The data industry is a rapidly evolving space with the development of new technologies, methodologies, and platforms almost every other day. So, keeping pace with this industry can be challenging indeed. I have, therefore, created a list of 15 tech and data science influencers who are not just a source of inspiration to data science professionals and aspirants alike but also ensure that you keep abreast of all the new developments. I have not taken social media influence and related metrics into account. I have created this list based on how much I personally enjoy the content these individuals share on their social media.

Swamped by too much raw intel data to sift through, US spy agencies are pinning their hopes on artificial intelligence to crunch billions of digital bits and understand events around the world. Dawn Meyerriecks, the Central Intelligence Agency's deputy director for technology development, said this week the CIA currently has 137 different AI projects, many of them with developers in Silicon Valley. These range from trying to predict significant future events, by finding correlations in data shifts and other evidence, to having computers tag objects or individuals in video that can draw the attention of intelligence analysts. Officials of other key spy agencies at the Intelligence and National Security Summit in Washington this week, including military intelligence, also said they were seeking AI-based solutions for turning terabytes of digital data coming in daily into trustworthy intelligence that can be used for policy and battlefield action. AI has widespread functions, from battlefield weapons to the potential to help quickly rebuild computer systems and programs brought down by hacking attacks, as one official described.

After watching nonstop coverage of the hurricane and the incredible rescues that were taking place, I got in bed at 10:30 on Tuesday night. The Madman Theory p The United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, so there is no embassy in Washington, but for years the two countries have relied on the "New York channel," an office inside North Korea's mission to the United Nations, to handle the unavoidable parts of our … The artist and skate punk behind the viral Barack Obama'Hope' poster shares his tips p 8September 2017 p As the creative force behind the Barack Obama "Hope" poster, Shepard Fairey is, to put it frankly, single-handedly responsible for one of the most iconic political images in modern history. She turned to Google for help getting sober. Then she had to escape a nightmare. The 39-year-old math teacher and mother of two was in a spiral familiar to anyone who's struggled with addiction.

Britain's military will commit to ensuring that drones and other remote weaponry are always under human control, as part of a new doctrine designed to calm concerns about the development of killer robots. The move by the Ministry of Defence comes after more than 100 leading robotics experts wrote to the United Nations urging the organisation to step in to halt the development of artificial intelligence in weaponry. The announcement is also timed in response to demonstrations at this week's biennial Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) fair, one of the world's biggest arms exhibitions. More than 34,000 visitors are expected to attend the event at the ExCeL centre in east London's docklands. The new doctrine will make clear that the UK opposes the development of autonomous weapons systems that could operate without trained controllers and traditional chains of command.

It could even happen soon: At a recent cybersecurity conference, 62 industry professionals, out of the 100 questioned, said they thought the first AI-enhanced cyberattack could come in the next 12 months. This doesn't mean robots will be marching down Main Street. Rather, artificial intelligence will make existing cyberattack efforts – things like identity theft, denial-of-service attacks and password cracking – more powerful and more efficient. This is dangerous enough – this type of hacking can steal money, cause emotional harm and even injure or kill people. Larger attacks can cut power to hundreds of thousands of people, shut down hospitals and even affect national security.

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) requires large quantities of data, collected from a variety of sources, in order to complete investigations. Since its creation in 1947, intel has typically been gathered by hand. The advent of computers has improved the process, but even more modern methods can still be painstakingly slow. Ultimately, these methods only retrieve minuscule amounts of data when compared what artificial intelligence (AI) can gather. According to information revealed by Dawn Meyerriecks, the deputy director for technology development with the CIA, the agency currently has 137 different AI projects underway.

China's government has announced a goal of becoming a global leader in artificial intelligence in just over a decade, putting political muscle behind growing investment by Chinese companies in developing self-driving cars and other advances. Communist leaders see AI as key to making China an "economic power," said a Cabinet statement on Thursday. It calls for developing skills and research and educational resources to achieve "major breakthroughs" by 2025 and make China a world leader by 2030. It might not be long before machines begin thinking for themselves -- creatively, independently, and sometimes with better judgment than a human.... Artificial intelligence is one of the emerging fields along with renewable energy, robotics and electric cars where communist leaders hope to take an early lead and help transform China from a nation of factory workers and farmers into a technology pioneer. They have issued a series of development plans over the past decade, some of which have prompted complaints Beijing improperly subsidizes its technology developers and shields them from competition in violation of its free-trade commitments.

There's an action movie cliché in which a cop inspects the body of a felled assassin or foot soldier and discovers a curious tattoo that ultimately leads to a rogue black-ops squadron, a secret religious sect, or an underground drug trafficking ring. The trope isn't entirely Hollywood fantasy, but the reality of emerging tattoo recognition technology is closer to a dystopian tech thriller. Soon, we may see police departments using algorithms to scrape tattoos from surveillance video or cops in the field using mobile apps to analyze tattoos during stops. Depending on the tattoo, such technology could be used to instantly reveal personal information, such as your religious beliefs or political affiliations. For years, law enforcement has used tattoos to identify criminal suspects as well as unidentified victims.

Yemen's al Qaeda branch, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has taken advantage of a more than two-year-old civil war between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's Saudi-backed government to strengthen its position in the impoverished country.

OUR VISION: YOUR CITY AS A SERVICE municipalities local businesses Customer public services IoT - AI Big data Apps Mobile and wearables devices Digital transformation Sharing economy Proac&ve and mul&modal service delivery Superior adap&ve experiences for users Higher efficiency and savings for municipali&es Through technology, municipali&es can now engage with the community, provide be?er services and make savings. WE ENGAGE A NEW MULTIMODAL ECOSYSTEM SHARING SOLUTIONS REAL-TIME TRAFFIC SERVICE MANAGEMENT MULTIMODAL SERVICE DELIVERY E-GOVERNMENT Smart healthcare, education, energy CROWD SOURCED OPERATIONAL SOLUTIONS Platform -- AI / IoT/ real-time da taanalysis USER CITY AS A SERVICE Infrastructure-busi nesses - providers The city delivers its functions as a service - on need basis, combining capabilities from public and private sectors. It's a new multimodal ecosystem: every party becomes the service provider and receiver, as well as the data owner. KEY ENABLERS Apps represent the enabler of this disruption, connecting the dots of the available technology and driving this real-time revolution. App Gateway to services Digital identity Instant experience Functionalities on the go Advanced features SERVICES 5. THE CHALLENGES FOR MUNICIPALITIES How to select the right IT solutions?