In a newly published thought leadership paper from SAP entitled "European Prosperity Through Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence," prepared by Andreas Tegge, head Global Public Policy, SAP addresses some anxieties and proposes measures for ensuring AI's rapid assimilation and advancement in Europe. It is probably fair to say that no other technology currently inspires such fascination nor stirs up such heated debate as AI and the branch of AI known as machine learning. Algorithms that are capable of autonomously gaining insight from data without being explicitly programmed are already empowering machines to see, read, listen, and interact. In the intelligent enterprise, machine learning allows better and more efficient processes, which means that enterprises benefit from increased productivity levels and employees have more time to devote to tasks that add greater value. Machine learning will one day have applications in almost every branch and sector of industry.

The Agung volcano erupts, spewing magma and ash thousands of feet into the air on the island of Bali in Indonesia in November 2017.Josh Edelson/ZUMA This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A trope of sci-fi movies these days, from Snowpiercer to Geostorm, is that our failure to tackle climate change will eventually force us to deploy an arsenal of unproven technologies to save the planet. Think sun-deflecting space mirrors or chemically altered clouds. And because these are sci-fi movies, it's assumed that these grand experiments in geoengineering will go horribly wrong. The fiction, new evidence suggests, may be much closer to reality than we thought.

This weekend, Futurism got exclusive access to a closed-door round table on the global governance of AI. The event was organized by the AI Initiative from the Future Society at Harvard Kennedy and H.E. Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, the UAE's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. With over 50 of the world's foremost thinkers, leaders, and practitioners of AI in attendance, the conversation was--to be cliché--a hotbed for debate. These thought leaders convened with the goal of developing a road map for nations to follow as we transition to future where humans are no longer the only sentient species on the planet. During one session, which was focused on how to develop rules to govern AI, a panelist opened the discussion by implying that values are universal.

Maybe not, but North Korea's "charm offensive" and leader Kim Jong Un's invitation to South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang "in the near future" will exacerbate existing fissures in Washington's alliance with Seoul as Pyongyang seeks to further chip away at the relationship. Kim, using the grand stage of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, was behind Saturday's offer to host Moon for talks in the North Korean capital, setting the stage for what would be the first meeting of Korean leaders in more than a decade. The personal invitation from Kim was delivered verbally by his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, during talks and a lunch Moon hosted at the presidential Blue House in Seoul. Any meeting would represent a diplomatic coup for Moon, who swept to power last year on a policy of engagement with the isolated North while pursuing a diplomatic solution to the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs. Kim Jong Un wanted to meet Moon "in the near future" and would like for him to visit North Korea "at his earliest convenience," his sister told Moon, who had said "let's create the environment for that to be able to happen," Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom was quoted as saying.

"Today there are more great powers, so we have a multipolar rather than bipolar competition. The ideological rivalry has shifted from communism against capitalism to a new contest between authoritarian capitalism against liberal democratic capitalism. "There is far more trade between and among the great powers than there was during the Cold War, making all powers more hesitant to risk economically catastrophic conflict. But it also means we are less able to ignore one another or isolate ourselves from one another." The former national security advisor also revealed how the next all out war could escalate – beginning with cyber and anti-satellite tactics by the aggressor nation.

Elon Musk may have been film-maker Jon Favreau's reference point for Tony Stark in the Ironman films, but it is hard to know whether the guy is more superhero or super-villain. Blasting a Tesla car into space was a fun gimmick. But nevertheless, Musk has created the most powerful rocket in the world right now, and it won't be long until he's blasting things into space that aren't the billionaire's version of schoolyard fantasies. Space travel holds a remarkable fascination of some of the rich. Their wealth and ambition is too much for this planet, and so they must reach forth, with plans to colonise Mars, become a multi-planetary species, and utilise space as a new tourist destination (for those rich enough and sufficiently bored enough with Instagramming remote and hard to reach corners of the globe).

DURHAM – A Durham-based financial management company has raised $770,000, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trill, which uses artificial intelligence to manage clients' finances, plans to raise an additional $1.23 million, or a total of $2 million. The company did not indicate its intentions for the raised money. Previously, NC Biz News covered other fundraising by the finance company. In October 2017, the company raised $370,000 in a push to raise $1 million.

Five days into an epic court battle that was expected to last for weeks, Uber abruptly settled a lawsuit Friday brought by Waymo, part of Google parent Alphabet, over the alleged theft of trade secrets. As part of the deal, company officials said, Uber has agreed to pay 0.34 percent of the company's equity at a $72 billion valuation -- a sum that exceeds $244 million. The deal also includes a guarantee that Uber will not incorporate confidential Waymo self-driving-car technology into Uber's hardware and software, a Waymo spokesman said. The deal was announced in a San Francisco federal court before testimony began, shocking many in the audience and leading to a rapid succession of prepared statements from each side. Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi released a statement saying he wants to "express regret" and commit Uber to taking steps to ensure that its self-driving technology "represents just our good work."

I recently led a group of 20 American tech investors to Israel in conjunction with the UJA and Israel's Ministry of Economy and Industry. We witnessed firsthand the innovation that has produced more than $22 billion of investments and acquisitions within the past year. We met with the University that produced Mobileye, with the investor that believed in its founder, and the network of every multinational company supporting the startup ecosystem. Mechatronics is blooming in the desert from the CyberTech Convention in Tel Aviv to the robotic labs at Capsula to the latest in autonomous driving inventions in the hills of Jerusalem. Sitting in a suspended conference room that floats three stories above the ground enclosed within the "greenest building in the Middle East," I had the good fortune to meet Torr Polakow of Curiosity Lab.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are being integrated into many aspects of our everyday lives. If you use Siri or Amazon Echo, you've already been touched by AI to some degree. One area where this so-called "smart" technology has become particularly valuable is in the realm of cybersecurity. But despite the buzz, it's important to understand the real capabilities of intelligent automation in security. Many are surprised to learn that artificial intelligence in cybersecurity isn't a new concept.