With the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), we have – again – crossed the Rubicon. The die has been cast, there is no way back. We are setting standards for another industry that until now has been left mostly on its own, that has important social functions, and that is of central importance in the global tech rivalry. The European electorate was and still is quite united in demanding rules for digital players while maintaining easy digital access and a competitiveness for all things digital. With the AI Act and other legislation currently under way in such fields as cybersecurity, data, crypto and chips, the European Union is finalizing what it began with the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). It will surely not be the last time digital policy is undertaken in Brussels, and updates to these regulations are partly already necessary.

Ottawa, April 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global artificial intelligence (AI) market size was valued at US$ 87.04 billion in 2021. The artificial intelligence technology has gained a rapid traction since its introduction in the market. The rising demand for artificial intelligence technology across various induce verticals such as a retail, BFSI, healthcare, food and beverages, automotive, and logistics is significantly contributing towards the growth of the global artificial intelligence market. Furthermore, the rising adoption of the AI technology in the pharmaceutical manufacturing is expected to have a significant impact on the market growth in the forthcoming years. The biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly adopting the artificial intelligence technology in various applications such as research, drug discovery, and clinical trials, which is significantly fueling the demand for artificial intelligence technology across the globe. The growing penetration of advanced digital technologies across the globe in various application is supporting the growth of the AI market.

With self-driving vehicles possibly arriving on UK roads later this year, the government is starting to put rules in place to accommodate them, the BBC has reported. As part of that, it will allow drivers in autonomous vehicles to watch TV from an infotainment screen in self-driving mode, as long as they're ready to take back control. That's a modification of a law that has been on the books since 1986 that prohibits drivers from viewing a "television-receiving apparatus" when behind the wheel. It will still not allow the use of mobile phones, which were officially banned in the UK last year. That's because automakers can implement technology to stop a car's built-in screen from displaying content when the driver needs to take back control, but can't do the same on a smartphone.

The digital age has created several opportunities for us, and at the same time, we've been exposed to a whole new level of cyberthreats. There's no denying that cybersecurity is now an integral part of every business that wants to avoid being a victim of identity theft, data breaches, and other cyber risks. Cybercriminals are constantly searching for ways to compromise networks and steal sensitive information. These techniques are getting more advanced, and they might be challenging to detect by humans or traditional defense solutions. For this reason, organizations are looking to adopt AI techniques to strengthen their cybersecurity defense plan.

The University at Albany's Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Initiative is among the education projects funded in the New York state budget. The project, estimated to cost $75 million, will expand the artificial intelligence resources available in the area. Once completed, the university expects all students, no matter their major, to use AI in their daily studies. "We think with this cluster coming here and this focus in AI, we will be teaching our undergraduate students AI from the first year," said Kesh Kesavadas, vice president for research and economic development at UAlbany. The idea is for students in all programs to get a chance to work with artificial intelligence, whether it be cybersecurity or music composition, and to give them an opportunity that has not been available.

This article was first published in the Virginia Mercury. Last week when Virginia's new Secretary of Transportation Sheppard Miller publicly declared his belief that flying cars will be a reality within the next 50 years as a reason that leaders across the commonwealth should "reexamine transit," some might have scoffed. But just as flying cars consumed the fantasies of many mid-century Americans, today plenty of people put their faith in another utopian technology replete with endlessly elusive promises of improved safety and unbridled freedom: autonomous vehicles. As is often the case in the United States, the regulation of autonomous vehicles is largely left to the states, resulting in a patchwork of conflicting and confusing policies where some sort of national approach ought to exist. Any state has the right to craft their own legal framework for the emerging technology but few have -- our commonwealth included.

Many people wonder what the future of cybersecurity will be like. Cybersecurity is still a relatively new aspect of IT, and it has evolved considerably in recent years as a distinct profession within IT security. The world of technology moves at an incredible rate, and not every new innovation survives. Cyber threats have gone a long way over the years when you required somebody on the inside of a corporation to steal information. This individual would be permitted to enter the premises and have access to confidential documents in order to obtain sensitive information.

Brussels – The race is on. As columns of Russian troops began pouring into Ukraine nearly two months ago, the United States and its allies started supplying Kyiv with weapons and equipment for what many expected to be a short war: sniper rifles, helmets, medical kits, encrypted communications, lots of bullets and the portable, shoulder-held Stinger and Javelin missiles that quickly became icons of the conflict. Defying the odds, Ukraine held on to its capital and pushed Russia from the north. Now, as the Kremlin switches gears and begins a concerted effort to capture eastern Ukraine, Washington and its allies are pivoting as well, scrambling to supply Ukraine with bigger and more advanced weapons to defend itself in a grinding war. The West is focused on sending longer-range weapons like howitzers, anti-aircraft systems, anti-ship missiles, armed drones, armored trucks, personnel carriers and even tanks -- the type of arms that President Joe Biden said were tailored to stop "the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine."

Officials within the Department of Energy are looking to apply practical uses of artificial intelligence technology to helping underserved communities. Speaking during a FedScoop discussion panel, Pamela Isom, the director of the Artificial Intelligence and Technology Office at Energy, explained the importance of using AI technology to strategically help, as it becomes more and more ubiquitous in daily life. Some current use cases for AI tech within Energy are automated loan and application processing. Ipsom elaborated that her office's mission to ensure equitable access to AI technology came from a community discussion where gaps in adequate technological infrastructure were highlighted. "Today, we're looking at AI for instance, to not only help with procurement cycles, but with processing and evaluating [requests for information] for instance," Isom said.

When the going gets tough for Kim Jong Un, his regime likes to turn its TV cameras on the military, with glossy productions showcasing the missiles and manpower that North Korea tells the masses are protecting the nation. Since taking power a decade ago, Kim has brought new looks to state television, including drone footage, computer graphics, music video-style cuts and made-for-TV moments. This has helped him rally support for the state as it battles chronic food shortages and an anemic economy made even weaker by international sanctions imposed as punishment for testing nuclear bombs and missiles, some potentially capable of striking the U.S. and its allies. In his most recent state TV spectacle, for a weapons test on March 24, Kim is seen in dark sunglasses and a black leather jacket apparently ordering his army -- in slow motion -- to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile. This was released eight days after a failed ballistic missile launch near Pyongyang's international airport.