Businesses are spending on artificial intelligence, but, according to a recent study, the barriers and opportunities are so significant that they need a C-level position dedicated to AI strategy. Enterprises are wise to the business value of artificial intelligence (AI). They are spending on it and see that it is a competitive necessity. However, business leaders also realize that challenges abound – challenges significant enough to call for a new executive in the c-suite to drive AI strategy, ensure adoption and measure return on investment (ROI). Those are the findings of a new survey by market research firm Vanson Bourne, who conducted the study on behalf of Teradata, a company that specializes in the data and analytics.

Keep up with the latest news from Wisconsin's innovation community with these recent headlines: The four-year college's goal in constructing the 64,000-square-foot research center is to position MSOE "at the forefront in artificial intelligence, deep learning, cybersecurity, robotics, computing, and other next-generation technologies," according to a press release. The facility will have classrooms, laboratories, an auditorium, and space for businesses that partner with MSOE, the school said. MSOE plans to break ground on the new center by mid-2018. Phoenix sells neutron generators and other machines to organizations in industries ranging from healthcare to defense to renewable energy. The company plans to use some of the proceeds from the funding round to construct a new headquarters that can house all of its workers and equipment.

Some people are afraid that heavily armed artificially intelligent robots might take over the world, enslaving humanity – or perhaps exterminating us. These people, including tech-industry billionaire Elon Musk and eminent physicist Stephen Hawking, say artificial intelligence technology needs to be regulated to manage the risks. But Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg disagree, saying the technology is not nearly advanced enough for those worries to be realistic. As someone who researches how AI works in robotic decision-making, drones and self-driving vehicles, I've seen how beneficial it can be. I've developed AI software that lets robots working in teams make individual decisions, as part of collective efforts to explore and solve problems. Researchers are already subject to existing rules, regulations and laws designed to protect public safety.

Late in 2015, Gilberto Titericz, an electrical engineer at Brazil's state oil company Petrobras, told his boss he planned to resign, after seven years maintaining sensors and other hardware in oil plants. By devoting hundreds of hours of leisure time to the obscure world of competitive data analysis, Titericz had recently become the world's top-ranked data scientist, by one reckoning. "Only when I wanted to quit did they realize they had the number-one data scientist," he says. Petrobras held on to its champ for a time by moving Titericz into a position that used his data skills. But since topping the rankings that October he'd received a stream of emails from recruiters around the globe, including representatives of Tesla and Google.

Chatbots and self-driving trucks are revolutionising the way we live, work and travel. In today's reality, using artificial intelligence (AI) bots such as Alexa, Cortana, or Siri, have become the new normal. Technology is so integrated in our daily lives, that we almost can't imagine a life without it. It helps individuals and companies to streamline activities, save time and organise schedules, to work faster and more efficient and live in new places around the world. In a world with no boundaries, AI chatbots and self-driving trucks amongst other technology are part of the future of HR and global mobility.

A group of young kids is entranced -- all the more so because Sella is not actually there. Her likeness is being beamed in the form of an interactive and moving hologram, part of a first-of-its-kind exhibition debuting this weekend at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, which aims to preserve accounts of a fast-disappearing generation. "She has their undivided attention," said teacher Samantha O'Neill of Chicago's Northside Catholic Academy. "It really does look like she is sitting on the stage in front of you." The exhibit uses voice-recognition technology and machine learning to let visitors ask questions about survivors' World War II ordeals and hear answers that will grow more relevant as the technology learns.

In addition, the Internet Society was asked to send written comments, which are reprinted here. AI is not new, nor is it magic. "Intelligent" technology is already everywhere – such as spam filters or systems used by banks to monitor unusual activity and detect fraud – and it has been for some time. What is new and creating a lot of interest from governments stems from recent successes in a subfield of AI known as "machine learning," which has spurred the rapid deployment of AI into new fields and applications. It is the result of a potent mix of data availability, increased computer power and algorithmic innovation that, if well harnessed, could double economic growth rates by 2035. So, governments' reflection on what good policies should look like in this field is both relevant and timely.

The UAE has appointed Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, aged 27, as the country's first minister of State for Artificial Intelligence (AI) as part of a cabinet reshuffle. Earlier, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, announced the UAE Strategy for artificial intelligence, a major part of the UAE Centennial 2070 objectives. The AI initiative aims to improve government performance and create an innovative and highly-productive environment by means of investing in AI. "We initiated electronic services 16 years go and today we are launching a fresh stage relying on Artificial Intelligence," Sheikh Mohammed said. "We are seeking to adopt tools and methodologies related to artificial intelligence to expedite and ensure more efficiency for government services at all levels." In the last significant structural change, Sheikh Mohammed announced in February last year that the UAE will outsource most government tasks to the private sector and cut the number of ministries.

As questions continue to mount about the Niger firefight that killed four U.S. soldiers in early October, here's a timeline on what happened based on new details from the Department of Defense. U.S. military officials sought permission to send an armed drone near a patrol of Green Berets before a deadly ambush Oct. 4 in Niger, but the request was blocked, raising questions about whether those forces had adequate protection against the dangers of their mission. New information shows the Green Beret team was part of a larger mission, one potentially more dangerous than initially described, and one believed to merit an armed drone. But the request was blocked in a chain of approval that snakes through the Pentagon, State Department and the Nigerien government, according to officials briefed on the events. One focus of military investigations into what happened in Niger will be what a military official now says were two changes in the mission of the Green Beret team--from initially training Nigerien forces, to advising on a mission to capture or kill a wanted terrorist, to investigating the terrorist's abandoned camp.

Kumar discusses the guiding ideas behind his research on micro unmanned aerial vehicles, gives his thoughts on the future of robotics in the lab and field, and speaks about setting realistic expectations for robotics technology. Vijay Kumar is the Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering with appointments in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Computer and Information Science, and Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kumar received his Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1987. He has been on the Faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics with a secondary appointment in the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania since 1987. In his time at the university, Dr. Kumar has held numerous positions including director of the GRASP Laboratory, Chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, and Deputy Dean for Education in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.