Despite recent development in methodology, community detection remains a challenging problem. Existing literature largely focuses on the standard setting where a network is learned using an observed adjacency matrix from a single data source. Constructing a shared network from multiple data sources is more challenging due to the heterogeneity across populations. Additionally, when a natural ordering on the nodes of interest arises, no existing method takes such information into account. Motivated by grouping the International classification of diseases, ninth revision, (ICD9) codes to represent clinically meaningful phenotypes, we propose a novel spectral clustering method that optimally combines multiple data sources while leveraging the prior ordering knowledge. The proposed method combines a banding step to encourage a desired moving average structure with a subsequent weighting step to maximize consensus across multiple sources. Its statistical performance is thoroughly studied under a multi-view stochastic block model. We also provide a simple rule of choosing weights in practice. The efficacy and robustness of the method is fully demonstrated through extensive simulations. Finally, we apply the method to the ICD9 coding system and yield a very insightful clustering structure by integrating information from a large claim database and two healthcare systems.

Apple has hired Google's chief of search and artificial intelligence, John Giannandrea, a major coup in its bid to catch up to the artificial intelligence technology of its rivals. Apple said Tuesday that Giannandrea will run Apple's "machine learning and AI strategy," and become one of 16 executives who report directly to Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook. The hire is a victory for Apple, which many Silicon Valley executives and analysts view as lagging its peers in artificial intelligence, an increasingly crucial technology for companies that enable computers to handle more complex tasks, like understanding voice commands or identifying people in images. "Our technology must be infused with the values we all hold dear," Cook said Tuesday morning in an email to staff members obtained by The New York Times. "John shares our commitment to privacy and our thoughtful approach as we make computers even smarter and more personal."

NEW YORK – A SpaceX capsule carrying food, experiments and other goods for NASA has arrived at the International Space Station after a two-day journey. The Dragon capsule and its 6,000-pound shipment was captured by the space station's robot arm Wednesday. It's the second trip to the 250-mile-high orbiting outpost for this capsule, refurbished following a visit two years ago. It will remain attached to the space station for about a month, returning to Earth in May. The space station is currently home to astronauts from the U.S., Russia and Japan. The supply capsule launched Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a used Falcon rocket.

Thousands of Google employees, including dozens of senior engineers, have signed a letter protesting the company's involvement in a Pentagon program that uses artificial intelligence to interpret video imagery and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes. The letter, which is circulating inside Google and has garnered more than 3,100 signatures, reflects a culture clash between Silicon Valley and the federal government that is likely to intensify as cutting-edge artificial intelligence is increasingly employed for military purposes. "We believe that Google should not be in the business of war," says the letter, addressed to Sundar Pichai, the company's chief executive. It asks that Google pull out of Project Maven, a Pentagon pilot program, and announce a policy that it will not "ever build warfare technology." That kind of idealistic stance, while certainly not shared by all Google employees, comes naturally to a company whose motto is "Don't be evil," a phrase invoked in the protest letter.

Facebook said Wednesday that personal data for up to 87 million people--tens of millions more than originally thought--may have been "improperly shared" with Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm that worked for Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. Most of those affected were in the United States, the company said. Facebook included the disclosure in the second-to-last paragraph of a company statement that also described new measures to restrict third-party access to user data. Recent stories in the New York Times and the British Observer cited a former Cambridge Analytica employee, Christopher Wylie, who said that the Facebook data of more than 50 million people had been harvested and provided to Cambridge Analytica in 2014. The data was acquired, Wylie said, in the hopes of building personality-based models to target and influence voters in US elections.

Over 3,100 Google employees have signed a petition opposing the company's part in a Pentagon AI program. The letter asked CEO Sundar Pichai to pull Google out of the project, which harnesses artificial intelligence to analyze video and could improve drone targeting. Further, it urged him to establish and enforce a policy that kept the company or its subsidiaries from ever building "warfare technology." That could include a lot of things, but if this partnership is a baseline, said policy would include simply providing government agencies with Google's tech. Gizmodo broke the news last month that the company would lend AI TensorFlow programming kits to the Pentagon's Project Maven, and according to sources, employees were outraged that the government would use it to improve drone operations.

China has retaliated quickly against proposed United States penalties on Chinese goods and announced 25 percent tariffs on critical American exports, including soya beans, aeroplanes and cars. On Tuesday, the administration of President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on $50bn in Chinese imports across 1,300 categories of products, ranging from industrial robots to locomotives. Beijing's response came hours after the US revealed its plans, with China's foreign ministry saying in a statement that "America's measures to impose tariffs have violated the rules of the World Trade Organisation, and have seriously violated China's legal rights". Soya beans are the top US agricultural export to China and were among the 106 products on which China intends to impose the additional tariffs. The US is the second-biggest soya bean supplier to China, after Brazil.

A SpaceX capsule carrying food, experiments and other goods for NASA has arrived at the International Space Station after a two-day journey. The Dragon capsule and its 6,000-pound shipment was captured by the space station's robot arm Wednesday. It's the second trip to the 250-mile-high orbiting outpost for this capsule, refurbished following a visit two years ago. It will remain attached to the space station for about a month, returning to Earth in May. A SpaceX capsule carrying food, experiments and other goods for NASA has arrived at the International Space Station after a two-day journey.

Over the course of the last few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become recognized as one of the keys to solving some of the world's most complex issues, unlocking a level of growth and innovation that has never been seen before. Governments across the globe are now shifting gear, actively designing investment approaches, incentives and discussing regulatory frameworks to help their nations maintain a top spot in this emerging industry. And much like global counterparts, Canadian policy makers and industries are grappling with the challenge of regulating without stifling innovation. AI was a central focus at the 2017 annual business of AI conference hosted by Rotman's Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a Canadian accelerator that builds AI-powered startups. At the conference, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the following about AI: "Let's be part of it and help shape it, and let's make sure we're benefiting from the innovations – in both the designing of them and the applications and the jobs." Let's remember this isn't just a gender issue, we need to think broader and ensure our machines are learning about ethnicity, race, language, skin colour, and age.

Corrindus has raised $118 million and installed 33 systems to date. Playground Global led the round, with participation from Sony Innovation Fund and existing investor Robotics Hub. Agility's two-legged Cassie robot is already deployed in 6 research institutes. Agility is planning on using Cassie for everything from deliveries to facility inspections to hazardous search-and-rescue operations.