In 1844, a laborer from a small town in southern Italy was put on trial for stealing "five ricottas, a hard cheese, two loaves of bread […] and two kid goats". The laborer, Giuseppe Villella, was reportedly convicted of being a brigante (bandit), at a time when brigandage -- banditry and state insurrection -- was seen as endemic. Villella died in prison in Pavia, northern Italy, in 1864. Villella's death led to the birth of modern criminology. Nearby lived a scientist and surgeon named Cesare Lombroso, who believed that brigantes were a primitive type of people, prone to crime.

Scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence system that can predict court decisions better than legal scholars, even with less information. Researchers, including those from The Stanford Centre for Legal Informatics, used the US Supreme Court Database – which contains information on cases dating back to 1791. Using this, they built an algorithm for predicting any justice's vote at any time. Researchers drew on 16 features of each vote, including the justice, the term, the issue, and the court of origin. They also added other factors, such as whether oral arguments were heard.

I was asked to write a short op-ed on the European Parliament Law Committee's recommendations on civil law rules for robotics. In the end, the piece didn't get published, so I am posting it here: It is a great shame that most reports of the European Parliament's Committee for Legal Affairs' vote on its Draft Report on Civil Law Rules on Robotics headlined on'personhood' for robots because the report has much else to commend it. Most important among its several recommendations is a proposed code of ethical conduct for roboticists, which explicitly asks designers to research and innovate responsibly. Some may wonder why such an invitation even needs to be made but, given that engineering and computer science education rarely includes classes on ethics (it should), it is really important that robotics engineers reflect on their ethical responsibilities to society – especially given how disruptive robot technologies are. This is not new – great frameworks for responsible research and innovation already exist.

What do teams working with artificial intelligence need to succeed? At Seal Software, which makes contract discovery and analytics software, AI and blockchain experts thrive on trust and empowerment, says CTO Kevin Gidney. Gidney shares his thoughts on AI, innovation, and the value of failing and learning fast. The Enterprisers Project (TEP): What new technologies are you working with that you think will have the biggest impact on your industry? Gidney: Something that is having an impact on many industries is deep learning, or to be more specific, deep neural networks.

All other requests should be addressed to Control Publications Pty Ltd.

Is there a greater challenge than to write a legal article on an emerging technology that does not exist yet in its absolute form? Artificial intelligence, through a broad spectrum of branches and applications, will impact corporate and business integrity, corporate governance, distribution of financial products and services, intellectual property rights, privacy and data protection, employment, civil and contractual liability, and a significant number of other legal fields. Artificial intelligence is "the science and engineering of making intelligence machines, especially intelligent computer programs".1 Essentially, artificial intelligence technologies aim to allow machines to mimic "cognitive" functions of humans, such as learning and problem solving, in order for them to conduct tasks that are normally performed by humans. In practice, the functions of artificial intelligence are achieved by accessing and analyzing massive data (also known as "big data") via certain algorithms. As set forth in a report published by McKinsey & Company in 2013 on disruptive technologies, "[i]mportant technologies can come in any field or emerge from any scientific discipline, but they share four characteristics: high rate of technological change, broad potential scope of impact, large economic value that could be affected, and substantial potential for disruptive economic impact".2

A NEW commodity spawns a lucrative, fast-growing industry, prompting antitrust regulators to step in to restrain those who control its flow. A century ago, the resource in question was oil. Now similar concerns are being raised by the giants that deal in data, the oil of the digital era. These titans--Alphabet (Google's parent company), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft--look unstoppable. They are the five most valuable listed firms in the world.

Newswire) Breaking Data Corp. (TSX VENTURE:BKD) (OTC PINK:BKDCD) (the "Company" or "BKD") is pleased to announce that is has now finalized its new independent Director appointees with key industry veteran leadership and experience. "We are extremely privileged to have this group of experienced and successful directors join our board," said Nick Thain, CEO. "These executives not only bring a vast network of knowledge but also have deep ties in many sports related businesses across the globe, that cross into our key markets. They will, no doubt, be valuable to our strategic and business progress." Greg D'Alba: Mr. D'Alba is currently the Co- founder & CEO of VIDL NEWS LLC, a start-up artificial intelligence news venture focused on real-time personalized news intelligence and reporting.

A glimpse into how courier services could soon become automated by drones has been revealed by IBM. A new patent application suggests the firm is working on a fleet of drones that pass packages mid-air. And the proposals could overcome a number of key obstacles for the use of drones in home delivery. A patent granted to tech giant IBM would see a fleet of drones pass packages mid-air. A customer's own personal drone would be sent out to meet the delivery drones (pictured) for the last leg of the journey, ensuring the parcel's safe delivery A patent granted to IBM would allow drones to play aerial games of pass the parcel, extending the range of drone delivery.

For the first time since 1992, the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (the Code) is being updated. The Code Update Task Force in conjunction with the Committee on Professional Ethics is seeking advice from ACM members on the update. We indicated many of the motivations for changing the Code when we shared Draft 1 of Code 2018 with the ACM membership in the December 2016 issue of CACMb and with others through email and the COPE website (ethics.acm.org). Since December, we have been collecting feedback and are vetting proposed changes. We have seen a broad range of concerns about responsible computing including bullying in social media, cyber security, and autonomous machines making ethically significant decisions. The Task Force appreciates the many serious and thoughtful comments it has received. In response, the Task Force has proposed changes that are reflected in Draft 2 of the Code. There are a number of substantial changes that require some explanation. In this article, we discuss these, and we explain why we did not include other requested changes in Draft 2. We look forward to receiving your comments on these suggested changes and your requests for additional changes as we work on Draft 3 of the Code. We have provided opportunities for your comments and an open discussion of Draft 2 at the ACM Code 2018 Discussion website [http://code2018.acm.org/discuss]. Comments can also be contributed at the COPE website https://ethics.acm.org, and by direct emails to chair@ethics.acm.org. ACM members are part of the computing profession and the ACM's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct should reflect the conscience of the computing profession.