Saudi's state-owned oil company announced today its plan to support artificial intelligence (AI) research in the kingdom. Aramco signed a memorandum of understanding with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology north of Jeddah to create a new research center for AI at the educational institution. The center will focus on research, development and marketing of AI technologies, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The center will "provide a joint framework for working with Saudi Aramco in a close way to develop proper and quick solutions for the needs of the energy sector, among other relevant sectors," said university vice president Donal Bradley. Why it matters: Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify its economy and rely less on oil as per the Vision 2030 initiative. The kingdom has had some success in this regard.

Remedy is remaking Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. In a surprise announcement on Wednesday, the Finnish studio said it was working with Rockstar Games to fully remaster the first two games in its cult classic third-person shooter series for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. We are pleased to announce that we will remake the iconic Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, in a new development agreement with Rockstar Games. Under a new publishing agreement between the two companies, Rockstar will fund the project "in line with a typical Remedy AAA-game production." What's more, the studio will rebuild the games in its in-house Northlight Engine, the same engine Remedy used for its most recent title, Control.

AI continues to transform every industry it touches, and broadcast media is no exception. Already available within Asia, broadcast news stations such as Arirang TV in Korea and CCTV in China use DeepBrain AI's Virtual Humans, known as AI Anchors, to augment the regular newsfeed with AI specials, breaking news, and hourly updates throughout the day. "I will just write up an article, and she (Virtual Human) can deliver it right away," stated Moon Connyoung, Principal News Anchor and Managing Editor at Arirang News. The video synthesis technology from DeepBrain AI has applications across many different industries, including media, banking, education, and customer service. "DeepBrain AI's solutions have already been deployed at banks, retail stores, and TV stations across Asia. I am excited to bring our technology to the US and the 2022 NAB Show," stated Eric Jang, CEO of DeepBrain AI.

Malbek commissioned benchmark study from the World Commerce & Contracting to deliver deep industry insights about AI's evolving role in Contract Lifecycle Management Malbek, today's most cutting-edge, AI-fueled Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform, today announced the availability of its commissioned study from the World Commerce & Contracting (WorldCC) about the barriers and benefits of AI-enabled contracting across organizations. The first annual report found more than a quarter (26%) of an organization's workforce is in some way involved in contract management, and contract-related data in the typical large organization sits in 24 different systems. The combination of multiple touchpoints and systems demonstrates a clear risk for lost time and productivity, while increasing potential for errors. Report findings show the need for AI to help mitigate risk in CLM while also indicating that there is a sense of enthusiasm around the use of technology in contract management. Given the pressures of today's modern workforce working in disparate locations and many companies adopting remote workforce practices, companies turn to AI in CLM because of a growing need for speed and efficiency in virtual, collaborative environments.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled IBM z16, IBM's next-generation system with an integrated on-chip AI accelerator -- delivering latency-optimized inferencing. This innovation is designed to enable clients to analyze real-time transactions, at scale -- for mission-critical workloads such as credit card, healthcare and financial transactions. Building on IBM's history of security leadership, IBM z16 also is specifically designed to help protect against near-future threats that might be used to crack today's encryption technologies. IBM innovations, including the IBM z16, have formed the technology backbone of the global economy for decades. Today's modern IBM mainframe is central to hybrid cloud environments, valued by two-thirds of the Fortune 100, 45 of the world's top 50 banks, 8 of the top 10 insurers, 7 of the top 10 global retailers and 8 out of the top 10 telcos as a highly secured platform for running their most mission-critical workloads.

General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. will jointly develop affordable electric vehicles in major global markets, dramatically expanding a partnership that already spans gas-powered models, batteries and self-driving technology. The automakers plan to create a new architecture based on GM's Ultium EV battery that will be used primarily for small crossover SUVs, with the first models available in North America in 2027, they said in a statement Tuesday. The project is intended to produce EVs that will be priced below GM's planned $30,000 Chevrolet Equinox and similar future offerings from Honda, the companies said on a call with journalists. "GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale, including our key markets in North America, South America and China," GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra said in the statement. The collaboration marks a major move toward democratizing electric vehicles, most of which are expensive and beyond the reach of many consumers.

Ganesan takes the mystery out of implementing AI, showing leaders how to launch AI initiatives that get results. In The Business Case for AI, Kavita Ganesan takes the mystery out of implementing AI, showing leaders how to launch AI initiatives that get results. With real-world AI examples to spark new ideas, you'll learn how to identify high-impact AI opportunities, prepare for AI transitions, and measure your AI performance. Simple and compelling, The Business Case for AI gives leaders the information they need without the technical jargon. Whether you want to jumpstart your AI strategy, manage AI initiatives for better outcomes, or simply find inspiration for your own AI applications, The Business Case for AI is a blueprint for Business AI success.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics are critical to the challenge of producing intelligence from the enormous amounts of data available to the Intelligence Community. This day-long symposium will focus on the challenge of "Big Data" and what the IC needs to do to address it. Panels will examine the IC's AIM Strategy; the importance of the Pentagon's newly created Chief Digital and AI Officer; challenges and success stories with operationalizing AI; and the capabilities needed to make it all work. Media Policy This event is open to the press. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Alphabet's Wing division has announced that it's launching a drone delivery service in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex on April 7th. "With this service, the DFW area will be the largest metro in the world, and the first in the United States, with access to on-demand drone delivery," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Wing's primary launch customer is Walgreens, which will deliver health and wellness products directly to customer's homes. For that, it will use a new operational model where drones are staged at one of its own store parking lots, rather than a Wing facility. It will also be delivering ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries, Easyvet prescription pet medications (yep) and first aid kits from Texas Health.

Accutar Biotechnology, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focusing on artificial intelligence (AI)-empowered drug discovery, announces that the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has cleared the company's investigational new drug application (IND) for AC0682 for the treatment of patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers. AC0682 is an orally bioavailable chimeric degrader molecule designed to target ERα protein with high potency and selectivity. "Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in China. We are excited about the IND clearance of AC0682 in China, after its IND clearance and initiation of a Phase 1 study in the US late last year," said Jie Fan, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Accutar Biotechnology, Inc. "We look forward to accelerating the development of AC0682 and furthering our commitment to bringing innovative medicines to patients worldwide." The Phase 1 study in China will assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary anti-tumor activity of AC0682 treatment in Chinese patients with ER-positive breast cancer.