In 2014 the world came into contact with Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the home with the release of Amazon Echo. This type of personal AI had been introduced previously in the mega-hit movie "Iron Man' with the AI system called "Jarvis." The main character Tony Stark uses Jarvis for anything he needs executed: lighting, television, phone calls, dinner orders, simple chores and computer data analysis. Up to a few years ago, people thought this was only possible in movies and fiction. One start-up company in New Jersey attempted to reinterpret and repurpose existing leisure drones with an added benefit of AI.

Rolls Royce has revealed its plans for making autonomous naval vessels which will be capable of surveilling the waters for 100 days at a go with a range of 3,500 miles at maximum speeds of more than 25 knots. "Rolls-Royce is seeing interest from major navies in autonomous, rather than remote controlled, ships. Such ships offer a way to deliver increased operational capability, reduce the risk to crew and cut both operating and build costs…Over the next 10 years or so, Rolls-Royce expects to see the introduction of medium sized unmanned platforms, particularly in leading navies, as the concept of mixed manned and unmanned fleets develops. With our experience and capabilities we expect to lead the field," Benjamin Thorp, Rolls-Royce, General Manager Naval Electrics, Automation and Control, stated in the press release. The self-navigating ship will be capable of navigating entirely without a human crew and will not be affected by human issues such as tedium.

This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Amdocs' growth and business results in future quarters. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be obtained or that any deviations will not be material. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, the effects of general economic conditions, Amdocs' ability to grow in the business markets that it serves, Amdocs' ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, adverse effects of market competition, rapid technological shifts that may render the Company's products and services obsolete, potential loss of a major customer, our ability to develop long-term relationships with our customers, and risks associated with operating businesses in the international market. Amdocs may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future; however, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

ST. LOUIS September 12, 2017 Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX), a leading provider of software and services to communications and media companies, is launching Smartbot, an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning-based bot that enables digital service providers (DSPs) to provide customer care, sales and marketing engagements to even the most discerning millennial. Amdocs Smartbot with Microsoft Cognitive Services, specifically Microsoft Language Understanding Intelligent Service and Text Analytics API, provides leading DSPs with the ability to transform how they deliver highly personalized, self-service interactions with customers that are simple, quick and helpful. As an Amdocs commissioned global study1 that surveyed over 7,000 consumers and enterprises today revealed, bots lack the intelligence and emotional awareness to address complex consumer issues and must evolve from rules-based bots to AI smartbots. Amdocs' new Smartbot addresses this gap as it is integrated with industry domain knowledge of DSP best practices and business processes. Also, with Amdocs Smartbot's deep integration with the service provider's core information systems such as CRM, order management and product catalog, DSPs can now see a 360-degree view of the customer and understand the context of the interaction, enabling them to grow care-to-commerce revenue by making more relevant predictive care and promotional offers to customers.

IBM is officially partnering with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to run an artificial intelligence (AI) research lab. This Watson-branded joint MIT-IBM AI research initiative -- a partnership of acronyms -- will be funded through a 10-year, $240 million investment from IBM and will be co-located at IBM's Research Lab in Cambridge and at the MIT campus. According to an IBM press release, the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab will be one the largest long-term AI collaborations between a university and a member of the tech industry. Its goal is to enable more than 100 scientists, professors, and students to pursue research focused on such areas as the development of AI algorithms that could expand machine learning capabilities, the improvement of AI hardware, the exploration of AI's economic and societal benefits, and the identification of AI applications in key industries. The team at IBM knows that despite all the recent attention given to what AI can do, there's still so much that it can't.

As digital giants swallow a growing share of shoppers' spending, thousands of stores have closed and tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs. Belinda Duperre, who sold jewelry at Sam's Club in Fall River, Mass., was one. In early 2016, the struggling store closed. But Ms. Duperre, a lifelong resident of the once-thriving factory town an hour south of Boston, went from victim of the digital revolution to beneficiary. Inc. announced plans to hire 500 full-time workers for a new 1.2-million square foot fulfillment center on the outskirts of town.

Amazon has announced plans for a new machine learning-focused research and development (R&D) hub in Barcelona and expects to hire more than 100 engineers and scientists when it opens in early 2018. Located in the urban renewal startup area known as 22@, the R&D center will be housed in the very same building as the company's recently announced Amazon Seller Support Hub, which is scheduled to open around the same time and which will help small online companies from Southern Europe sell on Amazon Marketplace. "We want to work closely with Spain's scientific community and universities to advance state of the art research in machine learning," noted Ralf Herbrich, Amazon's director of machine learning. Amazon has been on something of a hiring spree of late, having recently revealed plans to increase its headcount by 55 percent to 280,000 in the U.S. alone over 18 months. Just yesterday, the company announced that its first fulfillment center in New York state will be landing in Staten Island, while a few months ago Amazon posted 50,000 warehouse jobs in the U.S. Over in Europe, the company has been hiring across multiple disciplines, including machine learning.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and MIT today announced that IBM plans to make a 10-year, $240 million investment to create the MIT–IBM Watson AI Lab in partnership with MIT. The new lab will be one of the largest long-term university-industry AI collaborations to date, mobilizing the talent of more than 100 AI scientists, professors, and students to pursue joint research at IBM's Research Lab in Cambridge--co-located with the IBM Watson Health and IBM Security headquarters in Kendall Square, in Cambridge, Massachusetts--and on the neighboring MIT campus. In 2016, IBM Research announced a multi-year collaboration with MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences to advance the scientific field of machine vision, a core aspect of artificial intelligence. Currently, the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the Media Lab, the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society serve as connected hubs for AI and related research at MIT.

Amazon announced today that it will open a new Research and Development Centre in Barcelona in the first half of 2018. Over time, Amazon expects to hire more than 100 scientists and software engineers at this centre. The centre will be located in Barcelona's start-up district - 22@ - in the same building as the Amazon Seller Support Hub which, from early 2018, will offer assistance to small and medium companies from Southern Europe that sell on Amazon Marketplace. Amazon's global Machine Learning teams work on algorithms which automatically extract patterns from large collections of data to make accurate predictions. Forecasting customer demand, translating product information and automatic speech recognition are just some examples of how Machine Learning is leading to lower prices, greater selection and better customer experiences at Amazon.

Amplero's software, relying on algorithms designed to detect patterns in data, aims to thread through companies' existing sales and marketing tools, running small experiments to find optimal ways for businesses to communicate with their customers. Seattle startup Amplero has bagged $17.5 million in investment, which the company plans to put to work building out its machine-learning-powered software for business marketers. Amplero's software, relying on algorithms designed to detect patterns in data, aims to thread through companies' existing sales and marketing tools, running small experiments to find optimal ways for businesses to communicate with their customers. The startup was spun out of Seattle invoicing-software company Globys last year. Olly Downs, formerly Globys' chief technology officer, leads the firm, which has about 45 employees.