Wal-Mart is making strides in its pursuit to be a leader in ecommerce. Wal-Mart executives announced Monday they will be developing "Store No. 8" in Silicon Valley in hopes of making improvements to its online retail experience. Store No. 8 will experiment with autonomous vehicle and drone delivery, virtual reality and personalized shopping. Last summer, Wal-Mart purchased Jet.com, an online retailer, for $3.3 billion in an effort to compete with Amazon, the dominant force in online shopping. Marc Lore, founder of Jet.com joined Wal-Mart's ecommerce team following the purchase.

Samsung could start a new chapter when it unveils its long-awaited Galaxy S8 on March 29, putting the disaster of the Note 7 behind it and showing that it can take a big step forward with innovative features. It's a digital assistant you'll be able activate by pressing a dedicated button on the side of the S8, and it has an impressive pedigree. The feature descends from Viv, the A.I. startup that Samsung bought in October 2016 and which claimed to be a more extensive and powerful alternative to Siri, which its creators also built. Apple bought Siri in 2010, and its co-founders Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham left the company in 2012 to build a better version of Siri that could connect to other services on a phone, and not just refer queries that it didn't understand to the Web. That's what Samsung is now promising Bixby will be able to do, claiming it will be better than other digital assistants like Siri or Google Assistant because of how it can link more deeply with apps on your phone.

I get a lot of questions about how to learn TensorFlow and Deep Learning. I'll often hear, "How do I start learning TensorFlow?" or "How do I start learning Deep Learning?". My answer is, "Learn Deep Learning and TensorFlow at the same time!". See, it's not easy to learn one without the other. Of course, you can use other libraries like Keras or Theano, but TensorFlow is a clear favorite when it comes to libraries for deep learning. And now is the best time to start.

In this digital age, we are starting to see great practical ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) can shake up the status quo. Take the recently launched'robot lawyer' DoNotPay for example - an AI powered chatbot that gives free legal and immigration advice. Then there is the marketers' mission to create a utopian, near-perfect experience for customers, with the likes of the O2 announcing that AI is set to handle its customer services from 2017 with a voice recognition system called Aura. AI, machine learning and predictive intelligence are terms that are frequently thrown around in the marketing space, and we've known for a while now how these emerging technologies are going to transform businesses and the customer journey, but how will the everyday man or woman on the street feel about the experience in reality? There is still a level of apprehension from customers about talking to an automated so-called robot instead of real people, but in fact, AI and machine learning can help humanise the customer experience by making it more personal for each user.

If the idea of using cognitive computing and artificial intelligence to provide a compelling customer experience seems far off, think again. Where providing top-notch customer service used to fall to large call centers, now leading insurers are deploying virtual agents in multiple channels to provide their customers with the right information quickly, even cross-selling and upselling insurance products and services based on the analytics-driven intelligence that leverages the unique preferences of the customer.

In a modern economy, the website is a foregone conclusion. Whatever your business model, your end customer expects you to have some representation on the internet. If you are a consumer-facing business, chances are a mobile app is just as vital to your brand as your website. While these business tools are considered mission critical today, a mere 20 years ago almost no one had a website and the app only rose to importance with the advent of the smartphone economy, less than a decade ago. At traditional industry pace these are rapidly changing parameters, and the next technology revolution is already upon us.

Known as Information Warrior 17, it will take place between 26 March and 6 April in various locations in and around Scotland. It is intended to drive the development of cutting edge technology in the Navy, including artificial intelligence, to put the UK at the forefront of Information Warfare. It will also test the defensive capabilities of ships and submarines against cyber attacks, which are as real a threat in the modern age as traditional weapons like rockets, missiles, and torpedoes. Admiral Sir Philip Jones, First Sea Lord, said: "We are living in a data-driven age in which our adversaries are already exploiting the potential of Information Warfare, and we must respond in kind." The Royal Navy has expressed an interest in using AI technology to develop a "Ship's Mind" at the centre of its warships, enhancing efficiency and allowing for fast and complex decisions to be made automatically.

The'artificially intelligent' future needs regulation and human creativity, according to tech pioneer Inma Martinez, who will speak at the Inspirefest Salon in London this week. The computers are taking over! With headlines declaring that supercomputers can now beat expert humans in complex strategic games and can even chug through the medical literature to diagnose disease, it's easy to believe we are on the cusp of science-fiction becoming fact as artificial intelligence gets a mind of its own. But for technology pioneer and data scientist Inma Martinez, the precipitous rise of fast and flashy artificial intelligence (AI) comes as no surprise. We are now'almost vertical' in the exponential growth in AI technology, and she stresses the need to regulate the AI industry, but reassures that as the computers get even'smarter' we will still need human creativity.

It has long been suspected that using satnavs can make drivers abandon their senses and do silly things. The persuasive voice of the satnav has led to countless cases of big lorries stuck in narrow country lanes, or motorists who have ignored their own eyes and driven into rivers or the sea. Now research has shown that when we use the handy devices, it'switches off' the parts of our brain we normally use to navigate. But don't panic if you're a Google Maps junkie - although your brain might be in sleep mode now, using real maps will wake it up again. UCL researchers studied the brains of 24 volunteers.

United Technology's announcement last November that its Carrier Corp. plant would keep jobs in Indiana rather than move them to Mexico was heralded as a significant victory for American workers. However, the true impact of the deal was hidden below the headlines. United Technologies CEO, Greg Hayes, said the company will invest $16M "to...automate to drive the cost down so that we can continue to be competitive... ultimately...there will be fewer jobs." Carrier's plans underscore a harsh reality: most American jobs aren't going to Mexico, China or another foreign country, they're being automated. The workers left behind often struggle to find employment for comparable pay because they lack the skills required for the jobs that aren't threatened by automation.