Hands up if you still think Artificial Intelligence or AI is a Spielberg film, and has something to do with Robotics? Until quite recently, it really didn't occur to me that AI Artificial Intelligence had anything at all to do with selling. So should we be using AI in Sales? But first I will explain why I might take this view. You see when I started selling ET had just been released on the big screen, and the Space shuttle had not long started its missions into the final frontier.

The head of U.S. Army acquisitions said Thursday that allowing artificial intelligence to control some weapons systems may be the only way to defeat enemy weapons. U.S. military has embraced AI, arguing that America cannot compete against potential adversaries such as Russia and China without the futuristic technology. Concern over placing machines in charge of deadly weapons has prompted military officials to adopt a conservative approach to AI, one that involves a human in the decision-making process for the use of deadly force. But Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics and Technology (ASAALT), said it may not be wise to put too many restrictions on AI teamed with weapons systems. "People worry about whether an AI system is controlling the weapon, and there are some constraints on what we are allowed to do with AI," he said at a Jan. 10 Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Army is seeking information regarding battlefield applications of artificial intelligence for man-unmanned teaming. The service branch said Monday in a FedBizOpps notice it will use industry input to support the Army Science Board's study titled "Battlefield Uses of Artificial Intelligence." The study intends to identify operational and tactical AI battlefield applications, address Army-unique challenges and recommend applicable technologies developed within industry, academia and science laboratories. The Army does not yet plan to award a corresponding contract for the services and will only use responses as support information. Responses to the notice are due on Jan. 28.

A new partnership between the UK and Japan will see medical researchers and scientists join forces, in advancing research into chronic conditions - such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis - green technology and AI. The collaboration, announced by British Prime Minister Theresa May, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will see £30 million invested into a new partnership aimed at promoting technology and innovation in both Britain and Japan. The partnership includes a £10 million programme led by the UK's Medical Research Council (MRC) and Japan's Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) that will advance regenerative medicine. Greg Clark commented: "The UK and Japan are home to some of the most innovative businesses in the world, and we share the same fundamental belief in the power of enterprise to improve the lives of our citizens. This government wants to give older people at least five extra healthy independent years of life by 2035."

A new technique using artificial intelligence to manipulate video content gives new meaning to the expression "talking head." An international team of researchers showcased the latest advancement in synthesizing facial expressions--including mouth, eyes, eyebrows, and even head position--in video at this month's 2018 SIGGRAPH, a conference on innovations in computer graphics, animation, virtual reality, and other forms of digital wizardry. The project is called Deep Video Portraits. It relies on a type of AI called generative adversarial networks (GANs) to modify a "target" actor based on the facial and head movement of a "source" actor. As the name implies, GANs pit two opposing neural networks against one another to create a realistic talking head, right down to the sneer or raised eyebrow.

A defense contractor wants to study tiny insect brains as it strives to create capable and efficient forms of artificial intelligence. Defense One reported on a solicitation published by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which asked for recommendations on building computers the size of insect brains -- some of which have fewer than 1,000 neurons. Human brains, on the other hand, have somewhere around 100 billion neurons. "Nature has forced on these small insects drastic miniaturization and energy efficiency, some having only a few hundred neurons in a compact form-factor, while maintaining basic functionality," the solicitation reads. "Understanding highly integrated sensory and nervous systems in miniature insects and developing prototype computational models . . .

AI is one of the most used buzzwords we hear all the time these days. AI's "trendiness" is not difficult to understand either. One decade ago, most scientists were just working in their labs, improving the technology in such a way that it could be applied to some practical outputs. As we enter 2019, we have now a technology in our hands and pockets, capable of voice recognition, synthesised voices, fake imagery using augmented reality, driverless trains and cars… AI is now part of our daily lives, even if we don't recognise it as such. Just think about google assisted email-writing Smart Compose, that anticipates your sentences.

New Delhi: Artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning can prove to be very helpful in detecting duplication under various e-governance services which will help the government save a lot of money, minister of electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday while inaugurating the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence set up by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). This centre will work closely with various ministries and government departments to promote innovation in application of AI to take e-governance services to the next level, he said. The prime minister has been repeatedly conveying to us that all the ministers and the government must use new dimensions of AI in the course of governance, Prasad added. Over the last two years, the government has been actively promoting the use of AI. Last year, the IT ministry had set up four committees to encourage research related to AI headed by directors of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Nasscom and eminent researchers to develop citizen-centric use cases.

Most of us are wondering about "what's next for AI in 2019 leading up to 2020?" Some of us might be wondering about "Singularity". Others are still thinking, "AI is all hype and no action" (Although this subset is on the decline). All valid questions to ponder upon. Artificial Intelligence has made substantial progress in 2018.

With many calling for federal regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), AAF's Director of Technology and Innovation Policy Will Rinehart explains in a new Primer how policymakers should think about AI and the government's approach to it. He also lays out a policy agenda for Congress and the executive branch.