Time-varying parameters (TVPs) models are frequently used in economics to model structural change. I show that they are in fact ridge regressions. Instantly, this makes computations, tuning, and implementation much easier than in the state-space paradigm. Among other things, solving the equivalent dual ridge problem is computationally very fast even in high dimensions, and the crucial "amount of time variation" is tuned by cross-validation. Evolving volatility is dealt with using a two-step ridge regression. I consider extensions that incorporate sparsity (the algorithm selects which parameters vary and which do not) and reduced-rank restrictions (variation is tied to a factor model). To demonstrate the usefulness of the approach, I use it to study the evolution of monetary policy in Canada. The application requires the estimation of about 4600 TVPs, a task well within the reach of the new method.

Getting an Amazon package delivered from the sky is closer to becoming a reality. The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had granted Amazon approval to deliver packages by drones. Amazon said that the approval is an "important step," but added that it is still testing and flying the drones. It did not say when it expected drones to make deliveries to shoppers. "This certification is an important step forward for Prime Air and indicates the FAA's confidence in Amazon's operating and safety procedures for an autonomous drone delivery service that will one day deliver packages to our customers around the world," said David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air.

Routine drone deliveries to U.S. consumers are still years away, partly because the FAA needs to complete rules for remote identification of more than 400,000 drones currently registered for commercial operations, and issue separate rules permitting drones to fly regularly over populated areas. Despite the investments and interest in potential drone deliveries by startups as well as deep-pocketed early adapters such as Amazon, package deliveries won't proceed beyond limited trials in the U.S. until new federal regulations go into effect. Amazon has now joined United Parcel Service Inc. UPS 0.78% and Wing, a unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc., GOOG -0.62% in gaining approval to operate unmanned air fleets in the U.S. for tests involving customer deliveries. Amazon has sought regulatory approval for a broader range of drones and over a larger geographic area than its competitors. The company said Monday that the approval from the FAA isn't tied to a specific drone model but operations of a fleet.

It is going to be interesting to see how society deals with artificial intelligence, but it will definitely be cool. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be defined to mean the use of intelligent machines to replicate and augment the intelligence of human beings. The Turing test was propounded to show what factors determine whether a machine operates on artificial intelligence or not. AI applications are being used in various fields such as telecommunication, banking, agriculture, manufacturing, health care, and transportation. The implementation of AI in health care aims to enhance the lives of the patients and enable physicians, doctors, hospitals, and administrators to improve health care delivery in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. The traditional drug industry is also experiencing a wave of change due to the implementation of AI-based processes in drug discovery and development. Substitution of AI technology-based solutions in place of the traditional methods for drug discovery is expected to reduce the time for drug development. Using AI in clinical trials has reduced the time required for drug trials from 4–6 months to three months. After the analysis of the genomic data from different patients, AI helps by selecting only those patients whose genetic profile suggests it will help them to undergo testing in the clinical trial.2 Machine learning technologies, deep learning algorithms, various neural networks (such as artificial neural networks or computational neural networks), and content screening are a few examples of AI that have brought radical changes to the process of drug discovery and development.

We recently launched Elastic Security, combining the threat hunting and analytics tools from Elastic SIEM with the prevention and response features of Elastic Endpoint Security. This combined solution focuses on detecting and flexibly responding to security threats, with machine learning providing core capabilities for real-time protections, detections, and interactive hunting. But why are machine learning tools so important in information security? How is machine learning being applied? In this first of a two-part blog series, we'll motivate the "why" and explore the "how," highlighting malware prevention via supervised machine learning in Elastic Endpoint Security.

Amazon has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air drones in the US. The company can now use unmanned aircraft systems to deliver goods'beyond the visual line of sight of the operator' under a trial basis, CNBC reports. Amazon began testing its delivery drones in 2013, but has stumbled getting the service off the ground due to hardware and safety issues. The firm notes that it has since conducted a number of training deliveries and submitted evidence showing operations are safe to the public. Drone deliveries will first rollout in low populated areas and will only drop-off packages weighing five pounds or less.

I think this a step in the right direction. We may not be perfect and make all the right decisions all the time but it does some there's enough people with their head screwed on right. This is a crucial area for R&D. I am more excited about the computing part than the AI part. You need computing clusters to run FEM codes and FDC sims and I suppose PAF has realized this (it was about time they did). That being said many interesting applications for AI, but not in the way most people think (read autonomous fighter jets).

Amazon customers in the U.S. could soon have their deliveries completed by an unmanned drone. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved Amazon's Prime Air service, which will use drones to deliver packages. The FAA issued a "Part 135 air carrier certificate using unmanned aircraft systems" to Amazon on Saturday, the agency confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY. Similar certificates have been issued to Wing Aviation, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, and UPS Flight Forward. In a statement, David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air said the company will continue working on their technology to integrate delivery drones into the airspace.

At the beginning of 2021, the European Commission will propose legislation on AI that will be, at first instance, horizontal (as opposed to sectoral) and risk-based, with mandatory requirements for high-risk AI applications. The new rules will aim at ensuring transparency, accountability and consumer protection, including safety, through robust AI governance and data quality requirements. Europe's approach to regulating technology is based on the precautionary principle, which enables rapid regulatory intervention in the face of possible danger to human, animal or plant health, or to protect the environment. This perspective has helped Europe to become a global leader in the shaping of the digital technology market. Particularly, with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, Europe considers it has gained a competitive advantage through the creation of a trust mark for increased privacy protection. Australia and New Zealand have a close relationship with the European Union (EU) and its member countries historically.

Amazon has been testing drones for delivering some small packages. Amazon Prime Air has cleared a regulatory hurdle, moving the online retail giant one step closer to dropping packages off at your doorstep with drones. The US Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday issued Amazon Prime Air a "Part 135 air carrier certificate," allowing it to begin commercial drone deliveries in the US. "Amazon Prime Air's concept uses autonomous UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) to safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers," said a spokesperson for the FAA on Monday. "The FAA supports innovation that is beneficial to the public, especially during a health or weather-related crisis."