In January 2015, a host of prominent figures in high tech and science and experts in artificial intelligence (AI) published a piece called "Research Priorities for Robust and Beneficial Artificial Intelligence: An Open Letter," calling for research on the societal impacts of AI. Unfortunately, the media grossly distorted and hyped the original formulation into doomsday scenarios. Nonetheless, some thinkers do warn of serious dangers posed by AI, tacitly invoking the notion of a Technological Singularity (first suggested by Good8) to ground their fears. According to this idea, computational machines will improve in competence at an exponential rate. They will reach the point where they correct their own defects and program themselves to produce artificial superintelligent agents that far surpass human capabilities in virtually every cognitive domain.

Since its inauguration in 1966, the ACM A.M. Turing Award has recognized major contributions of lasting importance to computing. Through the years, it has become the most prestigious award in computing. To help celebrate 50 years of the ACM Turing Award and the visionaries who have received it, ACM has launched a campaign called "Panels in Print," which takes the form of a collection of responses from Turing laureates, ACM award recipients and other ACM experts on a given topic or trend. ACM's celebration of 50 years of the ACM Turing Award will culminate with a conference June 23–24, 2017 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco to highlight the significant impact of the contributions of ACM Turing laureates on computing and society, to look ahead to the future of technology and innovation, and to help inspire the next generation of computer scientists to invent and dream.

A new report from KGI Securities reveals that Apple may be revamping its touch ID system, which is predicted to include a face recognition option for users. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. A new report from KGI Securities reveals that Apple may be revamping its touch ID system, which is predicted to include a face recognition option for users.

Many claims, including the key one that "Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize applications and redefine the digital economy," were neither discussed nor backed up with evidence. From a scientific point of view, this is insufficient. Worse, like many blockchain proponents, Underwood failed, in my opinion, to raise the right questions. Instead of focusing on "what block-chain could do," one should address "what blockchain can do better than other technologies." In this context, blockchain is often compared to existing solutions rather than to existing technologies, as in the proverbial comparison of apples and oranges. There may be any number of reasons, including operational, economic, or social, why an existing solution (as inadequate as it may be) has not been replaced in the marketplace.

Keith Kirkpatrick is principal of 4K Research & Consulting, LLC, based in Lynbrook, NY.

Arguing for a ban related to human cloning research in the late 1990s, Leon Kass, chairman of George W. Bush's President's Council on Bioethics, controversially invoked "the wisdom of repugnance": the idea that disgust can be "the emotional expression of deep wisdom," cluing us in that a scientific or technological practice is nasty, sinister, a threat to our humanity. Shelley's Frankenstein takes the contrary ethical stance, showing us the hazards of repugnance--how the creature is turned violent and vengeful after rejection by people horrified at his appearance. Responsible engagement with emerging technologies ranging from iPhones and Google search to artificial intelligence and genetic engineering requires us to reject physiognomy, the age-old fallacy that we can deduce the virtue or vice of something (or someone) by assessing its exterior beauty. The sexiness of our contemporary Frankenstein's creatures captures the enormous difficulty of rejecting technological charm--after all, in Splice, Ex Machina, Her, and Westworld, the irresistible creatures come out on top, outfoxing, transcending, or physically eviscerating their hapless creators and caretakers.

Machine learning is cresting the fresh wave of 2017 HR trends. Gartner research predicts algorithms will positively alter the behavior of over one billion global workers by 2020, while over 3 million people can look forward to "roboboss" supervisors. Yvonne Bauer, Head of Predictive Analytics at SAP SuccessFactors, sees machine learning becoming more widespread this year as part of HR's steady progression from art to data-driven science. "More companies will look into machine learning, moving from individual projects to actual products built into HCM suites," she said. "Conversational interfaces like chat bots and natural language processing will emerge this year, allowing companies to change how workers interact with the system and derive insights from those activities, including what people are working on and how engaged they are."

Chief Data Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Chief Operation Officers and Heads of Innovation from the top 250 insurance and re-insurance companies form the advisory board and the panel of speakers and participants. Dozens of artificial intelligence, machine learning and IOT experts and enthusiasts will be joining the panels and debates, with some of the most senior C-level executives from the world's largest insurance giants, as well as medium size underwriters, brokers and small companies, to explore the future impact of AI and IOT on your business. In short, if you want to know what AI is going to do for you, then instechAI2020 is the place to be.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin acknowledges that he was caught off-guard by the phenomenon of artificial intelligence, which he notes now permeates key Google properties. Speaking at the recent World Economic Forum Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, Brin, a trained computer scientist, said he didn't pay attention to AI in the 1990s because "everyone knew [AI] didn't work," he said. Brin was head of the Google X research group, which featured Google Brain, a project centered on machine intelligence, he recalled. "Fast-forward a few years, and now Brain probably touches every single one of our main projects, ranging from search to photos to ads to everything we do." The revolution in deep nets has "been very profound and definitely surprised me even though I was like right in there," said Brin, now president of Google parent company Alphabet.

Google is planning to bring artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to the diminutive Raspberry Pi this year. "Google is going to arrive in style in 2017. The tech titan has exciting plans for the maker community," said The Raspberry Pi Foundation. 'We thought we'd sell 1,000': The inside story of the Raspberry Pi The $35 Linux Raspberry Pi computer has sparked a coding revolution. "Google's range of AI and machine learning technology could enable makers to build even more powerful projects," it said.