updated at regular intervals, Sannikov described what happens when they can be changed infinitely fast. In reality, of course, Sannikov's work is just pure math conducted in an econ department. No one adjusts contracts by the microsecond.

This origami robot is designed to be swallowed in an ice capsule (left) before unfolding inside the stomach. Scientists have created a tiny, ingestible robot made from pig intestine that might be able to retrieve swallowed objects without surgery. The robot is built from a magnet attached to folds of dried meat typically used in sausage casings. It needs no tether or power source, instead being guided by magnets outside the body. Though swallowed in an ice capsule, the robot unfolds inside the stomach as its casing melts.

Regardless of the analysis of smartphone market share, Office and cloud revenues, quarterly profits, gaming consoles sales, Surface hardware, or search engine relevance, Microsoft remains a large company employing diversified and talented individuals. Often, the individuals under Microsoft's employ do double duty as the brilliant minds creating projects and industries for the company while also pioneering advancements, groundbreaking achievements, and technologies in fields outside of their immediate obligations. Recently, Yuval Peres and Robert Schapire joined the long list of Microsoft employees and researchers who have been recognized by their peers for their achievements in their respective fields. Peres and Schapire's are receiving perhaps the highest honor in science and research by being elected to the Nation Academy of Sciences. Peres and Schapire's recognition will see them become part of new 84 members and 21 foreign associate groups that will be joining the National Academy this year.

As you read this, some 100 billion neurons are transmitting information through electrical and chemical signals via synapses in your brain. Given the central role these cells play in neurological functioning, it's perhaps not surprising they typically hog the limelight -- after all, the signals they transmit lie at the heart of human behavior, from the simplest of movements to the most complex of thoughts. It's worth noting, however, that complimentary cells called astrocytes actually outnumber neurons in the brain. Unfortunately, these star-shaped cells have largely been ignored in neurological research because they don't fire electrical impulses in the same way that neurons do. Yukiko Goda of the Riken Brain Science Institute in Saitama is helping to correct this. Goda, who was born in Osaka, went to high school in Toronto after her father was transferred to Canada for work.

In the fourth issue of this monthly digest series you can find out how Qualcomm is bringing deep learning and AI to smart devices, why Daimler sent self-driving trucks all across Europe, how to imitate Rembrandt's best work with the help of deep learning, and much more. From the Smithsonian comes news--and a must-see fascinating video--about a painting created using data from more than 168,000 fragments of Rembrandt's work, trained to paint in Rembrandt's signature style. Over the course of 18 months, a group of engineers, Rembrandt experts and data scientists analyzed 346 of Rembrandt's works, then trained a deep learning engine to "paint" in the master's signature style. In order to stay true to Rembrandt's art, the team decided to flex the engine's muscles on a portrait. They analyzed the demographics of the people Rembrandt painted over his lifetime and determined that it should paint a Caucasian male between 30 and 40 years of age, complete with black clothes, a white collar and hat, and facial hair.

Today our focus has been on KPIs, ERP, WMS, TMS, YMS, EDI, The Cloud, S and OP, 3 D Printing, IoT, IoE, Drones: Same Hour/Day/Time Delivery to Customers, Cyber Security, Theft, Government Regulations, E-Commerce, Omni-Channel, Modeling/Simulation, Risk Management, Tracking, Traceability, Re-shoring, Robotics, et al, but…what about Artificial Intelligence or AI technologies? AI is a controversy of deep, lasting dimensions. Will machines learn to think like humans…and then outthink us? The application of AI technologies has created the ability to understand, store and use product information in an entirely new way. AI technologies allow you to understand the underlying grammatical structure, the product DNA, used to build each product, together with all natural variations that potentially exist.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology students this week are recreating pivotal moments leading up to the Revolutionary War. Earlier this semester, 153 students, mostly sophomores, were tasked with building robots as part of their undergraduate mechanical engineering class. On Wednesday, 137 of those students will compete in the semifinals, on a course inspired by the American Revolution, to secure one of 16 open slots in the finals Thursday. They'll join 16 other students who have already qualified for the finals. The events, held at MIT's Johnson Ice Rink, will take the robots through obstacles that include a replica dock, boat, and church steeple.

When the tech giant Microsoft unveiled its AI or artificial intelligence-powered bot on Twitter for a playful chat with the people in March, little did the tech giant realise that the twitterati would begin slamming the innocent bot with racist and offensive comments. Launched as an experiment in "conversational understanding" and to engage people through "casual and playful conversation", Tay was soon taken off Twitter by Microsoft engineers. This was a soft experiment. But what if you can interact with a "chatbot" and send the AI-powered machine your financial requirements like you would text to your banker or chartered accountant in the near future? Facebook wants this to happen and at its F8 global developer conference in April, the social networking giant unveiled AI bots right into its popular messaging app Messenger -- to allow 900 million monthly active users on Messenger to interact with businesses and get updates from them.

Lenovo, reigner in producing personal computer, is now putting its hands on investing 500 million dollar in hardware technology startups after its announcement of new fund. Lenovo has a record of making skilful investment with its first investment of 100 million invested in 30 companies which focused on security, games and smart home devices. Naming the few from the list: Israeli facial recognition startup Face which is listed as Chinese firm iDreamsky; biometric whiz Nok Nok Labs from US and SmartX, biometric facial and fingerprint recognizing attendance system from India. Following the Chinese government propaganda of Made in China 2025 initiative, which is putting prime significance to robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Lenovo will be utilizing this fund to support companies which potentiate its businesses and, in particular, those in the big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, robots and other Internet services. Lenovo is not the first to endeavour in this field in china.

This "robotic mermaid" could be more than just a clever way to retrieve sunken treasure (and disappoint amorous sailors). It hints at how humans and robots may someday work together in all sorts of difficult environments. The submersible humanoid robot, called OceanOne, was developed at Stanford University. It recently retrieved priceless artifacts from King Louis XIV's La Lune, a 350-year-old galleon wrecked off Toulon in southern France in 1664. OceanOne has two arms, a head, and a tail-like appendage fitted with motorized propellers.