As artificial intelligence (AI) systems become increasingly complex and ubiquitous, these systems will be responsible for making decisions that directly affect individuals and society as a whole. Such decisions will need to be justified due to ethical concerns as well as trust, but achieving this has become difficult due to the `black-box' nature many AI models have adopted. Explainable AI (XAI) can potentially address this problem by explaining its actions, decisions and behaviours of the system to users. However, much research in XAI is done in a vacuum using only the researchers' intuition of what constitutes a `good' explanation while ignoring the interaction and the human aspect. This workshop invites researchers in the HCI community and related fields to have a discourse about human-centred approaches to XAI rooted in interaction and to shed light and spark discussion on interaction design challenges in XAI.

On 10 October 2017, the development of a Digital Agenda of the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis) has started (Statistisches Bundesamt 2018). One of many topics that were intensively discussed was Machine Learning. In a meeting at 13-15 November 2017, the office and department heads of Destatis evaluated and prioritised 59 measures of the Digital Agenda according to their benefits and costs. A "Proof of Concept Machine Learning" was given high priority and classified as one of four lighthouse projects of the Digital Agenda. The content specification was "Proof of Concept Machine Learning - Set up Proof of Concept for Machine Learning, e.g. in business statistics, to perform automatic categorization and improve analysis potential". The deadline for completion of the project was set for mid-2018.

It is a relatively mild scene in a documentary about the sexual predator who helped transform American politics. Back when he ran Fox News, Roger Ailes bought up his hometown paper, and in Divide and Conquer--now in theaters--the Putnam County News and Recorder's former copy editor describes what happened to her after she eventually quit the job. In the next few days, people she had messaged privately about Ailes on Facebook began finding out that he was looking into them. One even received a phone call: "This is Roger Ailes, and I hear you've been making threats about me." Ailes then quoted the friends' Facebook conversation, verbatim. In her interview with Divide and Conquer, the copy editor was clearly still shaken by the experience: "It was really terrifying--this feeling that there are really powerful people who live five minutes from me that are out to destroy me and my life."

New rules mean drones are set to take off in India at last. But the legislation also requires pilots of all but tiny craft to get approval for every flight, even a zip around the local park. The regulations came into force earlier this month, overturning a 2014 ban on drone use by anyone other than government agencies. Now, commercial and recreational drones can fly during daytime, as long as they stay below 120 metres and within sight of operators.

Google's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, testified before the House judiciary committee on Tuesday morning, three months after his company thumbed its nose at Congress by failing to appear alongside Facebook and Twitter at a Senate hearing on election interference. In a hearing heavy on partisan theatrics, Pichai notably refused to rule out launching a censored search engine in China, a controversial plan that has garnered significant criticism from human rights organizations as well as rank-and-file Google employees. "Right now there are no plans to launch search in China," Pichai said numerous times, repeating a talking point that the company has relied on since news of the project leaked in August. Pichai characterized the Chinese search product as an "internal effort" and said the company would be "transparent" and consult with policy makers before launching in China. Pressed to rule out launching a tool that would enable censorship and surveillance in China, however, Pichai appeared to offer the company's probable justification for reentering a market that it left in 2010: "We think it's in our duty to explore possibilities to give users access to information."

Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Google CEO Sundar Pichai made his public debut before Congress on Tuesday, spending much of his testimony countering Republicans' allegations of anti-conservative bias in the company's search results. He also faced scrutiny of how much data Google collects on users and on the company's work on a censored search tool for China. Time and again, Republican lawmakers pressed Pichai on allegations of political bias in search results on Google and its video subsidiary YouTube.

Apple has been banned by a court from selling iPhones in China, according to chip maker Qualcomm. The company says that a Chinese court has granted two preliminary injunctions that will force Apple to stop selling a whole range of iPhones released since the iPhone 6s. That accounts for just about every phone Apple has made in the last three years: the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. Qualcomm said that the ruling required Apple to stop importing and selling the phones. "We deeply value our relationships with customers, rarely resorting to the courts for assistance, but we also have an abiding belief in the need to protect intellectual property rights," said Don Rosenberg, Qualcomm's general counsel. "Apple continues to benefit from our intellectual property while refusing to compensate us. These Court orders are further confirmation of the strength of Qualcomm's vast patent portfolio."

Employees may soon be forced to wear headsets that track thoughts and monitor productivity, engagement and even when staff want to complain to their boss. A mind-reading device known as an electroencephalogram (EEG) can be fitted to a person's scalp to track electrical signals produced by the brain. Some companies have started forcing workers to wear them and combining the readings with artificial intelligence to dissect their thoughts. Nita Farahany, a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University, gave a TedTalk on the topic and revealed she was concerned that this may cost people their jobs. The headsets are already being used to track alertness, productivity and mental states in China.

In this Oct. 31, 2018, photo, a screen displays a computer-generated image of a Watrix employee walking during a demonstration of their firm's gait recognition software at their company's offices in Beijing. A Chinese technology startup hopes to begin selling software that recognizes people by their body shape and how they walk, enabling identification when faces are hidden from cameras. Already used by police on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai, "gait recognition" is part of a major push to develop artificial-intelligence and data-driven surveillance across China, raising concern about how far the technology will go. As many businesses prepare for the coming year, one of the key priorities is determining best use case and strategic implementation of artificial intelligence as it applies to the core competencies of the company. This is a fairly challenging area on a variety of levels. But as this work occurs, one of the most important narratives in the arena is also further coming to light.

Elon Musk is worried about the perils of artificial intelligence. The year is 2030, and artificial intelligence has changed practically everything. Is it a change for the better or has AI threatened what it means to be human, to be productive and to exercise free will? You've heard the dire predictions from some of the brightest minds about AI's impact. Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk worries that AI is far more dangerous than nuclear weapons.