Apple's iOS 10 might be the most helpful update it's ever put out. But it's also good at helping people who want to wind you up. The new update makes it easier than ever to discuss things, opening up notifications so that they are actually little versions of the app. And that's mostly useful – it means that you don't ever have to open the Messages app to reply, for instance, but can instead do everything from the lock screen notification. Those notifications can be accessed by anyone – since they come up on the lock screen, there's no authentication needed to start sending messages to people in replies.

Mizuho Bank and Softbank Group Corp. on Thursday agreed to set up a 50-50 joint company to provide loans to consumers using artificial intelligence technology. Using customers' business histories with both firms for credit screening, the new firm will provide an innovative, attractive loan service through low-cost operations without outlets, Mizuho Bank and Softbank said. Capitalized at 5 billion, the new company will be established in November. Its operations are seen starting in the first half of 2017. Inc., the parent of Mizuho Bank, and Softbank President Masayoshi Son announced the launch of the new company at a press conference in Tokyo.

Useful quantum computers are closer to becoming a reality as some of the world's biggest corporations try to bring the technology from the lab into the practical world. A quantum computer utilizes subatomic particles called qubits to speed up the solving of complex computations. Near-term expectations for quantum computers range from solving optimization problems to quantum-encrypted communications, and more. With the help of CB Insights' investment, acquisition, and partnership data, we identified 18 corporate groups involved in the development of commercialized quantum computing hardware and software. They are a diverse group of players, ranging from tech industry behemoths to defense contractors to national telecommunications companies.

If you want drones to deliver packages and food to your doorstep in the future, they'll need to break free of the limitations of WiFi. That's one major reason why AT&T is gearing up to test drones on its LTE 4G network, which are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Flight platform. As you can imagine, it'll involve figuring out how to ensure drones stay connected to AT&T's network, even when they're beyond operators' line of sight. On top of deliveries, the carrier says its testing could also let drones tackle things like inspections, rescues and exploration. "Not only do we aim to analyze wide-scalable LTE optimization for safe, legal commercial SUAS use cases with beyond line-of-sight connectivity, but the results can help inform positive developments in drone regulations and 5G specifications as they pertain to wide-scale deployment of numerous drone use cases," said Qualcomm CTO Matt Grob in a statement.

Qualcomm said that it will partner with AT&T to trial drone flights using cellular networks. The mobile chip maker said that its Qualcomm Technologies subsidiary will analyze how unmanned aircraft systems can use commercial 4G LTE networks. Trials with AT&T will look at coverage, signal strength, and use cases across cellular networks. According to Qualcomm, research teams will investigate how cellular networks can enable drones to fly beyond visual line of sight. For instance, inspections, delivery systems, and other use cases will need flying drones to operate beyond line of sight.

Sure, the feds finally made it reasonably easy to get a drone pilot's certificate, but it's clear they still see unmanned aviation as a dodgy proposition. Among the many questions that come with any new tech is a basic limitation: The radio links and Wi-Fi that control the aircraft limit range to a few thousand feet, and aren't robust enough for reliable drone control over long distances. So the new rules, which took effect last month, limit drone use to visual line-of-sight operation, hamstringing operators interested in delivery, search-and-rescue, and remote-inspection operations. The solution may lurk in your own line-of-sight--on top of water towers and rooftops, or shrouded by poorly faked roadside "trees." Qualcomm Technologies and AT&T announced today they're collaborating to make wide-ranging drone operations reliable and safe, using current 4G LTE and future 5G networks.

Today, a lot of high-profile deep machine learning projects in the cloud are powered by GPUs; specifically NVIDIA GPUs. Even Facebook uses them for its own machine learning work behind-the-scenes. GPUs are able to handle the massive amounts of computing power required to train deep neural networks that facilitate these projects. But Huawei deputy chairman and rotating CEO Eric Xu believes the future of machine learning lies in dedicated processors. Read on to find out more. In the past few years, NVIDIA has made a big push to dethrone CPUs in the deep machine learning space.

On this week's NFV/SDN Reality Check we have an interview with Argyle Data to discuss how mobile operators are using big data and machine learning technologies for real time fraud detection, prevention and profit. But first, let's take a look at some top headlines from across the space. AT&T this week announced plans to partner with Intel to work on the telecom giant's cloud network initiatives. The partnership calls for work on optimizing network functions virtualization packet processing efficiency for AT&T's Integrated Cloud platform, defining reference architecture and aligning NFV roadmaps in a move to speed AT&T's ongoing network transformation. AT&T has said its Integrated Cloud platform is where the carrier runs virtual network functions using OpenStack software at its core, with the carrier having set up 74 AIC physical locations in 2015, with plans for 105 by the end of this year and adding "hundreds more" by 2020.

So now that Samsung has issued a recall for the Galaxy Note 7, you're probably wondering what to do with that potentially-combustible smartphone you're holding. Your choice is going to depend on what carrier you've got. We have some more details on what each is doing, thanks to a series of official statements. Samsung has pledged to replace devices "over the coming weeks" once it determines the cause of the problem. To date, 35 phones worldwide have been identified by the company as suffering from the faulty battery.

Creating a network capable of automatically responding to its own issues -- congestion, equipment failure, traffic spikes -- is one of the stated goals of today's virtualization push. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are key elements of this effort today, and they become even more critical going forward. That's because the looming trends of 5G wireless and the Internet of Things will reshape networks and network traffic in even more unpredictable ways than are happening already, notes Mazin Gilbert, AVP of Intelligent Services at AT&T Labs. In this second of two stories on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in telecom (you can read the first one here), we take a closer look at how AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) are deploying technology today to be ready for future services. First, there is a massive spike in data traffic expected with the advent of 5G and IoT, as much as a 10-fold increase in the next four years, Gilbert notes.