Artificial intelligence and neural networks are poised to take over the medical industry, particularly image-centric specialties like radiology and dermatology, thanks to the technology's ability to mimic the human brain. A study published in January found that artificial intelligence was just as accurate at diagnosing instances of skin cancer as 21 board certified dermatologists, raising the prospect that the diagnostic capabilities of machines could soon surpass humans. Sebastian Thurn, one of the authors of that study and a computer science professor at Stanford University, told the New Yorker that the success of that study relied on building a neural network with a basic framework in place: The ability to recognize unrelated images. Similar to the way a child learns to differentiate between a dog and cat, the ability to align neural networks with human learning improves the speed at which AI can process information, offering seemingly boundless potential within the healthcare industry. But the neural networks that make AI so powerful also make them difficult to understand.

Google announced today that even more smart home devices would now be compatible with Assistant. The Assistant, accessible from the Google Home hub and Android phones, is integral to Google's expansion into the Internet of Things: Today, we're introducing new home automation integrations--in addition to the ones that already exist--that work with the Google Assistant. So you can now connect your Google Assistant to Best Buy Insignia, LIFX, TP-Link and Wink. TNW Conference won best European Event 2016 for our festival vibe. See what's in store for 2017.

Sexual reproduction may have evolved because of disease-causing microbes. Researchers have been trying to answer the question of why sexual reproduction evolved when asexual reproduction - which doesn't require a partner - is much more efficient. Their theory is that sexual reproduction evolved because of the presence of disease, and the need to constantly evolve and adapt to resist these co-evolving pathogens. Sex allows the recombination of DNA between mating pairs of animals, and the offspring that are produced can carry more than one beneficial DNA mutation. Researchers at the University of Adelaide developed a computer simulation model which supports their theory.

The Deep Learning textbook is a resource intended to help students and practitioners enter the field of machine learning in general and deep learning in particular. The online version of the book is now complete and will remain available online for free.

Vivint Sky and Wink Hub owners who want to use voice commands to control their lighting, thermostats, and other subsystems will soon no longer be limited to deploying Amazon Echos--both companies announced today that their systems will soon be compatible with Google Assistant, too. Both companies already work with Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, but neither wants to be limited to a single platform. "Obviously there's more than one option for homeowners who want to have voice services in the house," said Vivint Smart Home Chief Technology Office Jeremy Warren. "We want to make sure we're providing a great user experience for our customers regardless of which platform they adopt." Google announced 11 other new partnerships as well, ranging from Logitech Harmony, to August smart locks, to the Anova sous-vide cooker.

Uber has announced that it is shuttering operation in Denmark in April as a result of new taxi laws, marking the latest setback for the US-based ride hailing company. The Danish government in February, passed a reform changing regulations for taxis, following pressure from local taxi driver unions. The new law requires mandatory fare meters in cabs and seat occupancy detectors to activate the airbags. Uber, which says it has 2,000 drivers and 300,000 people using its app in Denmark, said it would not be able to operate unless the regulations were changed. It will officially end its activities in the country on 18 April.

Apple is expected to revamp Siri with contextual learning abilities and deep integration with iMessage and iCloud in its upcoming iOS 11 update, and will reportedly boost the voice assistant with the Apple TV and Apple Watch, according to Israeli site The Verifier. Siri is rumored to get a boost in its level of artificial intelligence, sources from the development teams based in Israel told the site. The digital assistant will reportedly be able to carry out current voice commands and it will also be able to learn a user's usage habits and offer different action options based on the context of content, similar to Samsung's Bixby, the report said. Siri is rumored to become an "integral part" of iMessage with the iOS 11 update. For example, Siri would be able to give restaurant recommendations, make a reservation or book an Uber "directly from the screen messages in an intuitive way," The Verifier said.

Artificial intelligence will be the main way that banks interact with their customers within the next three years, a report from consultancy Accenture has suggested. Banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are increasingly using chatbots to answer customer queries. The report examined the views of 600 bankers and other experts. Many, perhaps ironically, felt that AI would help banks create a more human-like customer experience. "The big paradox here is that people think technology will lead to banking becoming more and more automated and less and less personalised, but what we've seen coming through here is the view that technology will actually help banking become a lot more personalised," said Alan McIntyre, head of the Accenture's banking practice and co-author of the report, Banking Technology Vision 2017.

Machine learning chip is widely used across the applications such as robotics, healthcare, automotive, and consumer electronics. At present, rising demand for automated electronic devices and trending Artificial Intelligence (AI) are some factors that majorly drive the market. Moreover, popularity of Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to provide lucrative opportunities to market players.

Ilya Sutskever, director of OpenAI, an independent research group, will describe what might be the next big breakthrough in artificial intelligence today at EmTech Digital, a conference organized by MIT Technology Review in San Francisco. Sutskever will describe research showing an approach in machine learning that can perform even better than methods that have produced huge breakthroughs recently. His technique may also prove far more scalable. In a blog post describing the work, Sutskever and colleagues describe using "evolutionary strategies" to have machines figure out for themselves how to solve a complex task. The researchers say the approach is distantly related to a decades-old approach that involves optimizing algorithms using a process of simulated evolution.