In light of recent advances in performance–not to mention the history of computing–it's reasonable to assume that artificial intelligence and machine learning systems will become smarter and faster. But government-funded research that is being put into practice at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) could achieve new levels of performance while also consuming minimal amounts of power. AFRL and IBM, working from a program started nearly a decade ago by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), have developed a "neuromorphic chip" called TrueNorth that is patterned on the neurons in the brain and can perform heavy-duty calculations while using a fraction of the energy of conventional processors. "The major advantage of this chip," Qing Wu, AFRL's principal electronics engineer said in a statement, "is it runs machine learning algorithms–the same ones as we run, the same functionality, same accuracy, but with much less power dissipation." IBM has started work on building AFRL a supercomputer made with 64 TrueNorth chips that will be used for pattern and object recognition.

Google is famous for its "20 percent time," whereby staffers are allowed to spend the equivalent of one workday a week on passion projects that they believe will benefit the company. The idea is that creativity and innovation happen when people are allowed to experiment. Things like Gmail and Chromebooks have resulted, according to a Google spokesperson. Whether the policy still exists has been debated over the last few years. But on Thursday, Google announced that artificial intelligence researcher and senior software engineer Chris Shallue discovered two new planets -- and it was born of a flex time side venture.

Millions are combing online shopping sites for last-minute gifts, but some things are selling out in the blink of an eye. The culprits may be computer programs that perform specific, repetitive tasks at breakneck speed, like buying things online en masse to be resold elsewhere at inflated prices. From online shopping, to ticket sales for concerts and events – and even fake identities that troll social media – these bots have made headlines in 2017. They'll continue to seep into our lives in myriad ways next year, too. They can be a scourge.

For all the hype about killer robots, 2017 saw some notable strides in artificial intelligence. A bot called Libratus out-bluffed poker kingpins, for example. Out in the real world, machine learning is being put to use improving farming and widening access to healthcare. But have you talked to Siri or Alexa recently? Then you'll know that despite the hype, and worried billionaires, there are many things that artificial intelligence still can't do or understand.

For all the hype about killer robots, 2017 saw some notable strides in artificial intelligence. A bot called Libratus out-bluffed poker kingpins, for example. Out in the real world, machine learning is being put to use improving farming and widening access to healthcare. But have you talked to Siri or Alexa recently? Then you'll know that despite the hype, and worried billionaires, there are many things that artificial intelligence still can't do or understand.

Artificial intelligence may not have reached its world domination moment just yet but the economic impact of AI is now being realized globally, with countries like China and the United States putting more and more efforts into research and applications. But Canada is also poised to be a player in the AI revolution. With startup and university research cultures in places like Toronto and Montreal and with a prime minister who's a bonafide AI cheerleader, Canada is set to punch well above its weight Last year, the Wuzhen Institute, a Chinese think tank, issued a report on the state of the world's artificial intelligence research, finding that while the United States is miles ahead of all other countries in terms of the number of AI companies and patents applications, China is quickly catching up. Chinese AI companies received $2.6 billion in funding over the past five years, again second only to the US, and Chinese innovation has shown a 200 per cent uptick in patent submissions over just the past two years. "AI is developing rapidly in China," says Zhao Ziming, analyst at the Internet consultancy company, Analysys, to the China Daily.

If you're hoping for a DJI drone this Christmas, be prepared for one teeny-tiny roadblock as you rush into the back garden with controller in hand. Today, the company has announced a mandatory "Knowledge Quiz" for all of its customers in the UK. It will live in the DJI GO 4 app -- which is basically required to use the company's snap-on controller -- and pose eight questions about safe, common sense flying. In short, you won't be able to fly until you've answered them all successfully. DJI launched a similar quiz for US pilots earlier this year.

University of Maryland and Capital One on Tuesday announced a partnership to develop a workforce pipeline in data analytics, machine learning and cybersecurity. Capital One is investing $3 million through an endowment gift to advance machine learning and the two plan to create an innovation lab where students will apply classroom lessons to real-world problems. "This partnership will not only help attract and retain top faculty and students, but will also propel UMD to national prominence and excellence in these critically important fields," said Mary Ann Rankin, senior vice president and provost at University of Maryland. Just over $2 million of Capital One's gift will be used to endow a faculty chair in the department of computer science. The remaining $900,000 will support research and educational initiatives in machine learning, data analytics and cyber security.

A robust, timely census is vital to democracy. Most crucially, they influence how resources and political power are doled out: Cities use census data to set budgets and the Constitution mandates a national census to apportion congressional seats. But taking a census is both expensive and slow--the annual American Community Survey (ACS) represents data collected over a five-year period, creating one hell of a lag. A team of Stanford AI researchers believe we can use computer vision to speed up the process, a radical approach to a centuries-old practice. In a new paper, the researchers described how they fast-tracked census data collection by using object recognition on 50 million Google Street View images from 200 cities.

Sophia, an artificially intelligent (AI) human-like robot, pictured during the'AI for Good' Global Summit It's been a busy year in artificial intelligence. Kicking off with DeepMind beating a world champion at his own game and reaching an impressive crescendo with a realistic humanoid that wants a baby, this was the year that AI breakthroughs – and our fears about them – went mainstream. On October 11, 2017, Sophia was introduced to the United Nations. That same month, she was granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia; becoming the first robot to have a nationality and simultaneously raised a lot of eyebrows, and even more questions on robot rights. It was also somewhat ironic that a robot was granted rights in a country where women were only recently allowed to drive.