AI has been facing a PR problem. Too often AI has introduced itself as a misogynist, racist and sinister robot. Remember the Microsoft Twitter chatbot named Tay, who was learning to mimic online conversations, but then started to blur out the most offensive tweets? Think of tech companies creating elaborate AI hiring tools, only to realise the technology was learning in the male-dominated industry to favour resumes of men over women. As much as this seems to be a facepalm situation, this happens a lot and seems not so easy to solve in an imperfect world, where even the most intelligent people have biases.

The federal government plans to spend almost $1 billion in nondefense artificial intelligence research and development in fiscal 2020, according to a supplemental report to the president's budget request. "The U.S. has pushed the boundaries for computational power, we have given our innovators the freedom to thrive, and today we can proudly say America continues to be the leader in artificial intelligence," federal Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said Tuesday at a Center for Data Innovation event. "This new supplement report demonstrates just how diverse and extensive our efforts are." The figure indicates a weighty increase from 2016--when all agencies, including defense, collectively spent about $1 billion on AI. However, immediately after Kratsios' announcement, industry experts and former federal officials weighed in on what more needs to be done to secure and sustain American leadership in AI across the global technological landscape.

As we continue to move forward in digital transformation, an increasing number of companies are discovering the promise of robotic process automation (RPA). In a nutshell, RPA allows companies to gain efficiencies and (hopefully) save money by automating routine tasks. RPA is what I'd call the low-hanging fruit of artificial intelligence. It's governed by structured input. Its processes are mundane and rule-based.

The Royal Navy is testing ground-breaking technology which allows them to control unmanned boats remotely. The fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), described as'absolutely the future of naval warfare', can be operated from a warship's operations room. Able to detect underwater mines and spy on enemy ships without putting sailors in danger, the MAST-13 has already been hailed by one admiral for the'increased reach and lethality this will bring to our ships'. The MAST-13 technology will allow the 13-metre boats to scout miles ahead of warships and warn them of potential danger. Capable of travelling 45 knots (52mph; 84kmh), the waterborne drones can operate for up to 10 days at a time and travel hundreds of miles.

A new report from the European Space Agency (ESA) describes how experts will soon be using artificial intelligence to chart sea-ice conditions. The technology will provide fast and accurate sea-ice information to improve the efficiency and safety of marine operations in the Arctic.

Roughly six years ago, former Israel chief technology officer Yonatan Adiri cofounded Healthy.io, a digital health care startup leveraging AI to bring professional-grade medical imaging to the homes of those with chronic kidney disease. Its 10-parameter digital testing kit -- Dip.io -- enables patients to collect and analyze urine samples with nothing more than a smartphone app, a dip stick, and a color-coded slide. It's taken off like wildfire. Following on the heels of an $18 million series B raise in February, Healthy.io CEO Adiri said the fresh capital, which brings Healthy.io's total raised to about $90 million, will accelerate Healthy.io's

From email correspondence and financial transactions to professional networking, technology plays a critical role in business operations. Unfortunately, our adoption of technology is subject to overcoming security challenges. An increasing number of cyber-attacks indicate that several businesses lack adequate protection against online threats. According to IBM, the average cost of a cybersecurity breach has been increasing and is now at $3,860,000. The company also estimates that the cost of each stolen record that has sensitive information in 2018 was $148.

There is a lively debate all over the world regarding AI's perceived "black box" problem. Most profoundly, if a machine can be taught to learn itself, how does it explain its conclusions? This issue comes up most frequently in the context of how to address possible algorithmic bias. One way to address this issue is to mandate a right to a human decision per the General Data Protection Regulation's (GDPR) Article 22. Here in the United States, Senators Wyden and Booker propose in the Algorithmic Accountability Act that companies be compelled to conduct impact assessments.

Technology is driving major shifts in the job market, and that will require corporations, governments, and individuals to embrace new strategies, according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Burning Glass Technologies, What's Trending in Jobs and Skills, being released today. BCG and Burning Glass, a leading provider of real-time labor market information, studied 95 million online job listings in the US from 2015 through 2018. The authors analyzed the number and growth rate of job listings and skill requirements across broad sectors and within hundreds of specific job areas, as classified by the US Labor Department's O*NET occupation system. Through this analysis, the report identifies the fastest-growing jobs and the fastest-growing skills in the job market. "No other job market study to date has been as statistically extensive or exhaustive," says Rainer Strack, managing director and senior partner at BCG and a coauthor of the report.

Government agencies requested $973.5 million in nondefense AI research spending for the fiscal year ending in September 2020. It is the first time the federal government has calculated agency-specific requests for spending on artificial intelligence. AI spending for the Defense Department is classified. Michael Kratsios, the U.S. chief technology officer, said at a Washington panel event that breaking down the government's AI spending will allow it to better identify investment opportunities, conduct strategic planning across different parts of the government and find collaboration opportunities with industry and academia. Trump administration officials said they believe the total reflects their commitment to maintaining and strengthening U.S. leadership in AI.