Struggling to think of a synonym? A new crossword-solving system could be the end of your lexicological lamentations. The web-based system, developed by researchers from the UK, US and Canada, makes use of artificial neural networks, which are based on the brain's own learning systems. The freely-available software was found to be better at solving standard crossword clues than commercial products. It can cope with single words (e.g.

In 1992, as personal computers were beginning to reshape everyday life, Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka wrote that computing could never overshadow human achievement, because of one missing quality: creativity. "A computer isn't creative on its own because it is programmed to behave in a predictable way," he wrote in Fortune. "Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience. Computers simply cannot do that." But new projects are challenging the question of computer creativity--like Beyond the Fence, the world's first computer-generated musical, which opens at the Arts Theater in London today.

Is AI a threat or an opportunity? It is both, to those focused on the routine it is a threat, to those focused on innovating/bespoke it is an opportunity, as pointed out by John O. McGinnis & Russell G. Pearce[1]. The advice therefore should be to understand these new technologies and explore what opportunities they create. This should not be limited to iterative improvements to the current process but more importantly to identifying opportunities for transformational change. This last year has seen Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerging as a very hot topic within the mainstream media (see Elon Musk, Stephen Hawkins, Bill Gates, etc.)[2]. Many of the articles have invoked the spectre of a new generation of'Robots/AI' raising up to take skilled jobs, previously the preserve of the professions (see Susskind book)[3].

While fans eagerly await the release of the'Tom Clancy's The Division' game, Ubisoft Entertainment and BETC Paris announce the launch of Collapse, a realistic, local and global end of society simulator. Collapse is an interactive digital experience, created by BETC Paris to promote Ubisoft's upcoming online open world action role-playing game, 'Tom Clancy's The Division'. Based on the game's fictive yet realistic storyline, which takes place in a society on the brink of destruction, Collapse is an end of society simulator that uses real data to create a personalized experience of events to set the scene before the game launches on March 8. Collapse is a powerful reminder of the fragility and complexity of the interdependent systems that we rely on daily – power, transport, banking, hospitals and communications. When one fails, others follow, creating a deadly domino effect that can cripple society in a matter of days. Through a sequence of interactive storytelling, Collapse takes viewers through the consequences of the fictional Variola Chimera pandemic, demonstrating how quickly the cities and society that we take for granted can fall apart. Launching on March 8, 2016, Tom Clancy's The Division (TCTD) is set in a society on the brink of collapse.

Chat apps are very popular and arguably, most people would prefer engaging in a chat conversation rather than make a phone call. Going by recent buzz, it's apparent that tech giants are planning to bring chat conversations to advertisers and marketers. But there are many startups out there already using chat conversations to simplify user queries. Yellow Messenger is one such Bangalore-based startup. Instead of a team of people answering your queries however, it has put in place an Artificial Intelligence-powered interface that converses with users and responds to their queries related to shopping, real estate, recharge, etc.

When the artificial intelligence, AlphaGo, beat Go champion Lee Seedol at his own game, it created history. AlphaGo didn't just beat Lee at Go, it won four games out of five, an unprecedented victory that many hadn't expected. AlphaGo's neural networks took thousands of Go matches, played by human players, and added its own learning on top of that, to come out with moves that even a legend like Lee Seedol didn't expect. But is AlphaGo the breakthrough in machine learning that the world has been waiting for? We talked to David Silver, Research Scientist, Google Deep Mind, to learn the same.

Have you ever had that moment when suddenly the things that you write, talk and worry about are happening to you? Surely they always happen to other people? I have been writing about artificial intelligence and my worry that business leaders don't think they need to understand it – it will only affect future generations. My white paper, March of the robots … into the boardroom, confirmed that the technology lethargy is worse even than I thought. Now, I find that technology is moving faster than even the experts had thought possible and is encroaching on areas of skills that had been thought of as exclusively human. So what has happened and will this finally mean bosses wake up and start thinking about the implications for their businesses – both as opportunities and risk?

Daniel Faggella Crunch Network Contributor Daniel Faggella is founder of TechEmergence, a news and advice website for entrepreneurs and investors interested in the intersection of technology and the mind. How to join the network "Science has not yet mastered prophecy. We predict too much for the next year and yet far too little for the next ten." Everything You Know About Artificial Intelligence is Wrong. Will the Singularity Artificial General Intelligence winners be Hedge Fund Managers, the Military and Spy Agencies?

Three Day Rule, a matchmaking service with headquarters in Santa Monica, has raised 650,000 from the Dallas Angels Network investment group and 550,000 from several wealthy individuals. The company's 20 matchmakers -- spread across seven cities -- use software and intuition to find potential partners for customers, who pay about 4,000 for three months of assistance. Three Day Rule identifies matches from its own database, which includes people who have signed up free of charge at networking events, industry conferences and on the firm's website. But the pool goes beyond that. JDate, Christian Mingle and OkCupid allow Three Day Rule to choose from people listed on those dating websites too.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display