In December 2018, Canada and France announced plans for a new international body to study and steer the effects of artificial intelligence on the world's people and economies. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said the International Panel on Artificial Intelligence would be established by the Group of Seven leading western economies and play a role in "addressing some of the ethical concerns we will face in this area." It was to be modeled on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which helped establish consensus on the world's climate crisis and recommends possible responses. Just over a year later, the IPAI has been renamed the Global Partnership on AI, but it still hasn't quite gotten off the ground. Six of the G7 are on board--with the United States the lone holdout.

Fox News media analyst Howie Kurtz, host of'Media Buzz,' breaks down the coverage of the U.S. drone strike that killed Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani. The Associated Press was ridiculed on Monday for reporting on the feelings of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who openly cried during the funeral of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. "Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wept openly at the funeral for Gen. Qassem Soleimani. His tears give insight into how the death of the commander killed in a U.S. strike is being felt personally by the supreme leader," the AP sent from its verified Twitter account. The tweet accompanied a link to a story headlined, "Iranian leader's tears a sign of respect for slain general."

NEW YORK – From the face scanner that will check in some attendees to the cameras-everywhere array of digital products, the CES gadget show is all-in on surveillance technology -- whether it calls it that or not. Nestled in the "smart home" and "smart city" showrooms at the sprawling Las Vegas consumer tech conference are devices that see, hear and track the people they encounter. Some of them also analyze their looks and behavior. The technology on display includes eyelid-tracking car dashboard cameras to prevent distracted driving and "rapid DNA" kits for identifying a person from a cheek swab sample. All these talking speakers, doorbell cameras and fitness trackers come with the promise of making life easier or more fun, but they're also potentially powerful spying tools.

WASHINGTON – U.S. lawmakers have few options for tamping down any escalation by President Donald Trump of tensions with Iran, despite Democrats' outrage over his failure to inform Congress in advance about a strike against a top Iranian military commander. Members of Congress begin to return from their year-end holiday recess on Monday, and Democrats said they will attempt quickly to pass legislation to bar Trump -- or any future U.S. commander-in-chief -- from conducting a campaign against Iran without obtaining Congress' approval. Late on Sunday, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic-led chamber would introduce and vote this week on a War Powers Resolution that would force Trump to stop military action against Iran within 30 days. But with Trump's fellow Republicans in control of the Senate and showing little inclination to break from their party's leader, there is scant expectation any legislation could win enough support to become law. Longtime foes Tehran and Washington have been in a war of words since Friday, when Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport.

The increased freshwater from melting Antarctic ice sheets plus increased wind has reduced the amount of oxygen in the Southern Ocean and made it more acidic and warmer, according to new research led by University of Arizona geoscientists. The researchers found Southern Ocean waters had changed by comparing shipboard measurements taken from 1990 to 2004 with measurements taken by a fleet of microsensor-equipped robot floats from 2012 to 2019. The observed oxygen loss and warming around the Antarctic coast is much larger than predicted by a climate model, which could have implications for predictions of ice melt. The discovery drove the research team to improve current climate change computer models to better reflect the environmental changes around Antarctica. "It's the first time we've been able to reproduce the new changes in the Southern Ocean with an Earth system model," said co-author Joellen Russell, a professor of geosciences. The research is the first to incorporate the Southern Ocean's increased freshwater plus additional wind into a climate change model, she said.

By now, most of us have shared a few chuckles over AI-generated deepfake videos, like those in which the face of comedian and impressionist Bill Hader gradually takes on the likenesses of Tom Cruise, Seth Rogen, and Arnold Schwarzenegger as he imitates the celebrities. We've seen actor Ryan Reynolds' mug superimposed over Gene Wilder's in the 1971 classic film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." We've even marveled over businessman Elon Musk being turned into a baby. It all can be quite humorous, but not everyone is laughing. Tech companies, researchers, and politicians alike are growing concerned that the increasing sophistication of the artificial intelligence and machine learning technology powering deepfakes will outpace our ability to discern between genuine and doctored imagery.

In the year just past, Alzheimer's researchers, families, and stakeholders felt renewed hope that new treatments might be within grasp. While the Lazarus story of aducanumab may or may not be enough for FDA approval this year, data from its Phase 3 program solidified a broader signal across four different anti-amyloid antibodies that amyloid can be removed from the brain and that maybe--just maybe--this will also benefit cognition and function if given early at a sufficient dose. The prospect that the amyloid hypothesis is druggable, alone, was enough to re-energize the field. The hope that further trials to define the best doses, patient groups, and treatment regimens will eventually pay off was cause for even more enthusiasm. A boost in funding announced as the U.S. Congress headed for its holiday break also gave cause for celebration going into 2020, though the funding picture is less rosy in other countries. The NIH budget for AD research now stands at $2.8 billion, a $350 million ...

HELSINKI (AP) - Finland is offering a techy Christmas gift to all European Union citizens - a free-of-charge online course in artificial intelligence in their own language, officials said Tuesday. The tech-savvy Nordic nation, led by the 34-year-old Prime Minister Sanna Marin, is marking the end of its rotating presidency of the EU at the end of the year with a highly ambitious goal. Instead of handing out the usual ties and scarves to EU officials and journalists, the Finnish government has opted to give practical understanding of AI to 1% of EU citizens, or about 5 million people, through a basic online course by the end of 2021. TOP STORIES Ricky Gervais blasts Hollywood figures as unprincipled, ignorant at Golden Globes'We'll do it for half': George Lopez doubles down on Iran's bounty on Trump Black Americans are coming home to the GOP It is teaming up with the University of Helsinki, Finland's largest and oldest academic institution, and the Finland-based tech consultancy Reaktor. Teemu Roos, a University of Helsinki associate professor in the department of computer science, described the nearly $2 million project as "a civics course in AI" to help EU citizens cope with society's ever-increasing digitalization and the possibilities AI offers in the jobs market.

The United States government says it will limit the export of certain types of artificial intelligence software that's used to analyze images from satellites in order to keep it out of the hands of foreign rivals such as China. Reuters said the ban, which goes into effect Monday, relates to a 2018 law known as the Export Control Reform Act that requires the government look into how it can restrict the export of new technologies it deems "essential to the national security" of the U.S. The scope of the ban is rather narrow, at least for now. It applies specifically to software that uses neural networks, a component of machine learning, to discover "points of interest" in geospatial images created by satellites. For example, software that can identify houses or vehicles. Furthermore, the ban only applies to software that has a graphical user interface.

Below we summarize some of the significant developments employers should be on the lookout for in the new year. On August 12, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York signed into law a bill that, as previously reported, significantly strengthened and expanded workplace anti-discrimination protections in New York State. For additional information regarding the developments already in effect, refer to our previous posts. In terms of changes still to come, contracts and other agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2020, that prevent the disclosure of information relating to any future claim of discrimination on the basis of any protected characteristic will be unenforceable, unless the provision notifies the individual that it does not prohibit them from speaking with law enforcement, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights ("NYSDHR"), a local commission on human rights, or an attorney retained by the individual. Likewise, effective February 8, 2020, the New York State Human Rights Law will be expanded to include all employers in the state, regardless of size.