After a New York Times reporter published a bombshell story on how Facebook intentionally shared personal information of its users with over 60 different device makers – including the two largest, Apple and Samsung – in order to create "Facebook-like experiences" on those devices, U.S lawmakers and regulators are asking Facebook for answers. What they see is a clear pattern of abuse, in which Facebook pledges over and over again that it has figured out its data sharing problem, but new revelations continually come to light. In its defense, Facebook says that the data sharing partnerships with mobile device manufacturers were only intended to make it easier for these global device makers to build software incorporating Facebook functionality into their smartphone devices. According to Ime Archibong, Facebook Vice President of Product Partnerships, the data-sharing program was controlled and monitored by Facebook from the very beginning, and all integrations with the device manufacturers were personally approved by Facebook. Moreover, while personal user data might have been shared with these device makers, Facebook says it was only used in order to give users access to Facebook messages and notifications on their mobile phones. But the New York Times report suggests that the data-sharing program went far beyond this.

President Donald Trump is poised to hike the prices of Chinese-made technology products that might include flat-screen TVs and ultrasound machines for American buyers. They could be among tech imports worth up to $50 billion on which Trump is preparing to slap 25 percent tariffs in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. The White House has yet to release a final list of products. A tentative version in April ran the technology gamut from TVs and telecoms equipment to medications and industrial chemicals. It would be the first direct impact on American consumers of the dispute over a state-led technology development strategy the White House says violates Beijing's free-trade commitments and hurts foreign competitors.

Apple hired Jaime Waydo, previously a systems engineer at Waymo, Apple said, confirming a report by tech news website The Information. "We wish Jaime well in her next endeavor," Waymo said in a statement. Before joining Waymo, Waydo was a longtime engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, according to her LinkedIn profile. At Waymo, she oversaw systems engineering - the process of ensuring hardware and software work well together - and helped make key decisions about when to remove human safety drivers from the company's test fleet in Arizona, The Information reported. Apple has been tight-lipped about its efforts in the development of self-driving cars, although Chief Executive Tim Cook has called it "the mother of all AI projects."

Washington: The chief executive officer of government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. warned that the US has only a small advantage over China in the rising field of artificial intelligence and is at risk of falling behind without a "national strategy." "It's not the 50-year edge that we have in building aircraft carriers," Horacio Rozanski said Thursday in a meeting with Bloomberg editors and reporters in Washington. Chinese President Xi Jinping has made a 10-fold increase in AI output a national priority as the world's second-largest economy seeks to dominate the industry by 2030. The US has little formal AI strategy at the federal level, although resources and government projects have accelerated in the last year or so, Rozanski said. "The investments are being driven at this point by the strategies of the different parts of the government, as opposed to collective strategy," he said.

While the technology can help to fill cybersecurity skill gaps but at the same time its a powerful tool for hackers as well. In short AI can act as guard and threat at same time.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Nasir-ul-Mulk has described the killing of Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan as a "significant development in the fight against terrorism." Mulk made the comment in a telephone conversation with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and thanked him for sharing information about Fazlullah's killing. The call was initiated by Ghani. A government statement says an "action had finally been taken against an enemy of the people and state of Pakistan." Mulk told Ghani the news about Fazlullah's death would be received throughout Pakistan with relief as Pakistanis had borne the brunt of terrorist attacks by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which Fazlullah headed.

KABUL – President Ashraf Ghani confirmed Friday that Pakistani Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah has been killed in a U.S. drone strike. Fazlullah is believed to have ordered the failed 2012 assassination of Malala Yousafzai, who became a global symbol of the fight for girls' rights to schooling, and who later won the Nobel Peace Prize. U.S. forces targeted Fazlullah in a counterterrorism strike Thursday in eastern Kunar province, close to the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. officials said, without confirming his death. "I spoke with Prime Minister of #Pakistan Nasir ul Mulk and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and confirmed the death of Mullah Fazlullah," Ghani tweeted, adding: "His death is the result of tireless human intel led by #Afghan security agencies." Ghani added the Pakistani leaders had assured him the strike was "a great step toward building trust between the two nations," while urging them to "bring (the) Afghan Taliban residing in Pakistan to the negotiation table."

Last month an image purporting to show children in cages as a result of current immigration policies went viral on social media, accelerated by a number of high profile journalists, activists and former government officials who shared it widely – their visibility and stature leading many to trust the image at face value without the level of suspicion and verification that users might apply to other viral images. The image was real, but taken out of context and spread virally before users began to realize it actually dated from a 2014 news article. Yet, when I first saw the image I simply right-clicked on it and ran a reverse Google Images search that immediately turned up the original 2014 source. Could social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook automate such image searches to help combat fake news at scale? Social media today is an ocean of false and misleading information spread for nefarious purposes, but far more often by well-meaning individuals who share first and ask questions later.

What comes to mind when you think of AI in Finance? AI has already undoubtedly made huge contributions to the efficiency and accuracy of many financial practices, but there are also lots of new ways that AI is being implemented to alter traditional methods within retail and commercial banking, insurance and many more industries within the financial landscape. On 6 - 7 September, RE•WORK are hosting the AI in Finance Summit where we will be showcasing the latest breakthrough technologies and their application in the financial sector. Research institutions, large corporations as well as emerging startups will be discussing new AI systems and innovative ways AI can assist financial services. We're taking a look at the latest news and updates in the world of AI in Finance to give you a taster of what we will be covering at the summit: 'Sony Bank is set to start using an AI application which was originally developed by the bank itself, to automate preliminary screenings for mortgage loans from May 10, 2018.

There are growing concerns about the potential risks of AI – and mounting criticism of technology giants. In the wake of what has been called an AI backlash or "techlash", states and businesses are waking up to the fact that the design and development of AI have to be ethical, benefit society and protect human rights. In the last few months, Google has faced protests from its own staff against the company's AI work with the US military. The US Department of Defense contracted Google to develop AI for analysing drone footage in what is known as "Project Maven". A Google spokesperson was reported to have said: "the backlash has been terrible for the company" and "it is incumbent on us to show leadership".