Permutation-valued features arise in a variety of applications, either in a direct way when preferences are elicited over a collection of items, or an indirect way in which numerical ratings are converted to a ranking. To date, there has been relatively limited study of regression, classification, and testing problems based on permutation-valued features, as opposed to permutation-valued responses. This paper studies the use of reproducing kernel Hilbert space methods for learning from permutation-valued features. These methods embed the rankings into an implicitly defined function space, and allow for efficient estimation of regression and test functions in this richer space. Our first contribution is to characterize both the feature spaces and spectral properties associated with two kernels for rankings, the Kendall and Mallows kernels. Using tools from representation theory, we explain the limited expressive power of the Kendall kernel by characterizing its degenerate spectrum, and in sharp contrast, we prove that Mallows' kernel is universal and characteristic. We also introduce families of polynomial kernels that interpolate between the Kendall (degree one) and Mallows' (infinite degree) kernels. We show the practical effectiveness of our methods via applications to Eurobarometer survey data as well as a Movielens ratings dataset.

The Select Committee has been appointed to consider the economic, ethical and social implications of advances in artificial intelligence, and is now calling for evidence from those interested in these issues. The Committee will begin taking oral evidence in the autumn, and has to report by 31 March 2018. "This inquiry comes at a time when artificial intelligence is increasingly seizing the attention of industry, policymakers and the general public. The Committee wants to use this inquiry to understand what opportunities exist for society in the development and use of artificial intelligence, as well as what risks there might be. We are looking to be pragmatic in our approach, and want to make sure our recommendations to Government and others will be practical and sensible. There are significant questions to address relevant to both the present and the future, and we want to help inform the answers to them. To do this, we need the help of the widest range of people and organisations. If you are interested in artificial intelligence and any of its aspects, we want to hear from you. If you are interested in public policy, we want to hear from you. If you are interested in any of the issues raised by our call for evidence, we want to hear from you."

Facebook showed off some artificial intelligence at its F8 event. The United Kingdom's government has some questions about artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, the House of Lords announced a public call for experts to weigh in on issues surrounding AI, including its ethical, economic and social effects as the technology becomes more prevalent. When you think about all the crazy things that AI can accomplish, like a sex robot with a "brain," yeah, we've got some questions too. AI is already poised to take over jobs, as it has for an insurance company in Japan, but Britain's Parliament has concerns from all sides.

Companies may now have to set their sights on defending against cybercriminals armed with artificial intelligence. Even as companies adopt AI to help fight cyberattacks, the criminals are also on the trail of enhanced machine-learning skills. Many cybersecurity companies are starting to invest or implement AI in their cybersecurity solutions and it is giving their security teams a significant boost, according to a recently released report commissioned by McAfee. However, usage of AI and machine-learning technologies aren't limited to the good guys. Cybercriminals are starting to use these solutions to sift through large amounts of data to "classify victims that have weaker defenses" so they can get the maximum "return on their investment," Steve Grobman, chief technology officer for McAfee, told Bloomberg BNA.

A House of Representatives panel just greenlit a measure that, once officially signed into law, would allow thousands of autonomous cars to hit the road while federal legislators draft more comprehensive safety laws. It would be a significant first step in nationally regulating the rollout and operation of self-driving vehicles -- or at least get them on streets while the finer details are being worked out. Now the bill heads to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee, which might vote on it as early as next week and reach the House floor after the August recess, according to Bloomberg. The legislation would exempt automakers from US safety rules and allow them to let loose tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles on American roads, all while prohibiting states from regulating their mechanical, software and/or safety systems. While that's probably annoying for all the work California has put in developing its own rules, Wired points out, it's an aggregate boon for the majority of states that haven't produced their own regulations.

A House subcommittee has approved legislation designed to allow automakers to increase the testing of self-driving cars on U.S. roads.

Shortly before the competition, the team was finally able to find a sponsor willing to take a chance on paying for the visa fees. Yet the sponsor would only pay for the people who had a good shot at getting an application approved under the travel ban. The team decided that Jorny and Jehad were the best candidates, since they had applied successfully for visas the year before the ban was in effect in order to attend exchange programs in the U.S. They boarded a flight to Tunisia to apply at the U.S. embassy (the U.S. does not have an embassy in Libya) and came straight to the competition in D.C. after getting visa approval.

The fear of super-intelligent machines is as real as it gets for Tesla and SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk. He's spoken about it so many times, but perhaps not in the strongest terms as when he told U.S. governors that artificial intelligence (AI) poses "a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization." The comment caught the attention of not just the governors present, but also AI researchers -- and they're not very happy about it. "While there needs to be an open discussion about the societal impacts of AI technology, much of Mr. Musk's oft-repeated concerns seem to focus on the rather far-fetched super-intelligence take-over scenarios," Arizona State University computer scientist Subbarao Kambhampati told Inverse. Musk's megaphone seems to be rather unnecessarily distorting the public debate, and that is quite unfortunate."

This article was first published on the IEC e-tech website. Rapid advances in technology are revolutionizing the roles of aerial, terrestrial and maritime robotic systems in disaster relief, search and rescue (SAR) and salvage operations. Robots and drones can be deployed quickly in areas deemed too unsafe for humans and are used to guide rescuers, collect data, deliver essential supplies or provide communication services. The first reported use of SAR robots was to explore the wreckage beneath the collapsed twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York after the September 2001 terrorist attacks. Drones and robots have been used to survey damage after disasters such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in Japan in 2011 and the earthquakes in Haiti (2010) and Nepal (2015).

The UK's upper house of parliament is asking for contributions to an enquiry into the socioeconomic and ethical impacts of artificial intelligence technology. The committee says it is looking for "pragmatic solutions to the issues presented, and questions raised by the development and use of artificial intelligence in the present and the future". Commenting in a statement, Lord Clement-Jones, chairman of the Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence, said: "This inquiry comes at a time when artificial intelligence is increasingly seizing the attention of industry, policymakers and the general public. The Committee wants to use this inquiry to understand what opportunities exist for society in the development and use of artificial intelligence, as well as what risks there might be. "We are looking to be pragmatic in our approach, and want to make sure our recommendations to government and others will be practical and sensible.