The subscription-based website for finding long-lost relatives already has 6.7 billion historical records and 4.8 billion people named in family trees on its website. But now it's adding the 1940 United States Federal Census, which the federal government will release on Monday. The National Archives has turned the 1940 census paperwork into more than 3.8 million digital images. The online archive--being released after a 72-year waiting period--will be a gold mine for people just beginning to compile their family history, though it will become easier to use once the images are indexed. The company learned its lesson two years ago from a huge spike in website traffic during the TV show "Who Do You Think You Are," in which celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker discover clues about their ancestors.

Is there a formula for writing a hit musical? And if so, could a computer do it? That's one of the questions the team behind the new musical Beyond the Fence hopes to answer. The musical, making its debut in London in February, was written almost entirely by computers. CBC technology columnist Dan Misener answers some questions on what this means for the intersection of science and art.

Apple just bought itself a 3D sensor company, a move that has some intriguing possibilities. This past weekend, Apple confirmed its acquisition of PrimeSense, an Israel-based company best known for its work on the original Microsoft Kinect, a gaming accessory that lets you control on-screen action by moving your body. "I think it's very big news," says David Fleet, a computer science professor at the University of Toronto. Fleet studies machine vision systems and cites the success of the Kinect as a "big win," adding "I think many more applications are on the horizon." PrimeSense's 3D sensing system uses an infrared emitter to shoot out beams of invisible infrared light.

It sounds like the premise of a science fiction movie, but researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory are teaching computers to see into the future. They've created an algorithm that can forecast hugs, kisses, and high-fives -- before they even happen. CBC Radio technology columnist Dan Misener explains how computers are getting better and better at understanding and anticipating human behaviour. They've developed an algorithm that can look at a photo of two people and predict what's going to happen next. For instance, if I showed this software a photo of you and me meeting on the street, it can anticipate whether we're likely to hug, kiss, shake hands or high-five.

The more we learn about the human mind, the more fascinating it becomes, according to Harvard cognitive scientist Steve Pinker. He's known for his research in evolutionary psychology, or the idea that human nature has adapted over time to improve chances of survival. He's written some bestselling books "How The Mind Works," and "The Blank Slate," and last night answered readers' questions during a fascinating Reddit "Ask Me Anything". We've included some of the highlights below: Here we all are, banging at keyboards and reading squiggles on screens, and somehow we're exchanging ideas about consciousness, hunter-gatherer societies, rape, the meaning of life, and hair-care products (I'll get to that). Of course we're using written language, not to mention computer technology and the Internet, but we could be having the same conversation at a bar, dinner table or seminar room, so it's language itself that is the astounding phenomenon.

Joseph Weizenbaum, an MIT professor and a pioneer in artificial intelligence whose famed computer program Eliza seemed to converse with humans in 1964, spent the rest of his life speaking out against substituting machines for human decision-making. "He was a critic of society and science and a true humanist who really touched people," said Peter Haas, a Vienna-based filmmaker who made the 2007 documentary "Weizenbaum. Mr. Weizenbaum, whose parents fled Nazi Germany when he was a boy, died March 5 in Groben, Germany, from cancer. One of his four daughters, Sharon Weizenbaum, recalled playing with the Eliza program in her father's study at her childhood home in Concord. "Eliza was something that was fun to fool around with," she said.

Low birth rates and a potential future shortage of carers could mean elderly people having to rely more on'virtual' care, according to an expert speaking at an event organised by the British Computer Society (BCS). Around 50 forms of help - ranging from motion-activated lights to a fully-fledged robotic companion who could advise, interact and even entertain older people - could be the solution to the care burden predicted in years to come, Dr Kevin Doughty, deputy director of York University's Centre for Usable Home Technology told members of the BCS's specialist Northern health informatics group. By 2025 the ratio of adults of working age to those of retirement age is expected to be just 2.5. Dr Doughty, who ran a residential care home for six years, said: "With falling birth rates and an ageing population, the number of people able to look after the elderly is falling and will continue to fall. By using technology we will not only be able to support the elderly more efficiently, but they will be able to stay in their own homes and maintain a level of independence."

Apple has purchased the company behind motion-capture technology used in the latest Star Wars film. Faceshift, a Zurich based start-up, specialises in software that allows 3D animated characters to mimic the facial expressions of an actor. Apple has now bought the company, though it is not known how much the deal cost the tech giant. It is also unclear what Apple's plans are for the company following its acquisition. A spokesman said: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Marvin Minsky, one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, has died of a cerebral haemorrhage, aged 88. The mathematician and computer scientist was one of the world's foremost AI experts. As a student, he built one of the first neural-network learning machines, using vacuum tubes. He went on to cofound the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Artificial Intelligence Lab, in 1959, with John McCarthy. Prof Minsky's ideas and influence were wide-ranging - from computational linguistics, mathematics and robotics - but underpinning it all was a desire, in his own words, "to impart to machines the human capacity for commonsense reasoning".

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the science of making smart machines, and it has come a long way since the term was coined in the 1950s. Nowadays, robots work alongside humans in hotels and factories, while driverless cars are being test driven on the roads. Behind the scenes, AI engines in the form of smart algorithms "work" on stock exchanges, offer up suggestions for books and films on Amazon and Netflix and even write the odd article. But AI does not have the greatest public image - often due to sci-fi films that display dystopian visions of robots taking over the world. Over the next week, the BBC will be looking into all aspects of artificial intelligence - from how to build a thinking machine, to the ethics of doing so, to questions about whether an AI can ever be creative.