Artificial Intelligence (AI), is a form of scientific advancement where robots and computer programmes have an ability to make decision independently and get closer to the way we, humans, think. Development of AI has a huge role to play in future. Today we can see driveless cars being tested, self-operating space shuttles being sent to Jupiter and even a robotic waiters waiting to welcome you at certain restaurants. However, when it comes to the future of AI, the scene is bigger and better than ever. AI enthusiasts like us grew up hoping that someday'Back to the Future' will become a reality.

Soon scientists and the public will have the chance to easily test hypotheses about America's ecological challenges with the help of an ensemble of technologies, including artificial intelligence. Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology will link their technology for systems thinking with IBM Watson and the Encyclopedia of Life at the Smithsonian. Scientists will then be able to use the information to create their own models about the environment and efficiently test them. The project is one of 10 "Big Data Spokes" announced by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF's 10 million initiative was created to improve the ability to solve the nation's most pressing challenges with the use of big data.

"Finally, the enemy has been defeated," a toddler-sized robot announces to a captive audience inside the convention center in downtown San Jose as it enacts a scene from Star Wars. A few seconds later, it dances to "Thriller," takes a tumble, but gets back on its feet and belts out a song. It's a social robot, one that will even read you your email, and make cute conversation if you want it to. Nearby, the world's first MotoBot, or motorcycle robot, perched on a Yamaha YZF-R1M, does a great job of making regular motorcyclists seem pretty insignificant. Even as it sits still.

"Saturday Night Live" kicked off its 42nd season, and all eyes were on Alec Baldwin as he played Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for the first time. The show's cold open played off the first presidential debate and featured Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton and Michael Che as moderator Lester Holt. The sketch, which NBC had promoted earlier in the week, interspersed references from the candidates' real lives with the show's signature comedic zingers -- this time about Trump's taxes, Clinton's sometimes-impersonal demeanor and what some have called the general absurdity of this election. Near the beginning of the bit, McKinnon hobbles on stage, cane in hand and coughing. But once the cane gets stuck, she somersaults into a more invigorated state, a riff on recent concerns about the Democratic presidential nominee's health and a nod to the late Gene Wilder, whose Willy Wonka did the same move in the 1971 movie.

The presidential election campaign and Alex Baldwin's impersonation of Donald Trump gave the season premiere of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" a big ratings lift. Saturday's 42nd season kickoff averaged a 5.8 rating in the 64 overnight markets measured by Nielsen. The figure is 29% higher than the season premiere on Oct. 3, 2015. It was the highest overnight rating for an "SNL" season opener since Sept. 13, 2008, when Tina Fey brought her spot-on impersonation of then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to the show. "SNL" pulled out the campaign stops this year with Baldwin as Trump and Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton in a parody of the first presidential debate last Monday (which averaged a record 84 million TV viewers).

CHINA has long been seen as the "world's factory," churning out vast mountains of low-quality goods, but it is also considered a nation incapable of producing innovative products and ideas. Now, this is beginning to change -- China is closing the innovation gap. From drones to artificial intelligence, the Internet to genetic engineering, innovative Chinese companies are leading global innovation and reshaping the country's technology and business landscape. "There is a huge market with great opportunity," said Dai Xiang, co-founder and general manager of Enpower Energy, a manufacturer of aqueous ion batteries, which are cleaner, safer and more cost-effective than lead-acid batteries. After 20 years in the United States, working as a senior manager for start-ups in Silicon Valley, Dai decided to go back to China and start his own business.

Patrick Meier (center, in cap) flies a drone in Nepal after the earthquake in 2015. Meier and his team were able to to capture detailed images of damage around the capital, Kathmandu. He believes using this technology will make crisis mapping even more effective for disaster response. Patrick Meier (center, in cap) flies a drone in Nepal after the earthquake in 2015. Meier and his team were able to to capture detailed images of damage around the capital, Kathmandu. He believes using this technology will make crisis mapping even more effective for disaster response.

One Friday afternoon, I decided to check out a pea-sized lump on my neck that was causing me consternation. I started by calling my GP's surgery in south London. A recorded message informed me there were no appointments that day; after a few minutes, a receptionist came on the line and said that I could have an appointment on Monday. Not too bad, I thought, until I realised she was not talking about the Monday three days hence, but the one 10 days away. I could also try for a walk-in slot or a phone consultation from 8am to 10am on weekday mornings. The homepage was purple and teal, the writing welcomingly blobby.

Zoltan Istvan is a futurist and 2016 U.S. Presidential candidate of the Transhumanist Party. That may dramatically change over the next 10 years as the "robot nanny" makes its way into our households. In as little time as a decade, affordable robots that can bottle-feed babies, change diapers and put a child to sleep might be here. The human-machine bond that a new generation of kids grows up with may be unbreakable. We may end up literally loving our machines almost like we do our mothers and fathers.

Airbnb boasts almost two million listings in 34,000 cities, and according to data from Inside Airbnb, a independent data analysis website, listed about 36000 apartments in New York as of July 5, 2016. This data exploration sets out to visualize how Airbnb operates in New York City. Airbnb's presence in NYC has been clouded in controversy from the beginning, with law makers arguing that Airbnb drive up rents for New York residents, as well as facilitating a lot of illegal hosting activities, all the while not paying any of the fees hotels are subjected to. Rent is drived up when landlords decide to rather rent apartments to short-term guests at higher rates, compared to signing up tenants for yearlong leases. In a study conducted in 2014, The New York State Attorney General concluded that 72%of all units used as private short-term rentals on Airbnb during 2010 through mid-2014 appeared to violate both state and local New York laws.