Many organizations are interested in using the increasingly large amount of data they collect for social good. However, making sense of so much data and then turning those insights into actionable decisions is a difficult task. To streamline this path from data to insights to decisions, organizations in the public and private sector are beginning to use artificial intelligence (AI). AI involves the use of computers to perform complex tasks typically performed by humans. In particular, advances in machine learning--a branch of AI that focuses on designing computer programs that can automatically and iteratively build analytical models from new data without having the solution be explicitly programmed--are helping organizations analyze massive amounts of data to better understand complex problems, predict outcomes, and prescribe solutions.

DeepMind is an artificial intelligence lab in London that creates what are known as general purpose self-learning algorithms. The company, acquired by Google in 2014 for a reported 400 million, is best-known for creating software "agents" that have mastered games like Go and Space Invaders but it also wants to apply its technology to healthcare. Mustafa Suleyman, DeepMind cofounder and head of DeepMind Health, gave a talk at the King's Fund in London this week where he explained how the company is working with the NHS and what kind of benefits patients can expect to see in the long run. The company operates independently of Google and creates software that can think for itself. In order to create this kind of AI software, DeepMind draws on huge data sets that can help to teach DeepMind's AI how to perform certain tasks.

Singapore is looking to tap artificial intelligence technology to enable more natural and simpler interactions with its e-government services. Led by industry regulator Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the new initiative would see the use of Microsoft's "conversations as a platform" pitch to explore opportunities in developing the country's next-generation government services based on "conversational computing". According to Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister-in-Charge of Smart Nation Vivian Balakrishnan, IDA and Microsoft would co-develop "chatbots" to support selected public services. These intelligence software tools would assume the role of digital representatives, simulating human behaviour, and enable interactions that were more user-friendly and consistent, said the minister, who announced the new initiative at this week's World Cities Summit. New proof-of-concepts would be built to integrate conversational intelligence into public services, with efforts focused on making these more "anticipatory" and engaging for the general public.

To compare where the humans and machines looked, the researchers created "attention" heat maps that could be laid over one another. On a scale of 0 to 1, where 0 is no overlap at all and 1 is complete overlap, the researchers found that the attention maps from the humans lined up at a rate of 0.63. But when comparing humans to machines, this figure was just 0.26. Explaining this difference is tricky. In one question in the study, for example, the humans and neural networks where shown a picture of a bedroom, and asked: "What is covering the windows?"

The original sample was drawn from two sources. Forty-five percent of respondents are part of NORC's AmeriSpeak panel, which was selected randomly from NORC's National Frame based on address-based sampling and recruited by mail, email, telephone and face-to-face interviews. Fifty-five percent of respondents are part of a custom panel of young adults that uses an address-based sample from a registered voter database of the entire U.S and is recruited by mail and telephone.

Rave reviews of games on YouTube might not be all that they seem, according to a new ruling, after developers have been told off for not disclosing that it had paid vloggers to rave about its games. The US Federal Trade Commission announced that it has reached a settlement with Warner Brothers Entertainment after allegations arose that the publisher had failed to adequately disclose that it had paid high profile gaming YouTube personalities to give positive coverage of its title Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. The FTC had complained that Warner Bros had hired a third-party marketing company which paid YouTube gaming "influencers" sums ranging from "hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars" to cover the game. The conditions of the payment were that the coverage had to be positive, should not report any bugs or glitches that might have been uncovered, and that at least one Facebook post or Tweet had to be posted to promote the video. The sponsored videos generated over 5.5 million views and according to a press release from the FTC regarding the settlement one of the most high earning YouTube personalities in the world, PewDiePie's sponsored video made up 3.7 million of these views.

Danaher/Institute for Ethics and Emerging TechnologiesAlgorithms are everywhere, and in most ways they make our lives better. In the simplest terms, algorithms are procedures or formulas aimed at solving problems. Implemented on computers, they sift through big databases to reveal compatible lovers, products that please, faster commutes, news of interest, stocks to buy, and answers to queries. Dud dates or boring book recommendations are no big deal. But John Danaher, a lecturer in the law school at the National University of Ireland, warns that algorithmic decision-making takes on a very different character when it guides government monitoring and enforcement efforts.

By an overwhelming 3-to-1 margin, Swiss voters have rejected a proposal that would have guaranteed all residents a monthly income whether they worked or not. Yet supporters of the concept elsewhere are not taking the Swiss no for an answer. Frequently proposed in the past, guaranteed income for all is back in vogue because of fears that robots and artificial intelligence threaten whole categories of jobs, especially for less skilled workers, and that any remaining jobs will be unstable gigs. Economists' usual prescription is greater investment in education and training, to equip people for high-paying work. Backers span the ideological spectrum: Andy Stern, ultra-liberal former president of the Service Employees International Union, cites straightforward social-justice arguments as the title of his new book Raising the Floor suggests.

Investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board into accidents involving the company's Autopilot technology might suggest as much. In an industry that can seem ridiculously old-fashioned and slow-moving, it may be hard to know just how far to push. And Tesla has forged a remarkable success story by taking risks and breaking the conventions of carmaking with new technologies. With all the excitement over electric vehicles, self-driving technologies, and Uber-like apps, it can be easy to forget that the car industry is more than 100 years old, and nearly impossible for a startup to break into. It is fiercely competitive and is built on razor-thin margins.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown answers questions during a news conference, Monday, July 11, 2016, in Dallas. Five police officers were killed and several injured during a shooting in downtown Dallas last week. Dallas Police Chief David Brown answers questions during a news conference, Monday, July 11, 2016, in Dallas. Five police officers were killed and several injured during a shooting in downtown Dallas last week. An FBI evidence response team works the crime scene, Sunday, July 10, 2016, where five Dallas police officers were killed Thursday, in Dallas.