Come and talk about machine learning! We speak about everything from your favorite algorithmes like Random forest and deep learning to domain applications like genomics, image processing, robotics and so on. We also talk implementation because tools and infrastructure are also important. You are welcome to present your startup project or your work related to machine learning.

San Francisco, Calif.: Sentient Technologies, the provider of distributed artificial intelligence (AI), today announced Sentient Ascend, the first conversion rate optimization (CRO) solution that uses AI to evolve winning designs for online marketers. Improving testing speeds by as much as 100 times or more over current A/B and multivariate testing solutions, Ascend gives marketers the freedom to try many more copy, image, design and interaction changes to accelerate the path to increased revenues and conversions. Existing A/B testing tools can only evaluate the impact of one marketing idea at a time and require substantial traffic to achieve a result, and existing multivariate testing solutions require even more traffic to test a limited number of changes. With Ascend, marketers can test dozens of ideas simultaneously, and the AI determines not only which individual changes are helpful, but also which combination of changes achieves the best results. Some early Ascend customers are testing millions of potential design combinations at once.

Imagine a driverless vehicle capable of using a variety of emojis, honks and signs to communicate its intentions to nearby drivers and pedestrians. Drive.ai, a new entrant in the autonomous vehicle race, has begun testing a fleet of such vehicles near its home base in Mountain View, Calif. The company, staffed by researchers from Stanford University's artificial intelligence laboratory, is getting an assist from Steve Girsky, a former General Motors executive who has been named to the Drive.ai Girsky stepped down from GM's board in June after holding several posts at the automaker, including vice chairman of GM and chairman of its Adam Opel subsidiary. "We all know that the automotive industry is in the midst of a foundational shift," Girsky said in a statement.

Billions of dollars are being poured into building sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms. But they could all be snatched away if even a tiny door is left open. Researchers have shown that given access to only an API, a way to remotely use software without having it on your computer, it's possible to reverse-engineer machine learning algorithms with up to 99% accuracy. In the real world, this would mean being able to steal AI products from companies like Microsoft and IBM, and use them for free. Small companies built around a single machine learning API could lose any competitive advantage.

With a little personal shopping assistance, Operator thinks Chinese citizens will pounce on American products sold through its conversational shopping app. The promise of becoming the guided commerce layer connecting China with the US has earned the two-year-old a 15 million series B round at a 100 million pre-money valuation. "We're making commerce borderless", Operator CEO Robin Chan told me. GGV Capital, which specializes in US-China startups, led the round and its partner Hans Tung will become a board observer. Tung praised Operator's "mass-market-first approach" and its understanding of "the value of creating a global company from the start" rather than trying to bolt China onto an app built for the US.

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

As I drift through the lobby of the Nautilus, a derelict spaceship I've found myself stranded on, the shipboard AI starts playing music. I see a terminal across from me in the room. I go to it, and Event[0], out now for PC, starts revealing itself to me. Developed by an independent team called Ocelot Society, Event[0] wants you to talk to it. The terminal has a real-time typing interface and a conversation partner in the form of that shipboard AI.

We eat, breathe and sleep artificial intelligence; it truly is running the world as we know it! Now, it's the turn of education; an industry that has been somewhat left behind in recent years. This however, is set to change. We've all read countless articles on how artificial intelligence is stealing our jobs, so surely something must be done to counteract this? Artificial intelligence and automation are now beginning to enter the workplace at a more graduate level and so it's about time that universities rethink what they're doing and how they're doing it; that is to equip graduates with the ability to work effectively alongside artificial intelligence.

What do a creative coder, a data visualist and an orchestra composer have in common? "Symphonologie: the Music of Business", which is described as a symphonic experience, was created by Accenture Strategy to combine human insight and artificial intelligence. The work had its debut inside the Louvre Pyramid in Paris on Tuesday, where it was performed by a 50-piece orchestra. The orchestral work harnessed algorithms that analyzed consumer sentiments on selected business topics, such as cyber security and the Internet of Things (IoT). The sentiments were then translated into melodic patterns that comprised the musical portion of the show.

With rising security challenges in the global commons, there is growing interest in the subject of "intelligent" weapons systems. This is especially so in the maritime realm, where recent studies have shown that precision-guided weaponry and networked systems are likely to play an increasingly important role. Even while accepting autonomous systems as the future of maritime warfare, however, many find the subject of "intelligent weapon systems" to be deeply contentious. A good point of departure for the discussion on autonomous combat systems is a recent report in the Chinese media about the development of a family of cruise missiles with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. In August this year, a Chinese daily reported that China's aerospace industry was developing tactical missiles with inbuilt intelligence that would help seek out targets in combat.