FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2015 file photo, Germany's Kuka Robotics Co.'s robot LBR iiwa demonstrates a flower arrangement at the International Robot exhibition in Tokyo. Chinese appliance maker Midea has promised that German industrial robot maker Kuka will remain independent, as it seeks to allay fears about its takeover bid for the company. Midea's chairman said Thursday, June 16, 2016 that it doesn't intend to "dominate Kuka or delist the business" as it released more details about the share offer announced last month.

We've been hearing a lot about artificial intelligence and machine learning lately. From the big screen to Netflix, AI is a popular theme in Hollywood. Its most exciting developments, however, are in the real world, where tremendous strides in creating human-like cognitive capabilities are tackling real challenges. The goal is neither self-awareness nor autonomy. Rather, the forefront of cognitive computing is advanced systems that learn at scale, reason with purpose and interact with us naturally.

Hard-hatted scientists, engineers, earthquake safety experts and news media witnessed the tests Wednesday. Small drones flew in and around the building to map the structure and assess damage. More than 250 sensors, more than 40 video cameras, and a GPS system were also in the building, gathering data. Some sensors are sensitive enough to detect movements caused by the wind.

Migration crisis, climate change or tax havens: Global challenges need global solutions. But agreeing on a joint approach is difficult without a common ground for discussion. Public spheres are highly segmented because news are mainly produced and received on a national level. Gain- ing a global view on international debates about important issues is hindered by the enormous quantity of news and by language barriers. Media analysis usually focuses only on qualitative re- search. In this position statement, we argue that it is imperative to pool methods from machine learning, journalism studies and statistics to help bridging the segmented data of the international public sphere, using the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as a case study.

There's no better way to express mock sympathy than by playing the "world's smallest violin," but the sad song you mime can now actually be heard. Enterprising minds at creative studio Design I/O have combined machine learning, radar and other technologies so that when you rub your thumb and forefinger together, it actually produces the sound of a violin. Google's Project Soli plays a key role in the magic. Soli is a purpose-built interaction sensor that uses miniature radar to track the motion of the human hand. The sensor and antenna array are packed into an ultra-compact 8mm x 10mm chip.

We've talked a little about how the AI in our existing devices works and how it needs to improve moving forward in order to better assist us. What is the next big move in AI though? Well, many think it will be an artificial intelligence living right in your ear. In fact, it seems that in-ear assistants similar to the one featured in the movie Her aren't science fiction at all; but rather an imminent reality. There are obviously a million different implications if this fully comes to fruition. But, specifically, what does this mean to you as a business person?

The folks at [Design I/O] have come up with a way for you to play the world's tiniest violin by rubbing your fingers together and actually have it play a violin sound. For those who don't know, when you want to express mock sympathy for someone's complaints you can rub your thumb and index finger together and say "You hear that? It's the world's smallest violin and it's playing just for you", except that now they can actually hear the violin, while your gestures control the volume and playback. The first is Google's Project Soli, a tiny radar on a chip. Project Soli's goal is to do away with physical controls by using a miniature radar for doing touchless gesture interactions.

In the movie Transcendence, Johnny Depp plays Dr Will Caster, a researcher in artificial intelligence at Berkeley trying to build a sentient computer. Stuart Russell is Will Caster's real life equivalent. He works on artificial intelligence at the University of California at Berkeley, and is co-author of the definitive textbook on AI. He has also been very vocal about the risks of research in AI succeeding. Earlier this year, Google's DeepMind taught a computer program to play a wide variety of Atari video games at a superhuman level in a matter of hours.

The founder and CEO of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe, said the new development will add another factor to people's choice to swipe. "For us, it's all about giving our users more fun and meaningful ways to connect," she told The Huffington Post. "Music has such convening power and we're excited to see what insights come from users connecting based on a shared love of music." But Bumble is also working on a feature that'll put the damper on that: users will soon be able to hide certain artists from the feed. If you're like us, you probably don't want your future significant other to know you sit alone in your room listening to Billy Joel for hours on end. But our own self-indulgence aside, this is pretty disingenuous.

Google's Project Soli plays a key role in the magic. Soli is designed for what the project calls "virtual tools," in which a gesture mimics the familiar interaction with a physical tool. In this case, of course, the gesture is the rubbing of thumb and forefinger associated with playing a tiny violin. Another key piece of the World's Tiniest Violin is an open-source machine-learning tool called the Wekinator.