Apprehending criminals on the run proves to be a tricky task, especially in a big city. With several exit strategies readily available, criminals can escape on foot or via public transport (such as via bus or subway), or by driving a car. On top of this, there are shops, alleyways, and intersections galore. Of course, there are also a ton of other people. All of this creates a high risk of failure for police.

The boom in AI promises to enrich our lives. AI assistants keep our schedules in order; robot "crew" members help us on cruises; and "swarm AI" even offers the chance for us to win big in the gambling world. But there's a dark side of the coin as well: AI that can cause great harm. While much thought has been devoted to the dangers of AI, and centers like the Future of Life Institute in Cambridge, Ma., and the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University are focusing resources on how to support the creation of'safe' AI, few have attempted to intentionally create malevolent AI. Go with TechRepublic's Steve Ranger on an inside look at the gold-plated gadget market that's received a big boost from Apple.

In a rare move, Apple has invested 1 billion in popular Chinese ride sharing service Didi Chuxing. The investment gives Apple an opportunity to learn more about its second-largest market, CEO Tim Cook said. "We are making the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market," Cook said in an interview with Reuters. "Of course, we believe it will deliver a strong return for our invested capital over time as well." The move also comes after billionaire investor Carl Icahn sold his position in Apple, largely due to the company's lagging performance in the region.

Apple made the surprise announcement Friday it is making a 1 billion investment in Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing, which is Uber's main competitor in China. It is unlikely Apple is interested in concerning itself with the ins and outs of the Chinese ride-hailing app market, but it has lots to gain from its big investment. It already commands almost 90 percent of the market in China, where Uber is losing 1 billion per year to simply retain its slice of the market. While Apple's 1 billion is Didi's single largest investment, the company's current funding round is oversubscribed, and it has the backing of the deep pockets of Alibaba and Tencent. That said, Didi was never going to turn down an investment from Apple, which brings with it so much more than a mere cash injection.

Dung beetles record a mental image of the positions of the Sun, the Moon and the stars and use the snapshot to navigate, according to researchers. Scientists in Sweden found that the beetles capture the picture of the sky while dancing on a ball of manure. As they roll away with their malodorous prize, the beetles compare the stored image with their current location. The beetles' navigational skills could aid the development of driverless vehicles, the researchers suggest. Previous studies have shown that dung beetles have an amazing ability to navigate by the light of the Milky Way.

When an unidentified object hit a British Airways A320 on the nose on its approach to Heathrow last month, the encounter was widely believed the fault of some dope who had flown his drone into busy airspace, endangering the lives of the 137 people aboard the jet. "It was bound to happen," the British Airline Pilots Association said. This time, the errant "drone" was actually a plastic bag, but the FAA isn't sitting around, waiting for a next time. This month, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it's expanding its Pathfinder Program, which it created to detect and identify drones flying too close to airports. To make that happen, the agency's conducting joint research with a number of companies to identify the technology that might be used to spot, block, and drop the unwanted unmanned aircraft systems.

At the 2010 Cannes Film Festival premiere of You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, director Woody Allen was asked about aging. He replied with his characteristic, straight-faced pessimism. "I find it a lousy deal. There is no advantage in getting older. You don't get smarter, you don't get wiser ... Your back hurts more, you get more indigestion ... It's a bad business, getting old. I'd advise you not to do it if you can avoid it."

A mobile device displaying the Didi Chuxing app is posed near the Apple store logo in Beijing, China, on Friday. A mobile device displaying the Didi Chuxing app is posed near the Apple store logo in Beijing, China, on Friday. Apple Inc. is investing 1 billion in Didi Chuxing, China's most popular ride-hailing app. It's a striking foray into the Chinese market -- where Apple has recently faced strategic challenges -- and a possible hint as to Apple's continued interest in the world of transportation. The company has widely been rumored to be working on self-driving cars.

Machine Learning is not a new subject but is becoming an increasingly hotter topic. We have three speakers to each bring a different spin on the subject and therefore it should be a night where there will be something for everyone, whether you are Data Scientist, Analyst or Digital Marketer. Harvinder leads a team of analysts to deliver data-driven customer insight, marketing optimisation and predictive analytics for Moneysupermarket from one of the largest customer databases in the UK with records for 23 million unique individuals. Harvinder was previously Insight Director for Tesco Clubcard at Dunnhumby and Senior Manager for Customer Strategy and Insights at Lloyds Banking Group.He is passionately interested in Data Science, Machine Learning, Big Data technologies and how they can be used to improve Customer Experience. Harvinder will be showing some live models used at MoneySuperMarket.

Bookmark this page by right-clicking here and choosing "Add to Favorites" The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is requesting information on research related to the investigation and characterization of fundamental limits of machine learning with supportive theoretical foundations. Although the main focus is on machine learning, extensions and implications for human-machine systems are also of interest. The notion of fundamental limits here means that the conclusion about achievable performance limits should hold independent of specific learning methods or algorithms.