Two start-ups leading the race to build the first self-flying taxis are using money from the US military. Last year, Kitty Hawk and Joby Aviation received a total of nearly $2m from the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), a Pentagon organization founded to help America's military make faster use of emerging technologies. Neither company, nor the DIUx, disclosed the funding at the time. The website for Cora, Kitty Hawk's experimental air taxi, emphasizes its role in solving urban transportation challenges: "Cora is about the time you could save soaring over traffic. The people you could visit.

When it comes to the enterprise technology and cybersecurity challenges modern businesses face, it's hard to think of two areas that create more concerns for IT professionals than information protection and artificial intelligence (AI). The risk of an outsider attack remains an ever-present danger, with year-over-year increases in cybersecurity threats. Meanwhile, the malicious use of AI to adapt to existing defensive mechanisms has also become a threat. But while there are risks, there are also opportunities, as businesses can use the power of AI to deal with their cybersecurity challenges. AI can help companies recognize malicious patterns automatically to identify more vicious attacks.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following is an opinion editorial provided by Naveen Rao of Intel Corporation. Most people agree that artificial intelligence (AI) will transform modern society in positive ways. From autonomous cars that will save thousands of lives, to data analytics programs that may finally discover a cure for cancer, to machines that give voice to those who can't speak, AI will be known as one of the most revolutionary innovations of mankind. But this fantastic future is a long way off, and the path to get us there is still under construction. Never before has society undertaken such a significant transformation so deliberately, and no blueprints exist to guide us.

Apple and Google must tell users how much they are spying on them, according to US lawmakers. The Energy and Commerce Committee has written to the heads of both companies to demand they make clear whether iPhones and Android devices are collecting information about their users, and how that data is used. The letters suggest that devices might be tracking their users, including tracking their location and listening in to what they are doing through their microphone. It asks that both companies make clear their data policies, including whether that information is tracked and who it might be passed on to. The letters make reference to suggestions that – despite tech companies' claim that devices only listen if they hear their wake word – they are actually collecting more audio than that and that unknown companies might have access to recordings of people's personal lives.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has issued a stark warning to humanity: advances in artificial intelligence could lead to a world which humans will no longer be able to understand -- and we should start preparing now. What if machines learn to communicate with each other? What if they begin to establish their own objectives? What if they become so intelligent that they are making decisions beyond the capacity of the human mind? Your Support of Independent Media Is Appreciated: https://www.paypal.me/dahboo7

As AI technologies have become more powerful in recent years there has been growing interest in how the technology will impact our work. The latest of these comes from one of the doyens of the field. MIT Sloan's Erik Brynjolfsson has recently penned a paper that attempts to provide a more nuanced exploration of the topic than the utopian and doomsday predictions that occupy either end of the spectrum. The paper argues that whole jobs are very unlikely to be disrupted or replaced by machines, with a much more likely scenario being that specific tasks will be replaced instead, although Brynjolfsson does concede that some jobs are likely to have more of their tasks automated than others. "Our findings suggest that a shift is needed in the debate about the effects of AI: away from the common focus on full automation of entire jobs and pervasive occupational replacement toward the redesign of jobs and reengineering of business practices," the authors say.

The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. drone is scheduled to leave from the Grand Sky park at the Grand Forks Air Force Base Tuesday afternoon. The flight will cover more than 3,000 miles before landing in Gloucestershire, England, where the Royal Air Force is holding its centennial celebration.

The United States and Canada launched last week an initiative designed to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and situational awareness technologies during critical incidents. Officials representing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Canada's Defence Research and Development Canada Centre for Security Science (DRDC CSS) said the effort stems from a desire to ensure next generation first responders are better connected, protected and fully aware during emergencies. "Canadian and American responders have very similar requirements," John Merrill, DHS S&T's director of the Next Generation First Responder Apex Program, said. "By jointly determining research and development priorities between the two countries, we can reach our goal faster and more efficiently, eliminating duplication of effort and optimizing funding." Over the course of the next two years, the countries will collaborate on new research and development projects, hold joint workshops and field experiments and share best practices and lessons learned to ensure the safety and effectiveness of first responders and the public.

With new technologies disrupting businesses and changing the rules of engagement, India faces a daunting task to reskill its huge workforce for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan says. "India has a major challenge of transitioning its young workforce to the fourth industrial revolution called AI after the eras of agriculture, manufacturing and services," Gopalakrishnan said in an interview. Gopalakrishnan, 63, well-known as'Kris', is one of the seven co-founders of the iconic IT firm, who became its chief executive after fellow co-founder Nandan Nilekani quit in mid-2009 to set up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for issuing Aadhaar cards to over a billion citizens. "As the large workforce is engaged in diverse occupations such as agriculture, manufacturing and white-collar jobs in the services sector, it needs to be re-skilled to sustain the jobs, as AI will replace traditional jobs," said Gopalakrishnan. Originating in the mid-1950s as an academic discipline, AI involves machines emulating human intelligence.

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds tremendous potential for governments, especially machine learning technology, which can help discover patterns and anomalies and make predictions. There are five vectors of progress that can make it easier, faster, and cheaper to deploy machine learning and bring the technology into the mainstream in the public sector. As the barriers continue to fall, chief data officers (CDOs) have increasing opportunities to begin exploring applications of this transformative technology. Machine learning is one of the most powerful and versatile information technologies available today.1 But most organizations, even in the private sector, have not begun to use its potential. One recent survey of 3,100 executives from small, medium, and large companies across 17 countries found that fewer than 10 percent of companies were investing in machine learning.2