V.A.* (Virtual Assistants) are computer programs designed to simulate a conversation with a human via textual or voice interactions. We will focus on text-based interactions only in this paper. Voice-based V.A. consist in the combination of an Automatic Speech Recognition or Speech-To-Text and Text-To-Speech layers on top of a text-based interactions layer. By now you must have heard of Apple SIRI, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, IBM Watson, Viv.ai, X.ai Amy, Kasisto Kai etc. They are becoming ubiquitous with the rise of Mobiles, IoT (Internet of Things) and Messaging platforms.

It may sound like something from the Minority Report, but this app can predict where crimes will take place. The software, called CrimeRadar, has just launched its prototype in the Olympic host city of Rio de Janeiro. The app uses advanced machine learning to predict crime rates in the city's neighbourhoods at different times of the day and night. The Olympic Games have, arguably, exposed crime levels in Rio de Janeiro to a wider audience. A string of high profile robberies, allegedly including members of the US swim team; Australian athletes; and even the Brazilian government's head of security for events falling prey to criminals, have been reported.

The concept of artificial intelligence began as pure fiction, something to be imagined but never actually existing. Today, we know that that's no longer the case. Artificial Intelligence is real and there are already real-world applications where artificial intelligence is helping us solve some of the biggest problems facing humanity. Here's a look at how artificial intelligence has developed through the years. Greek myths The earliest known reference to something we could term artificial intelligence dates back to the ancient Greeks.

The concept of artificial intelligence began as pure fiction, something to be imagined but never actually existing. Today, we know that that's no longer the case. Artificial Intelligence is real and there are already real-world applications where artificial intelligence is helping us solve some of the biggest problems facing humanity. Here's a look at how artificial intelligence has developed through the years. The earliest known reference to something we could term artificial intelligence dates back to the ancient Greeks.

You can get a pretty good idea of a country's wealth by seeing how much it shines at night -- just compare the intense brightness of China and South Korea to the dark mass of North Korea that's sandwiched between them. But nighttime lights don't tell you which neighborhoods or villages within a large region are merely poor and which are home to people living in abject poverty. That's the level of detail policymakers need when they decide where to deploy their economic development programs. You could get that detail by sending legions of survey-takers into crowded slums and sparsely populated rural areas. But that would be hugely time-consuming and cost tens of millions of dollars or more.

A brief history of artificial intelligence The concept of artificial intelligence began as pure fiction, something to be imagined but never actually existing. Today, we know that that's no longer the case. Artificial Intelligence is real and there are already real-world applications where artificial intelligence is helping us solve some of the biggest problems facing humanity. Here's a look at how artificial intelligence has developed through the years. Greek myths The earliest known reference to something we could term artificial intelligence dates back to the ancient Greeks.

In the 1950s when computer science was in its infancy and artificial intelligence was nothing but science fiction, Alan Turing, a pioneer in theoretical computer science felt that there needed to be a way to determine whether a machine could be said to be intelligent. So he created a test called the Turing Test, or Imitation Game. His test was very simple. A human and a machine would be separated so they could not see each other and an evaluator would listen as the human and the machine converse. If the evaluator, a third party that isn't part of the conversation, can't determine whether both parties are human or if one is a machine, then the machine is said to have passed the Turing Test.

In this special guest feature, Ross Andrew, CEO and Chairman of Maropost, suggests that by embracing AI and machine learning, marketers can turn big data into food that their tools use to accomplish business objectives. Ross is responsible for the direction of Maropost. Since its founding in 2011, he has consistently doubled the growth of the company annually by devising innovative solutions to the industry's biggest challenges. Once upon a time, a famous author imagined a great machine called the Multivac. While the name is cheesy, the concept is not: the technological behemoth was an artificial intelligence powered by machine learning that enabled it to process all the data of the universe and answer the last question at the end of time – marketing has more modest goals in mind for their own artificial intelligence platforms.

Can you imagine taking a cab which is driverless or conducting all basic banking transactions with the help of ATM without requiring a teller. Let's go one step further, your medical treatment being done by a robot or robots teaching you in the classrooms. Well, all of this is not a dream anymore but possible and achievable because of Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence, though in a nascent stage, has already started to enter a lot of fields and is trying to make a mark. AI has already started to automate some type of jobs and it's not far when AI will replace all the repetitive type of jobs in the analytics space and perform it solely without any human intervention.

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