"Human Compatible" is a provocative prescription to re-think AI before it's too late Ned Desmond: Why did you write Human Compatible? Dr. Russell: I've been thinking about this problem – what if we succeed with AI? – on and off since the early 90s. The more I thought about it, the more I saw that the path we were on doesn't end well. So we'll just make more of it, and everything will be fine. When you start crossing over to systems that are more intelligent, operating on a global scale, and having real-world impact, like trading algorithms, for example, or social media content selection, then all of a sudden, you are having a big impact on real-world, and it's hard to control.

This transcript has been edited for clarity. I'm Eric Topol, editor-in-chief of Medscape, and I'm excited to be joined by Abraham Verghese from Stanford University for our first "Medicine and the Machine" podcast. We're envisioning a monthly podcast where we discuss the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) with the practice of medicine. This is obviously an important topic. It's timely, and we're thrilled to have the chance to have these conversations. Along the way, we will be bringing in other people and perspectives. Abraham Verghese, MD: Thank you so much, Eric. It's great to be a part of this.

CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) is an annual event where innovative technologies, products and services are all exhibited together in one place to illustrate what a future society may be like. This year's CEATEC, for which The Japan Times is a prime media partner, will be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture from Oct. 15 to 18. It requires preregistration from all visitors on the CEATEC website, www.ceatec.com. People can also register online at the venue reception area during the event. The event, sponsored by the CEATEC Executive Board, comprised of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, the Communications and Information Network Association of Japan and the Computer Software Association of Japan, consists of two major parts -- an exhibition and a conference.

This podcast interview focuses on what's real and not real in the world of AI, and my guest is Daniel Faggella, founder and CEO of Emerj AI Research Called upon by organizations like the World Bank, the United Nations, INTERPOL, and global pharmaceutical and banking companies, Emerj CEO Daniel Faggella helps business and government leaders navigate the competitive landscape of AI capabilities, and build strategies that win. His company, Emerj, helps governments and enterprises reduce risk and maximize the bottom-line impact of artificial intelligence capabilities. They map the capability-space of AI across major sectors (banking, pharma, retail, etcetera), helping leaders see what's possible, what's working i.e., where's real ROI and traction, and what to do about it. Being an active reader of his weekly update on the world of AI and got inspired by Daniels down to earth and challenger view on the topic. This is why I invited him to my podcast.

Jiawei Han, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was recently named a Michael Aiken Chair, one of the University's highest awards. The endowed chair is the latest honor in Han's distinguished and pioneering career, with notable accomplishments including creating core data mining algorithms and co-authoring the textbook that is considered by many to have defined the field. Professor Han is also a busy and successful teacher with a love for "train[ing] the younger generation, whether at UIUC or all over the world on Coursera." Professor Han had three PhD students graduate in May, with one becoming a professor at Georgia Tech, one joining Google, and one joining Facebook. Students taking his classes as part of the Online Master of Computer Science in Data Science degree have an opportunity to learn from him through videos and can ask him questions directly during live office hours.

Gary Marcus is a professor emeritus at NYU, founder of Robust.AI and Geometric Intelligence, the latter is a machine learning company acquired by Uber in 2016. He is the author of several books on natural and artificial intelligence, including his new book Rebooting AI: Building Machines We Can Trust. Gary has been a critical voice highlighting the limits of deep learning and discussing the challenges before the AI community that must be solved in order to achieve artificial general intelligence. This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast.

"To keep the intellectual property with the developer is of great importance for Agorize," say Lisa Leibold and Aurélie Wen from Agorize in Canada, as we speak about open innovation and hackathons as a service against the background of one of their latest projects, the "Discover AI challenge: Sustainable Life" for Microsoft Canada. How do you describe open innovation processes from your point of view: How did they evolve and what are they about? Open innovation includes the public into innovation processes, it utilizes resources of an ecosystem as well as from the public to develop new ideas and innovate. In comparison, the traditional innovation approach is that of a closed innovation, where companies want to protect their knowledge and innovation is seen as the business of conventional experts. This process started to open up more and more.

Embedding AI in learning technology facilitates internal processes, helps employees advance their careers, and serves a core business need. To say the IT software and services industry is fast-moving is an understatement.

Dr. Lance B. Eliot is a world-renowned expert on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and especially Autonomous Vehicles (AV). As a seasoned executive and high-tech entrepreneur, he combines practical industry experience with deep academic research to provide innovative insights about the present and future of AI and ML technologies and applications. Formerly a professor at USC and UCLA, and head of a pioneering AI lab, he frequently speaks at major AI industry events. Author of over 30 books, 300 articles, and 200 podcasts, he has made appearances on media outlets such as CNN and co-hosted the popular radio show Technotrends. His particular specialty in AI is Autonomous Vehicles and advances in self-driving driverless cars.

This year, self-driving cars started getting pretty good. Deep fakes video started getting pretty convincing. Our virtual assistants got to the point where they could understand us well enough to do some simple things, like tell us the weather or get driving directions home. When it comes to artificial intelligence, we have reached an inflection point. The technology is good enough to use. Next year promises to be a breakout year for AI, as it starts to permeate all aspects of our lives. Here are predictions for 2020 from some of the world's top AI experts. Jen Snell is VP of product marketing at Verint, where she leads a product strategy team focused on intelligent self-service, conversational AI, automation, and analytics. She is a frequent speaker and a leading contributor on topics shaping the development and design of interactive technologies. Follow her on Twitter @JenniferLSnell and on LinkedIn.