The reputation and bottom line of a company can be adversely affected if defective products are released. If a defect is not detected, and the flawed product is not removed early in the production process, the damage can run in the hundreds of dollars per unit. To mitigate this, many manufacturers install cameras to monitor their products as they move along the production line. But the data may not always be useful. For example, cameras alone often struggle with identifying defects at high volume of images moving at high speed.

There is new energy and momentum to legislate on technology issues--particularly when it comes to privacy, competition, and artificial intelligence. Many states and even some cities have enacted or are considering net-neutrality and privacy regulations, while for its part, Congress is considering a range of possible actions on technology. But what problems should policymakers address, and how should they address them? Join AAF as it convenes two panels, the first on privacy and the second on the important threads between competition policy and AI, to discuss these important issues.

Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into data deals Facebook struck with some of the world's largest technology companies, intensifying scrutiny of the social media giant's business practices as it seeks to rebound from a year of scandal and setbacks. A grand jury in New York has subpoenaed records from at least two prominent makers of smartphones and other devices, according to two people who were familiar with the requests and who insisted on anonymity to discuss confidential legal matters. Both companies had entered into partnerships with Facebook, gaining broad access to the personal information of hundreds of millions of its users. We'll tell you what's true. You can form your own view.

Your submission must be your own original work; and For video submission, please note the video must be solely your work, including but not limited to, the actual filming, editing, graphic design, etc. of the video. Your submission cannot have been selected as a winner in any other contest; and You must have obtained any and all consents, approvals, or licenses required for you to submit your submission; and To the extent that submission requires the submission of user-generated contest such as software, photos, videos, music, artwork, essays, etc., entrants warrant that their submission is their original work, has not been copied from others without permission or apparent rights, and does not violate the privacy, intellectual property rights, or other rights of any other person or entity. You may include Microsoft trademarks, logos, and designs, for which Microsoft grants you a limited license to use for the sole purposes of submitting a submission into this Contest; and Your submission may NOT contain, as determined by us in our sole and absolute discretion, any content that is obscene or offensive, violent, defamatory, disparaging or illegal, or that promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco or a particular political agenda, or that communicates messages that may reflect negatively on the goodwill of Microsoft. For video submission, please note the video must be solely your work, including but not limited to, the actual filming, editing, graphic design, etc. of the video. To the extent that submission requires the submission of user-generated contest such as software, photos, videos, music, artwork, essays, etc., entrants warrant that their submission is their original work, has not been copied from others without permission or apparent rights, and does not violate the privacy, intellectual property rights, or other rights of any other person or entity.

A year after the first fatality caused by a fully self-driving car, questions about liability in the event of a death involving the cars are still completely up in the air. Officials announced earlier this week that Uber won't face criminal charges in the death of a pedestrian struck and killed by one of its self-driving cars nearly a year ago in Tempe, Arizona. The Yavapai County Attorney's Office said it conducted a thorough review of the evidence and determined there was no basis for criminal liability against Uber. It did not detail how the decision was made and has declined to answer any questions on the case. The pedestrian was walking a bicycle across a road at night.

The New York Times reports that federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into Facebook's data deals with major electronics manufacturers. The newspaper says a grand jury in New York has subpoenaed information from at least two companies known for making smartphones and other devices, citing two unnamed people familiar with the request. It reports that both companies had data partnerships with Facebook that gave them access to the personal information of hundreds of millions of users. Facebook describes those data deals as innocuous efforts to help smartphone makers provide Facebook features to users before the social network had its own app. The Times reports that it is not clear when the inquiry began or exactly what it is focusing on.

Shah Alam, Malaysia – The attorney general is pushing ahead with the trial of Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong in the murder of Kim Jong Nam despite the unexpected decision this week to free her co-accused. The prosecution told the Shah Alam court on Thursday the attorney general had considered "all reasons" but 30-year-old Huong's trial for killing the half-brother of North Korea's leader would proceed. The prosecutor did not elaborate. Indonesian Siti Aisyah was freed on Monday after the prosecution suddenly withdrew the charge against her. She is now back in Indonesia.

The newspaper says a grand jury in New York has subpoenaed information from at least two companies known for making smartphones and other devices, citing two unnamed people familiar with the request. It reports that both companies had data partnerships with Facebook that gave them access to the personal information of hundreds of millions of users.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformational $15 trillion opportunity. Today AI is becoming more sophisticated, decisions of machine or action thereby have a far-reaching impact on individual, society, or government. However, decision making is being performed by an algorithmic'black box'. Today's AL/ML models are mostly opaque, non-intuitive and difficult for people to understand and therefore suffer through key issues like trustworthiness, reliability, rationality, and transparency of models. To have confidence in the outcomes, cement stakeholder trust and ultimately capitalise on the opportunities, it is quite necessary to know the rationale of how the algorithm arrived at its recommendation or decision.

Investigations into Facebook's data handling keep piling up. The New York Times has learned that federal prosecutors are in the midst of a criminal investigation into the data deals Facebook arranged with tech companies. It's not known when the investigation began or just what the focus is, but a New York grand jury reportedly used subpoenas to obtain records from two or more "prominent makers of smartphones." The deals included heavyweights like Apple, Microsoft and Sony. Facebook acknowledged the investigation to the Times, stating that it was "cooperating with investigators" and was taking probes "seriously."