Back in 2012, the Girl Scouts Research Institute conducted a survey, called the Generation STEM report, in which they discovered that 74 percent of teen girls are interested in STEM. However, that fades through middle and high school, in large part because their exposure to STEM isn't in a way that informs or supports their career decisions. Now, the Girl Scouts is launching its first computer science program, aimed at girls in grades 6–12. It's sponsored by defense contractor Raytheon. The goal of this program is to encourage girls to consider and pursue careers in fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics and data science.

The goal of variable clustering is to partition a random vector ${\bf X} \in R^p$ in sub-groups of similar probabilistic behavior. Popular methods such as hierarchical clustering or K-means are algorithmic procedures applied to observations on ${\bf X}$, while no population-level target is defined prior to estimation. We take a different view in this paper, where we propose and investigate model based variable clustering. We identify variable clusters with a partition G of the variable set, which is the target of estimation. Motivated by the potential lack of identifiability of the G-latent models, which are currently used in problems involving variable clustering, we introduce the class of G-block correlation models and show that they are identifiable. The new class of models allows the unknown number of the clusters K to grow linearly with p, which itself can depend, and be larger, than the sample size. Moreover, the minimum size of a cluster can be as small as 1, and the maximum size can grow as p. In this context, we introduce MCord, a new cluster separation metric, tailored to G-block correlation models. The difficulty of any clustering algorithm is given by the size of the cluster separation required for correct recovery. We derive the minimax lower bound on MCord below which no algorithm can estimate the clusters exactly, and show that its rate is $\sqrt{log(p)/n}$. We accompany this result by a simple, yet powerful, algorithm, CORD, and show that it recovers exactly the clusters of variables, with high probability, at the minimax optimal MCord separation rate. Our new procedure is available on CRAN and has computational complexity that is polynomial in p. The merits of our model and procedure are illustrated via a data analysis.

General Electric Co. is working on a way to use artificial intelligence in electricity grids, a technology that it expects will save $200 billion globally by improving efficiency. "We're also putting a lot into the machine learning side, a lot," said Steven Martin, chief digital officer at GE's energy connections business, at an interview at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance summit in London. "We have a lot of people working on this." This is expected to significantly increase the efficiency of the grid and save consumers money. Researchers are looking into how so-called machine learning can be integrated into businesses from healthcare to computing, and now energy.

BAE Systems has released a set of images showing its new driverless mini-tanks that could revolutionise warfare. The innovative concept, codenamed Ironclad, could soon work alongside other unmanned aerial and ground vehicles to support troops on the battlefield. The Ironclad tanks can be modified with different attachments, meaning they can carry out reconnaissance, evacuate troops and act as bomb disposal units. BAE systems has released a set of images showing its new driverless mini-tanks that could revolutionise warfare. BAE Systems aims to make them completely autonomous in future, meaning they operate without a human controller.

Uber's quest for a new chief executive to succeed Travis Kalanick has taken another twist after one of America's most senior corporate figures ruled himself out. Jeffrey Immelt, the former chief executive of General Electric, said via Twitter that he had "decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber", while expressing "immense respect" for the cab-hailing company and its founders. I have decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber. I have immense respect for the company & founders - Travis, Garrett and Ryan. Meg Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is now the frontrunner to become the new Uber boss, the New York Times reported, despite Whitman stating publicly last month that she would not be leaving HPE.

DuPont has a rich history of scientific discovery that has enabled countless innovations and today, we're looking for more people, in more places, to collaborate with us to make life the best that it can be. Seeking a Data Engineer/Software Developer to design, develop, and implement high quality data solutions and applications for our data science and analytics platform in AWS. Education & Experience: BS degree in Computer Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

Traditionally, the hiring process has meant plenty of face-to-face interaction with candidates, with managers using interviews to narrow their candidate pools. But technology might give that method of operation the axe, as Kelsey Gee of The Wall Street Journal reports. Dutch-British Unilever, one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world with over 400 brands, is experimenting with a process that relies on artificial intelligence and an algorithm to recruit and sort job applicants. Mike Clementi, human resource executive with Unilever, explains to Gee that, given how young workers have a strong online presence and use smartphones on a regular basis, it no longer makes sense for the company to continue to recruit only at their handful of go-to college campuses. Unilever's new way of recruiting and sorting applicants works like this: Unilever has programmed their technology to measure specific elements, such as vocabulary, facial expressions and question response speed.

The term'Artificial Intelligence' is one that resonates far and wide and encompasses everything and everyone, – from the scientists seeking to reach out beyond the existing limits of our knowledge of the universe to the intelligent digital personal assistants now found on various platforms such as iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile. It includes the self-driving car, which is getting ever-closer to reality and the ubiquitous smartphone that is growing even smarter (e.g. Even the way we carry out financial transactions, light and heat our homes and restock our fridges and freezers has AI at its heart. It is not difficult to see why AI is impacting our lives in such a transformational manner; after all, everything we have of value as human beings, as a civilisation, is deeply entwined with our intellect. At its best, AI can become a commanding force that helps to augment that human acumen. Properly employed, it has the power to help us move our civilisation forward in so many positive and ethically sound ways.

A robot overlord adjusts Rob's Open Source Android (ROSAL) at the London Science Museum (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Searching recently for evidence of artificial intelligence taking over our jobs, lives, and everything else, Tom Davenport came up empty. "Nary a robot overlord to be found," he declared at the 14th MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. A day later, at the 3rd RE•WORK Deep Learning Summit, I found many humans who are successfully lording over robots, telling their artificial intelligence creations how to perform a number of narrow cognitive tasks. Davenport, who has published eighteen books on topics ranging from managing organizational data and processes to leading with AI and analytics, is working on his next one, tentatively titled The Cognitive Company. Throughout his distinguished career in a field littered with "hype cycles," Davenport has opted to respond with healthy skepticism to the typical breathless and enthusiastic pronouncements regarding the latest new new thing.

Singapore has been hailed as one of the smartest cities in Asia. SINGAPORE has been getting a lot of positive press lately. In the last month alone, General Electric announced the opening of a high-tech service center in the city-state, while Proctor & Gamble launched a new digital innovation hub. While the tiny island nation has long been used by MNCs as a launchpad for Asia, it's clear Singapore has become the innovation cluster in the region to watch. The latest news from Tech in Asia confirms this, as Singularity University (SU) has officially launched a Singapore chapter last week.