Just hours before the first US Presidential debate -- on a day when stupidity seemed to be on the top of everyone's mind -- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke passionately about artificial intelligence (AI) as a cornerstone of Microsoft's next horizon of innovation. It was a strange juxtaposition of realities: the world as we know it, grounded in the banal and the predictable, versus the world as Nadella envisions it, fueled by AI in every app, every interaction, everywhere. During the second keynote on the opening day of Microsoft's Ignite conference here, Nadella explained how his company is pursuing AI and deep learning to empower every person and every institution "to solve the most pressing problems of our society and our economy." Nadella made his remarks to a packed crowd at Philips Arena, just across the street from the Georgia World Congress Center where the Ignite conference kicked off today. About 23,000 people, primarily IT professionals, are attending the five-day event.

The subject of technology was largely absent from Monday night's presidential debate, minus some throwaway lines about "the cyber." Given the night's agenda, which focused on "America's Direction," "Achieving Prosperity" and "Securing America," that's a missed opportunity. The future of tech is relevant to every American's life. Jobs will be impacted or wiped out entirely by automation during the next president's term. Our messaging apps are directly related to national security concerns, raising fundamental questions about privacy.

The contentious first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump lived up to its big ratings expectations with an estimated average TV viewership that will top the previous record of 80.6 million. The total average audience for Monday's matchup for the ad-supported broadcast and cable networks as well as PBS came in at about 84 million, according to Nielsen numbers. Monday's faceoff tops the previous record for a presidential debate set when Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan clashed on Oct. 28, 1980. It was their only meeting of that year's presidential campaign, which occurred in an era when U.S. households had only a handful of channels to choose from. The total across broadcast and cable networks measured by Nielsen for the Clinton-Trump debate does not include viewers who watched the debate through various video streams available online.

Our days on Earth are numbered, according to Professor Stephen Hawking. The world-famous physicist has previously issued warnings to the world that robots could wipe out humanity and that leaving Earth is our only hope. Now, in a new book, 'How to Make a Spaceship', the physicist has warned our planet is becoming a dangerous place because of the threat of war or disease. It is a'near certainty' that a major technological disaster will threaten humanity in the next 1,000 to 10,000 years. This is according to physicist Stephen Hawking who claims science will likely bring about'new ways things can go wrong' for human survival The book, written by journalist Julian Guthrie, contains an afterword by the physicist.

The top civilian drone maker's latest model is small enough to slip into purses and controllable with just a smartphone. The Mavic Pro represents a significant leap for Chinese start-up DJI, whose Phantom and Inspire offerings dominate the camera drone market. The unveiling of the Mavic Pro on Tuesday, a week after action camera maker GoPro released its Karma drone and a month after Chinese rival Yuneec's launch of its Breeze, sets up a holiday shopping showdown. The drones still carry price tags likely to intimidate to most consumers -- from 500 to 1,200. But with simplified flying controls and slimmer bodies compared with earlier models, the quadcopters are edging away from their enthusiasts-only roots toward a future as mass consumer devices.

Fast-tracking development of autonomous vehicles will significantly reduce road deaths in America, says the Department of Transportation. The American public has some questions first.

The first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is in the books. I tweeted, took notes and picked some winners and losers. At times she came across as overly rehearsed and robotic. This week, the advertising world converges on New York City to discuss the industry and its ongoing changes. The team at Advertising Week has created a program full of interesting speakers and topics, including brand storytelling, mobile advertising and diversity.

At a political rally in Moscow, police are reported to have attempted to handcuff and detain an activist called Promobot. The event at which the futuristic fracas occurred was in support of Valery Kalachev, a candidate for Russia's parliament. Kalachev was using the automaton to record the opinions and reactions of the crowd for future processing. Apparently that didn't sit well with Russian police officers, who "asked to remove the robot … and even tried to handcuff him," according to the robot's makers, who added that "the robot did not put up any resistance." There is, of course, a whiff of publicity stunt about the whole thing--buoyed by the fact that Promobot already has a track record for getting into scrapes.

SecBI has raised 5 million in a Series A funding intended to fund the firm's debut into the US and European cybersecurity markets. On Tuesday, the Beer Sheva, Israel-based firm said the 5 million funding round has now closed. Investors include Orange Digital Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Amichai Shulman and existing investor Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP). SecBI says the proceeds of the investment round will be used to launch SecBI's debut product, a software solution which automates threat detection and incident investigation. SecBI harnesses machine learning technology to monitor and analyze network log data, identify interesting patterns and hidden threats, and the compile a "comprehensive incident storyline" which will help IT professionals mitigate cyberattacks quickly.

It is projected that urban India will contribute about 75% of the national GDP in the next 15 years. With the rapid rate of urbanization and depleting resources, it is essential for India to rethink its strategy to see how it can best optimize the capabilities of its physical infrastructure. By leveraging global best practices in smart city development and ICT (Information and Communication Technology), India is in a unique position to leapfrog a few stages of growth to become a global superpower. In 2015, the Indian government announced an ambitious plan to develop 100 smart cities, with a commitment of spending 7.27 billion over the next five years. The infrastructure overhaul would include creating intelligent transport systems, smart grids, smart waste management, and smart water grids/solutions.