Current rapid growth in artificial intelligence (AI) is fuelled predominantly by the rediscovery of deep learning. When it first surfaced 15 years ago, the concept was met with unfavourable conditions and largely abandoned in the aftermath. Nowadays, deep learning is back, circumstances are right and the field flourishes. The described third boom in artificial AI and subsequent tightening technological and economic competition sent ripples through various aspects of the social realm, including policymaking. Many countries began working on national AI strategies, including current leaders – China and U.S. – and Japan also followed suit.

The EU could temporarily ban the use of facial recognition technology in public places such as train stations, sport stadiums and shopping centres over fears about creeping surveillance of European citizens. A prohibition lasting between three and five years is seen as a way for Brussels to manage the risks said to be posed by the breakneck speed at which the software is being adopted. The option is contained in an early draft of a European commission white paper obtained by the news website Euractiv. The final version is due to be published in February as part of a wider overhaul of the regulation of artificial intelligence. The draft document points to the right under the General Data Protection Regulation for EU citizens "not to be subject of a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling."

An artificial intelligence system that allows self-driving cars to'see' around corners in real time could help prevent accidents, according to its developers. Researchers from Stanford University in the USA have created a system that bounces a laser beam off a wall to create an'image' of objects hidden from view. The'image' captured won't make sense to a human, but using artificial intelligence technology the system can create a visual reconstruction of the hidden view. The research was funded by US government agency DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency), and is one of a number of similar technology programmes being developed. It could also be used by soldiers to see around walls, rescue workers searching for people and even in space travel to examine the interior caves of an asteroid.

China is once more tightening its grip on internet content, and this time algorithms are in the spotlight. The Cyberspace Administration of China has published upcoming rules that dictate how internet companies manage content, including a push for recommendation algorithms that promote "positive" ideas (read: government policies) while excluding "bad" material. The measure explicitly forbids content that "endangers national security, leaks state secrets, subverts state power [and] undermines national unity." The new rules are due to take effect on March 1st, and also call for tighter management of accounts, sign-ups, moderation and "rumors." Governments have lately stepped up attempts to regulate algorithms, although China's approach is very different than that from other countries.

The recent tit-for-tat missile strikes between US and Iran show how war has changed in the 21st century. Technology has brought new capabilities for killing at a distance, and what we are seeing today with long-range, so-called "precision missiles" is a harbinger of the next generation of warheads. Autonomous weaponry and "killer robots" sound like the stuff of science fiction but various governments including the US and Russia are investing heavily in their development. Turkey has teamed up with a defence contractor to deploy kamikaze drones with biometric facial recognition to the Syrian border this year, while the Israeli-developed Harpy "loitering munition" – which hangs about in the sky looking for an unrecognised radar signal to strike – has been sold to several countries including India and China. For cloud computing expert Laura Nolan, this issue became personal in early 2018 when, while working for Google, she discovered the tech giant had secretively signed up to the US military's artificial intelligence project Maven.

There's an emerging technology that is starting to gain traction in the tech world. Already featured in most major media networks, the role of deepfake artificial intelligence and virtual influencer (VI) touches on a variety of legal and ethical concerns that the business community should take notice of. Deepfakes are videos manipulated by AI to overlay images of celebrities or public figures in order to deceive viewers into believing the content is authentic. Recently, deepfake videos of Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Boris Johnson have all emerged and gone viral. In the state of California, recent legislation has made it "illegal to create or distribute videos, images or audio of politicians doctored to resemble real footage within 60 days of an election," according to The Guardian.

Machine learning models, used to predict future use of primary care services from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System, did not outperform traditional regression models. ABSTRACT Objectives: The Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System is among the largest integrated health systems in the United States. Many VA enrollees are dual users of Medicare, and little research has examined methods to most accurately predict which veterans will be mostly reliant on VA services in the future. This study examined whether machine learning methods can better predict future reliance on VA primary care compared with traditional statistical methods. Study Design: Observational study of 83,143 VA patients dually enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare using VA and Medicare administrative databases and the 2012 Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients.

This event will take an in-depth look at how the creative community currently is using artificial intelligence (AI) to create original works. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is recommended and space is limited.

Technology may be entertaining, but at its essence, its primary function is to make our lives easier. When we want to find answers to our questions, communicate with friends, secure our homes, or hundreds of other scenarios, we turn to technology. At CES 2020, technology took on another role: helping us care for ourselves and loved ones. In an effort to make living with disabilities and aging in place as safe and independent as possible, companies are promising smart technology that allows you to better assess you or a loved one's health and environment. Linksys Wellness Pods use WiFi to track motion and respiratory changes.

The artificial intelligence community (AI) has recently engaged in activism in relation to their employers, other members of the community, and their governments in order to shape the societal and ethical implications of AI. It has achieved some notable successes, but prospects for further political organising and activism are uncertain. We survey activism by the AI community over the last six years; apply two analytical frameworks drawing upon the literature on epistemic communities, and worker organising and bargaining; and explore what they imply for the future prospects of the AI community. Success thus far has hinged on a coherent shared culture, and high bargaining power due to the high demand for a limited supply of AI talent. Both are crucial to the future of AI activism and worthy of sustained attention.