The government is to press ahead with plans to enable petty criminals to plead guilty online and receive a sentence through a computer. A report from the Ministry of Justice has called for the system to be tested with non-prisonable offences, such as tram fare evasion, railway fare evasion and possession of an unlicensed road and line. "Under this proposal, defendants who opt in to the online procedure and plead guilty will be offered the option to accept a pre-determined penalty (including the payment of any appropriate compensation and costs), be convicted and pay the amount immediately," it reads. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar. Japan's On-Art Corp's CEO Kazuya Kanemaru poses with his company's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot'TRX03' and other robots during a demonstration in Tokyo, Japan Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot'TRX03' performs during its unveiling in Tokyo, Japan Singulato Motors co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin poses in his company's concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China A picture shows Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo.

IQIsolate is a suite of algorithms utilizing machine learning methods that analyze expression of RNA markers detected in a simple blood sample. IQuity has developed RNA-based diagnostic technologies for autoimmune disease and related disorders in neurology, gastroenterology and rheumatology, three specialties that serve a majority of autoimmune patients. IQuity's technology, IQIsolate analyzes RNA expression data from a blood sample to identify the presence or absence of disease at the cellular level. RNA expression is representative of presence of disease in real time, while changes in DNA indicate potential risk of disease. IQIsolate can distinguish among diseases in a given specialty – the gastroenterology panel can distinguish between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

I have been slow to accept that, from a service perspective, humans will ever be replaced by computers. I've suggested that customers will resist "robots" and I've based my thinking in part on the "uncanny valley" hypothesis which postulates that the more robots look like humans the less humans will feel comfortable with them. I am starting to rethink my assumptions and my conclusion. While humans may not be fully replaceable, I do believe artificial intelligence and robots will displace a lot of service providers. Café X is now open in Hong Kong and San Francisco.

Artificial intelligence changes the way it behaves based on the environment it is in, much like humans do, according to the latest research from DeepMind . Computer scientists from the Google-owned firm have studied how their AI behaves in social situations by using principles from game theory and social sciences. During the work, they found it is possible for AI to act in an "aggressive manner" when it feels it is going to lose out, but agents will work as a team when there is more to be gained. For the research, the AI was tested on two games: a fruit gathering game and a Wolfpack hunting game. These are both basic, 2D games that used AI characters (known as agents) similar to those used in DeepMind's original work with Atari.

The only thing about flying worse than getting through security checkpoints at the airport is being stuck in travel purgatory -- forced to sleep on the floor at the terminal. When it comes to travel, unavoidable issues can come up. Whether it's as minor as an IT problem or as significant as a blizzard or hurricane, crisis can strike in a matter of minutes, destroying plans and leaving travelers in the dark about their next steps. When it comes to these kinds of travel emergencies, one of the biggest problems is a lack of direct communication. A couple weeks back, United Airlines grounded all of its domestic flights due to a "computer glitch."

Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and often the easiest to contract with thanks to the sun. However, scientists have now developed a new kind of technology that can detect skin cancer, literally at the touch of a button. The artificial intelligence (AI) system will soon be available for smartphones everywhere and is said to be just as accurate as a doctor's diagnosis. There are many advantages that come with being able to self-diagnose skin cancer yourself, including saving time, money, and having a better chance of catching it early, with no need to make an appointment to see a doctor. The way in which the system works is by using deep learning techniques that compare sample pictures from an existing database to that of the patient and then give its diagnosis.

As the sun rises on 2017, a highlight of this New Year will be the gathering strength of the cloud. If the big question posed by businesses and their CIOs in 2016 was whether they should migrate to the cloud; in 2017 the question will be what is the best way to get there. A recent IBM survey of more than 1,000 C-suite executives from 18 industries found that almost every company we surveyed is using cloud, but only in pockets of their business. At the same time, nearly half of workloads - or 45% - are expected to remain on-premises with dedicated servers. As businesses continue to benefit from integrating their on-premises infrastructure with the cloud, they are also increasing their investments in new workloads on public clouds.

The new iPhone is going to bring with it some of the biggest advancements ever made. But most people won't actually be able to get it. The iPhone 8 – or, as some people are referring to it, the iPhone X – is likely also to be the most expensive ever to go on sale, according to new reports. It's expected to be released by Apple later this year. The phone could cost more than $1,000, according to a new report from Fast Company.

Julian Assange may soon be asked to leave the Ecuadorian embassy. The WikiLeaks boss has been hiding inside the country's London building since summer 2012. But he may be given a month's notice to leave soon, according to Ecuadorian politicians. One presidential candidate, who will fight in the election next week, has promised that he will "cordially ask" Mr Assange to leave if he wins the contest. And the existing government has suggested that it is becoming unhappy with Mr Assange's continuing stay, which is intended as a way of him avoiding extradition to Sweden for questioning about a sexual assault allegation.

"We as an industry have to figure out how to get gigabytes of data off our cars" Renovo Motors, says the traditional concept of a vehicle platform faces potential radical change in an era dominated by software, electronics and the rise of autonomous vehicle technology. At the Machine Intelligence in Autonomous Vehicles Summit on 23-24 March in San Francisco, Ioannis Petousis, Head of Data Science at Renovo Motors will be presenting on a panel discussion exploring how we can apply machine learning and sensing technologies to accelerate the connected car. Autonomous vehicles are a huge technological endeavor that combines some of the latest advancements from various fields - from mechanical engineering and materials science, to electrical engineering and computer science. I love both cars and technology, so it was an easy choice for me. What are the key factors that have enabled recent advancements in autonomous vehicles?