The revelation that the New Orleans Police Department quietly used a Silicon Valley company to predict crime raises dilemmas similar to those emerging from artificial intelligence in other spheres, like consumer behavior, medicine and employment. But what's uniquely shocking about the story of New Orleans's partnership with the national security company Palantir is that it has remained largely unreported before now. As an article in The Verge details, James Carville, the well-known Democratic strategist and Bill Clinton adviser, did actually mention the partnership on a radio program back in 2014. He knew about it for a simple reason: It was his idea (at least according to Carville). By his account, Palantir was looking for "pro bono" opportunities, which is often code for a corporate dry run for untested technology.

Roundup Your weekly dose of tidbits from the AI world, beyond everything we've already covered, begins with a senate committee hearing where a US lieutenant general, currently a nominee for the role of the director of the NSA, speaking about his concerns around the technology. And ends with a CEO of a Chinese AI startup demonstrating how AI can be used to perform a faceswap on Trump and Obama. Lieutenant General Paul Nakasone, currently the commander of the United States Army Cyber Command, was quizzed by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) about his thoughts on AI. The Senate Committee on Armed Services was considering the nomination of Nakasone for the role of director of the NSA, as well as Dr Brent Park to be deputy administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation for the National Nuclear Security Administration, and Anne White to be assistant secretary of energy for environmental management for the department of energy. Senator Cruz brought up the idea of poisoning systems with adversarial examples, something that was discussed during the first congressional hearing on AI he chaired last year.

Later this year, a different kind of astronaut is expected to be deployed aboard the International Space Station: a floating robot head. Called CIMON (Crew Interactive Mobile Companion), the new crew member is about the size of a medicine ball and will work alongside human astronauts in space. The "floating brain" is equipped with IBM's Watson artificial intelligence technology and is expected to assist astronauts during the European Space Agency's Horizons mission in June. CIMON is being developed by Airbus on behalf of the German Aerospace Center. It's being programmed to perform three tasks: "experiment with crystals, solve the Rubik's magic cube based on videos, and conduct a complex medical experiment by serving as an'intelligent' flying camera," according to IBM. CIMON uses digital face and voice recognition along with artificial intelligence to make it more of a "colleague" to the astronauts than just another machine.

As the public sector adopts new technologies to improve operations and service delivery, artificial intelligence and machine learning offer agencies new potential for improving interaction with citizens and making better decisions. But implementing AI well requires a focus on sound technology management and attention to critical details. This week, the IBM Center for The Business of Government released a new report to help agencies understand effective practices in adopting AI and cognitive technologies: Delivering Artificial Intelligence in Government: Challenges and Opportunities, by Kevin Desouza, ASU Foundation Professor in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. Desouza reviews recent progress made in applying artificial intelligence to public sector service provision, drawing on lessons learned from commercial experience as well as burgeoning cognitive computing activity by federal, state, local, and international governments. The report draws on this real-world experience to set forth a framework for agencies to plan, develop, and deploy AI systems. The author then puts forward a set of challenges for government leaders and innovators in this space, along with opportunities for agencies to act in addressing these challenges.

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our site. By continuing to use our site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation. How to manage AI's risks and rewards Getting to Yes with China in cyberspace: is it possible? Podcast: What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

The Argentinian summer Sun beat down on the Buenos Aires city circuit as the cars approached the penultimate turn. It was February 18, 2017, the Saturday of Formula E's South American weekend, and two cars jostled for first place. The second car, though, was being too aggressive. Nearing the corner's apex, the vehicle misjudged its position and speed. The vehicle slammed into the blue safety walls surrounding the track. As the wreckage crumpled to a stop, a detached wheel rolled freely across the hot asphalt. The scene was eerie: though the marshals were alerted to the smash, the usual scramble to rush paramedics to the scene didn't happen.

A recurring theme when I talk with banking leaders about the management of compliance records, contracts and other critical documents is that it is both essential and expensive work. Bank attorneys, paralegals and loan officers spend thousands of hours poring over countless pages of regulatory compliance filings, loan agreements and other records to determine whether they comply with laws, terms and conditions. Banks spend an estimated $70 billion annually on regulatory compliance and governance software, a figure expected to grow to nearly $120 billion by 2020. What can be done to rein in the cost of regulatory compliance? By unleashing artificial intelligence (AI), banks may be able to save an estimated 30% of compliance costs while accelerating throughput up to three times.

Whether or not virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa actually make our lives better is debatable to say the least. Is navigating the myriad of voice cues really faster or more convenient than just tapping on your smartphone screen a few times? Whichever side of the issue you fall on, it's clear that AI is here to stay, so the European Space Agency is planning to embrace it with a fancy virtual assistant of its own, and it's headed to the International Space Station this year. The new AI is the product of a partnership between Airbus and IBM, and it's called the Crew Interactive Mobile Companion. That's not a terribly catchy name, so they just call it CIMON (pronounced "Simon," I assume) for short, and it'll be put through its paces by astronaut Alexander Gerst.

When Terah Lyons arrives at the Flywheel Coffee Roasters in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, she is greeted so enthusiastically that she laughs with surprise. But this can't have been the first such welcome. Even if you don't know who she is, the ease and poise with which she walks and the warmth of her smile make it hard not to be struck by her presence. And as if on cue, from the speaker overhead comes Alicia Keys' hit song "You Don't Know My Name." In October 2017, Lyons was appointed founding executive director of the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, a nonprofit started by the world's leading AI companies with the goal of ensuring AI is applied in ways that benefit people and society.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has joined criticism of Donald Trump's plan to impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% on aluminium. The body warned that such a move would hurt the US as well as other countries. It said others could follow the US president's precedent by claiming tough trade restrictions were needed to defend national security. Canada, the largest supplier of steel to the US, said tariffs would cause disruption on both sides of the border. It is one of several countries that have said they will consider retaliatory steps if the president presses ahead with his plan next week.