US health regulators have approved the first ever artificially intelligent medical device that can identify disease without need for a doctor. The device, called IDx-DR, is designed to detect the most common cause of vision loss among more than 30 million Americans living with diabetes. Its in-built camera takes a picture of the patient's eye, which is assessed by an algorithm to determine whether there are signs of diabetic retinopathy. The move, announced on Wednesday, makes this the first AI device to receive FDA approval to screen without need for a doctor to interpret the results. It means any doctor could use it, including primary care physicians who interact far more frequently with patients with diabetes, rather than patients having to seek out eye doctors themselves.

If you ask Alexa what chemtrails are, you might be surprised by what she says. The voice assistant has been spouting a government conspiracy theory as an explanation for the oft-debated condensation trails. Alexa has been recorded telling users: 'Chemtrails are trails left by aircraft [that] are actually chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for a purpose undisclosed to the general public in clandestine programs directed by government officials'. Amazon says it has taken steps to fix the issue since the error was first discovered by Mashable. Amazon's Alexa voice assistant has been telling users that chemtrails are part of a government-issued conspiracy theory.

What happens next is unclear, but Bedoya said he hopes Congress can focus on a package of specific reforms, such as protections that forbid tracking individuals by location or facial recognition without their consent. Such measures should also strengthen the Federal Trade Communication, which has a 2011 consent decree against Facebook that remains one of the U.S. government's most powerful protections against future privacy abuses.

In an attempt to unify the European Union's fractured membership around a common digital policy, EU leaders announced a series of measures designed to make Europe more competitive in critical emerging technologies. Today's commitments by Member States give a strong signal: We all understand that Europe's future is digital and that the only way to fully reap the benefits of new technologies is by working together, joining forces and resources. By pooling health data, using artificial intelligence and blockchain and promoting innovation, Europe can significantly improve people's lives. Earlier and better diagnosis of diseases, safer roads -- this is only a glimpse of what embracing digital change can look like. Over the past several years, the EU has been pursing the creation of a Digital Single Market to create common digital rules for things like mobile technologies, geofencing, digital content, and privacy.

Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has joined the chorus of people calling for greater regulation of AI and social media. In a recent interview, Musk said social media has gone unchecked, despite its impact on'the public good'. His comments come as another Silicon Valley titan, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has appeared in a pair of high-stakes hearings on Capitol Hill this week surrounding the firm's ongoing privacy scandal. Tesla boss Elon Musk called for greater regulation of artificial intelligence and social media during an interview with CBS This Morning on Wednesday. Musk said he believes that big tech should be subject to more government oversight.

A laptop showing the Facebook logo is held alongside a Cambridge Analytica sign at the entrance to the London offices of Cambridge Analytica. The company's acting CEO, Alexander Tayler, is stepping down, and is the second CEO out since the data sharing scandal broke. A laptop showing the Facebook logo is held alongside a Cambridge Analytica sign at the entrance to the London offices of Cambridge Analytica. The company's acting CEO, Alexander Tayler, is stepping down, and is the second CEO out since the data sharing scandal broke. The acting chief executive officer of Cambridge Analytica, the political data firm embroiled in controversy after improperly sharing data from some 87 million Facebook users, has stepped down.

In the constantly changing landscape of today's global digital workspace, AI's presence grows in almost every industry. Retail giants like Amazon and Alibaba are using algorithms written by machine learning software to add value to the customer experience. Machine learning is also prevalent in the new Service Robotics world as robots transition from blind, dumb and caged to mobile and perceptive. Competition is particularly focused between the US and China even though other countries and global corporations have large AI programs as well. The competition is real, fierce and dramatic.

The NHTSA/SAE "levels" of robocars are not just incorrect. I now believe they are contributing to an attitude towards their "level 2" autopilots that plays a small, but real role in the recent Tesla fatalities. Readers of this blog will know I have been critical of the NHTSA/SAE "levels" taxonomy for robocars since it was announced. My criticisms have ranged to simply viewing them as incorrect or misleading, and you might have enjoyed my satire of the levels which questions the wisdom of defining the robocar based on the role the human being plays in driving it. Recent events lead me to go further. I believe a case can be made that this levels are holding the industry back, and have a possible minor role in the traffic fatalities we have seen with Tesla autopilot. As such I urge the levels be renounced by NHTSA and the SAE and replaced by something better.

The device, called IDx-DR and produced by Iowa-based IDx LLC, is the first to receive Food and Drug Administration authorization that provides a screening decision without need for a clinician to also interpret the image or results. That makes it usable by health care providers not normally involved in eye care, such as primary care physicians who interact far more frequently with patients with diabetes. It was reviewed under new FDA regulations designed to speed to market some devices seen as low- to moderate-risk and for which there is no prior legally marketed device, part of Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's efforts to streamline approvals on a variety of fronts, including generic drugs and cheaper versions of costly biotech medicines. "The FDA will continue to facilitate the availability of safe and effective digital health devices that may improve patient access to needed health care," Malvina Eydelman, who oversees the agency's division of ophthalmic, and ear, nose and throat devices, said in a statement. IDx-DR will be used to detect diabetic retinopathy, in which high levels of blood sugar lead to damage in the blood vessels of the retina and vision loss.

N-Star generated jet of material shot outward at nearly speed of light.