Over half (54%) of the almost 200 insurance executives surveyed said that their organization was using Machine Learning for predictive analytical modelling. Of those deploying the technology, 70% said they were using it for risk modelling; followed by demand models (45%) and fraud detection (36%). Although nascent, most companies using Machine Learning have realized measurable benefits. Over half of the respondents (57%) said that Machine Learning has made their analytical models far more accurate, which has led to better risk assessments, and ultimately better decisions. The survey found that the main barrier to wider adoption is a lack of knowledge and expertise within organizations.

Computer scientists at the University of Cambridge have created a way to minimise sheep's suffering using artificial intelligence (AI). The researchers built machine learning algorithms based on the Sheep Pain Facial Expression Scale (SPFES)-- a system that gauges the mammal's pain depending on its facial movements. The algorithm devised at Cambridge is an ovine version of earlier projects to assess human emotions with computer vision. "There's been much more study over the years with people," the study's lead researcher Peter Robinson said. "But a lot of the earlier work on the faces of animals was actually done by Darwin, who argued that all humans and many animals show emotion through remarkably similar behaviours, so we thought there would likely be crossover between animals and our work in human faces."

The technological ecosystem needed to enable AI has finally formed. And, just like a perfect storm, AI's timeline and path is hard to predict and many business owners don't know whether to closely follow and obsess with it or hope it passes them by altogether. What comprises the ecosystem needed to set the growth curve sharply upwards, as in the classic hockey stick analogy we all know very well? First, vast and rich data sets are forming rapidly. Big data require hefty processing power and storage, which is becoming more cost-effective and accessible every day, even to small companies.

Playing a musical instrument can help older adults retain their listening skills and avoid age-related cognitive declines, a recent study conducted at Baycrest Health Sciences revealed. Cognitive impairedness can create trouble in an older adult from doing day to day work. This new finding, which was published in a study in the Journal of Neuroscience on May 24, could lead to the development of brain rehabilitation interventions through musical training. The study found that learning to play a sound on a musical instrument alters the brain waves in a way that improves a person's listening and hearing skills over a short period of time. "Music has been known to have beneficial effects on the brain, but there has been limited understanding into what about music makes a difference," Dr. Bernhard Ross, senior scientist at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute (RRI) and senior author on the study said.

The vast majority of bank customers in Europe would not let a computer program make and act upon financial decisions on their behalf, a survey showed on Wednesday, in a sign of caution over the rising so-called robo-advice industry. Robots ranked below financial advisers, friends or even using the internet as a means of making investment decisions, according to the fifth annual International Survey Mobile Banking conducted by Dutch bank ING Groep (ing). The survey of 15,000 people across 15 countries said that 91% of respondents would not let robo-advisers act unilaterally. A quarter of those surveyed would be willing to use the machines' advice so long as the human customer got final approval. The fact that people are reluctant to cede control over a decision - even when the outcome from outsourcing the choice could be more beneficial - explains why so few would hand money choices to a robo-adviser, ING said in its report.

Kathy Griffin is set to explain the reasoning behind her controversial photo shoot with a bloodied mask of President Trump and respond to alleged bullying from the Trump family on Friday, her attorney announced. Griffin and attorney Lisa Bloom said in a joint news release they will hold a press conference in Woodland Hills, Calif. at 9 a.m. It will be the first comments Griffin has made since she was relieved of her duties as CNN's New Year's Eve host. Proud to announce that I represent Kathy Griffin. We will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites, knowledge of some undergraduate level mathematics would help but is not mandatory. Working knowledge of Python would be helpful if you want to run the source code that is provided. Taught by a Stanford-educated, ex-Googler and an IIT, IIM - educated ex-Flipkart lead analyst. This team has decades of practical experience in quant trading, analytics and e-commerce. The course is shy but confident: It is authoritative, drawn from decades of practical experience -but shies away from needlessly complicating stuff.

A computer's ability to predict a patient's lifespan simply by looking at images of their organs is a step closer to becoming a reality, thanks to new research led by the University of Adelaide. The research, now published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, has implications for the early diagnosis of serious illness, and medical intervention. Researchers from the University's School of Public Health and School of Computer Science, along with Australian and international collaborators, used artificial intelligence to analyze the medical imaging of 48 patients' chests. This computer-based analysis was able to predict which patients would die within five years, with 69% accuracy - comparable to'manual' predictions by clinicians. This is the first study of its kind using medical images and artificial intelligence.

This post is the first in a three-part series we're publishing this summer on artificial intelligence, written by DigitalOcean's Head of R&D, Alejandro (Alex) Jaimes. In recent months, the amount of media coverage on AI has increased so significantly that a day doesn't go by without news about it. Whether it's an acquisition, a funding round, a new application, a technical innovation, or an opinion piece on ethical and philosophical issues ("AI will replace humans, take over the world, eat software, eat the world"), the content just keeps coming. The field is progressing at amazing speeds and there's a lot of experimentation. But with so much noise, it's hard to distinguish hype from reality, and while everyone seems to be rushing into AI in one way or another, it's fair to say there is a good amount of confusion on what AI really is, what sort of value it can bring and where things will go next.

The service will use data and algorithms and will make personal recommendations based on an individual's circumstances. It is expected to be available by the end of the year. The bank says this will "open up wealth management opportunities to those who thought it wasn't for them, thanks to a lower investment entry point". The timing is interesting, as recently HSBC published a research report that showed nearly four times as many people in the UK (41%) would trust a robot to perform heart surgery than open a bank savings account (12%). This is according to its study of 2,000 people in the UK into their trust in technology. In contrast to some extreme scenarios, like surgery and parachuting, just 12% of people would trust a robot to open a savings account for them and only 11% would trust them for mortgage advice.