Shift Technology, a provider of AI-native solutions for the global insurance industry today announced the company has entered into a long-term agreement with P&V Group, a leading Belgian insurer. As a result, P&V will adopt Shift Technology's FORCE to automate the carrier's fraud detection capabilities. Following an extensive evaluation of available solutions, P&V chose FORCE as the foundation for its automated fraud detection initiatives. According to Pierre Creuven, claims director, P&V Group, "The selection of FORCE was based on a variety of important criteria. We wanted a solution that was AI-driven and backed by extensive data science and insurance industry expertise. At the same time, we needed to work with a company with which we could truly partner and collaborate on implementing the best fraud detection models. In the end, Shift was the natural choice."

After an intense courtship that began in the summer of 2018, Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG announced Tuesday that the car companies are moving ahead together on delivering medium pickup trucks for global customers starting in 2022, with plans to follow up with commercial vans in Europe. The agreement is expected to provide scale and efficiency savings for both companies starting in 2023. In addition, Ford and Volkswagen said they are committed to exploring potential collaboration on electric vehicles, driverless vehicles and mobility services. Ford Motor Co. President and CEO, Jim Hackett, left, meets with Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. "Over time, this alliance will help both companies create value and meet the needs of our customers and society," said CEO Jim Hackett in a news release.

"When we started the year, we had just begun to really ramp up our efforts to create an application around our core deep learning technology," said Tom Wilde, CEO of Indico. "Our goal was to create a practical, solution-oriented user experience to enable enterprises and lines of business to take advantage of the power of AI to deliver real outcomes and ROI -- without the need for difficult-to-find AI talent or expensive and complex deployments. A year later, we're seeing the full fruits of our team's efforts -- strong footing in the explosive Process Automation vertical, with deployments at a number of Fortune 1000 companies -- with huge potential to build on in 2019 and beyond.

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Jan. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP), a leading provider of cyber security solutions globally, today announces it has acquired ForceNock Security Ltd. of Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 2017, ForceNock, developed a Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) technology which utilizes machine learning, behavioral and reputation-based security engines. Check Point plans to integrate ForceNock's technology into its Infinity total protection architecture. "Check Point is committed to providing the most comprehensive security architecture to prevent current and future generations of cyber attacks. The growing usage of platforms - Cloud, Network, Mobile, Endpoint and IoT - requires complete, simple to deploy and easy to use security technologies", said Dr. Dorit Dor, Check Point's VP Products. "Incorporating ForceNock's technology into our Infinity Architecture will enable us to continue to provide the highest level of security for our customers worldwide and strengthens our machine learning protection capabilities."

In addition to asking whether respondents supported AI development, the survey also included questions designed to gauge their trust in various AI developers. The U.S. military and university researchers emerged as the most trusted and Facebook as the least. But according to a press release statement by Center director Allan Dafoe, there "is no organisation that is highly trusted to develop AI in the public interest." With less than half of Americans in favor of AI development and no single organization emerging as a trusted leader in the field, the AI community could have a tough time drumming up the support it needs to realize AI's potential "It's in the public interest to build AI well, but everyone has to be convinced," Dafoe told Axios. "Consensus isn't there, and there's a real risk that there could be a political backlash against the development and deployment of AI."

Compared to a few years ago, the artificial intelligence (AI) market is starting to solidify around real-world applications with the pace of change being faster than it has ever been before, as startups and technology providers rush to create platforms and targeted niche solutions for solving specific enterprise problems. According to a new report from Tractica, the industry is churning and evolving quickly as merger and acquisition (M&A) activities abound, and it is homing in on areas of focus. Tractica's research has identified more than 1,000 companies that are driving innovation in the AI market, some of whom are well-known technology heavyweights but many of which are emerging solution providers that are focused on tailored AI applications to serve tactical business needs in specific industries. "The AI ecosystem is a tangled web of traditional technology providers that have adapted to shifting trends and new market entrants focused on using AI for solving problems in niche areas, in addition to well-established internet-era hyperscaler companies that are spearheading the push toward AI-first organizations," says research analyst Sherril Hanson. The key categories of companies in Tractica's mapping of the AI market ecosystem are as follows: Tractica's report, "Artificial Intelligence Market Ecosystem", provides an in-depth examination of the market ecosystem for AI.

Nvidia has announced at CES 2019 in Las Vegas that it will be building out artificial intelligence (AI) architecture for Mercedes-Benz cars. "We're announcing a new partnership going forward, creating a computer that defines the future of autonomous vehicles, the future of AI, and the future of mobility," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Tuesday. Mercedes and Nvidia are aiming to develop a single system with self-driving capabilities and "smart cockpit" functions, rather than the current system involving multiple small processors known as electronic control units (ECUs), where each ECU controls separate parts of the car such as the windows, door locks, power steering, and braking. Nvidia Drive will form the centre of the all-vehicle architecture, the companies said, "adding high-performance, energy efficient compute to handle AI software for advanced mobility technologies". "Centralizing and unifying compute in the car will make it easier to integrate and update advanced software features as they become available, whether for self-driving or AI-powered user experiences," Nvidia added.

With many calling for federal regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), AAF's Director of Technology and Innovation Policy Will Rinehart explains in a new Primer how policymakers should think about AI and the government's approach to it. He also lays out a policy agenda for Congress and the executive branch.

That's most of what I remember from Sony's press event at CES last night. TVs, headphones with Alexa and a wireless turntable, its 45-minute media briefing rarely touched on any new products. When Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida stepped on stage, he laid out that he planned to "shift our gears" and showcase the company's involvement in more creative endeavors. That meant fewer product flourishes and plenty of moments where Sony simply sang its own praises. At a show famed for hardware announcements, the company sidelined its own news.

This year at CES Samsung celebrated 50 years in the electronics business, and seemed intent on blowing things out with a combination of smart home products, AI and 5G. Besides taking a victory lap over its advances in next-gen wireless, the company showed off how AI and machine learning could touch nearly all of the many products it makes. Everything from washing machines to its Smart Hub refrigerator, or a connected car has had a touch of Bixby AI applied, and it plans to do more with the technology going forward. Samsung also highlighted its deal with Apple snagging an iTunes Movies and TV app for its TVs, along with AirPlay 2 support. The company said sales of TVs over 75-inches are exploding, and that's part of the reason why it introduced a massive 98-inch 8K set with HDMI 2.1 onboard, plus new expansions of its Wall TV that can reach sizes of 219-inches.