Artificial Intelligence is a technology that uses human-like learning to perform tasks. The idea of Artificial Intelligence or AI is nothing new. As a concept it has been in our literature and art for centuries. But these ideas had no foundation other than as philosophies of nature and science fiction. Connectionist paradigms of Artificial Intelligence have a somewhat more flexible approach than their rule-based cousins, but both have applications in modern technologies. Machine learning is based on artificial neural networks, which are a much-simplified version of how our brains work.

A robotic employee will be deployed instead of human council workers to answer customer queries. IPsoft said Amelia, its technology platform, will be deployed to work for Enfield Council in North London. Capable of analyzing natural language, she understands context, applies logic, learns, resolves problems and even senses emotions. IPsoft said Amelia will be deployed to work for Enfield Council in North London. Capable of analyzing natural language, she understands context and even senses emotions.

MIT researchers have developed a computer system that independently adds realistic sounds to silent videos. Although the technology is nascent, it's a step toward automating sound effects for movies. In a series of videos of drumsticks striking things - including sidewalks, grass and metal surfaces - the computer learned to pair a fitting sound effect, such as the sound of a drumstick hitting a piece of wood or rustling leaves. The findings are an example of the power of deep learning, a type of artificial intelligence whose application is trendy in tech circles. With deep learning, a computer system learns to recognize patterns in huge piles of data and applies what it learns in useful ways.

Research released late last year suggested that almost two thirds (62%) of a survey of 90 German institutional investors predict greater usage of artificial intelligence (AI) for short-term decision-making, and 17% for medium-term investment decisions. Universal Investments, the asset manager behind the research, said that "the industry's future thus certainly appears to be closely linked with the strategic use of AI". Of course, "greater usage" could be a marginal rise, but I think that an increase in the use of AI is almost inevitable. It's certainly true that the cost of investment management that can be done by a machine has reduced, to the extent that human active managers now need to really deliver value. AI is also not purely the domain of the passive fund; active managers will increasingly deploy these tools to supplement and support their decision support.

Some of the world's fastest computers employ Nvidia's graphics processor for computer vision, deep learning and scientific calculations, and a new GPU will supercharge these applications. The Tesla P100 that plugs into the PCI-Express slots of supercomputers will speed up tasks like economic forecasting and weather modeling. The GPU is also targeted at servers, and will play a big role in helping self-driving cars, robots and drones identify objects. Deep-learning systems with the GPUs in data centers will improve cloud-based image recognition, classification, natural language processing and speech recognition. One system with Tesla P100 chips is Nvidia's DGX-1, which can be purchased for US 129,000.

Earlier this year, a survey from Nuance Communications into consumer preferences and expectations around customer self-service revealed that a significant number (89%) prefer, and even expect, to have conversational interaction. In fact, for 87%, a positive interaction with a company determines whether or not they will continue their relationship. Of particular interest is Nuance's finding that 89% of consumers "want to engage with virtual assistants to quickly find information instead of searching through Web pages or a mobile phone app on their own". Nearly three-quarters (73%) said they want their conversations with customer service to be personalized and 64% want customer service to be proactive and include suggestions and reminders. New research from the Direct Marketing Association (UK) reflects Nuance's findings in terms of brand engagement.

With much current discussion of AI fixating on ethical implications--whether AI may eventually "outsmart" or harm us; how we can ensure that AI acts in our best interests--it's worth considering a new approach to AI that keeps humans in the loop: swarm intelligence. UNU, a software platform run by Unanimous A.I., brings groups of people together online to arrive at all kinds of real-time decisions and predictions, ranging from who will win March Madness to the top four horses at the Kentucky Derby. The system has proven remarkably effective at coming up with accurate answers. In fact, it has outperformed experts in a variety of contests--in the 2015 Oscar predictions, for instance, the swarm had a higher than 70% accuracy--New York Times critics, it should be noted, were right 55% of the time. SEE: How'artificial swarm intelligence' uses people to make better predictions than experts But, beyond accuracy, there is another advantage to using the swarm: according to new research, it makes more ethical decisions.

We have been hearing predictions for decades of a takeover of the world by artificial intelligence. In 1957, Herbert Simon predicted that within 10 years, a digital computer would be the world's chess champion. That didn't happen until 1996. And despite Marvin Minsky's 1970 prediction that "in from three to eight years we will have a machine with the general intelligence of an average human being," we still consider that a feat of science fiction. The pioneers of artificial intelligence were surely off on the timing, but they weren't wrong; AI is coming.

To get started, let's examine 10 fascinating facts about the AI industry. These devices will likely include many connected appliances, cars, wearables, and other gadgets included in the broader Internet of Things market.

To get started, let's examine 10 fascinating facts about the AI industry. These devices will likely include many connected appliances, cars, wearables, and other gadgets included in the broader Internet of Things market.