Way back in 1969, as a kid, I watched a very interesting movie - "2001: A Space Odyssey." It was a science fiction where a super intelligent computer program HAL is in charge of a mission to Jupiter which also carries several astronauts. The program becomes rogue and tries to kill all the astronauts. The hero survives and manages to disable the program. There is a lot more to the plot, but the fight between human and computer is still vivid in my memory. In 1969, such a scenario looked possible. After all 32 years is a lot of time given the rate of our progress.

"We are Now Controlling the Transmission" If you aren't familiar with the 60's TV series "The Outer Limits" you need to watch this intro (its 58 seconds long). Artificial Intelligence is controlling more than you realize, and in 2017, it's going to accelerate. AI algorithms are already affecting which products & services you see when you perform a search – regardless of the device or interface. AI is pushing messages, offers, & advice to you that you may never have asked for. Artificial Intelligence is deciding what shows up in your news feeds, on the sites you frequent, and in the apps you use.

SINGAPORE--The acclaimed HBO sci-fi series, "Westworld," may have wrapped up recently, but that's no reason to fret, James Marsden told the Inquirer when we chatted with him early this month. What are your thoughts about artificial intelligence (AI)? There's a quote that says it all: With great power comes great responsibility. That's what we should keep in mind when it comes to the future of artificial intelligence. There are smarter people out there who know its potential more than we do.

I've been following the idea of algorithm-driven design for several years now and have collected some practical examples. The tools of the approach can help us to construct a UI, prepare assets and content, and personalize the user experience. The information, though, has always been scarce and hasn't been systematic. However, in 2016, the technological foundations of these tools became easily accessible, and the design community got interested in algorithms, neural networks and artificial intelligence (AI). Now is the time to rethink the modern role of the designer. One of the most impressive promises of algorithm-driven design was given by the infamous CMS The Grid3. It chooses templates and content-presentation styles, and it retouches and crops photos -- all by itself. Moreover, the system runs A/B tests to choose the most suitable pattern.

In this article, I clarify the various roles of the data scientist, and how data science compares and overlaps with related fields such as machine learning, deep learning, AI, statistics, IoT, operations research, and applied mathematics.

Here's a great introduction to neural networks that explains the core concepts without getting too deep into the mathematical weeds.

Kolibree, a smart oral care company, has unveiled what it claims is the first toothbrush embedded with AI at CES 2017. The Ara is clearly no ordinary mouth scrubber. Just read how Kolibree founder and CEO Thomas Serval describes Ara's tech: "Patented deep learning algorithms are embedded directly inside the toothbrush on a low-power processor," he said in a release. "Raw data from the sensors runs through the processor, enabling the system to learn your habits and refine accuracy the more it's used." Ara picks up precisely where you're brushing, and will log information, such as frequency, duration and location, in either on or offline mode.

WHAT: TechCode, through a strategic partnership with the new AI Frontiers Conference, will host a demo day on Thursday, January 12, featuring startups with a niche focus on artificial intelligence. The TechCode AI Accelerator Demo Day will include demos from fifteen startups and a Q&A session from a panel of Venture Capitalists. In its first year, the AI Frontiers Conference brings together leaders in applied artificial intelligence from companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon to share insights into the latest deep learning advancements and products. The conference will cover six major areas including speech-enabled assistants, Internet of Things, natural language processing, computer vision, deep-learning frameworks and autonomous driving. All the startups featured in the demo day will be available for in-person interviews at the event.

Predicting the future is more art than science, yet it's always an interesting exercise to engage in as a new year comes upon us. So with the close of what was a difficult, though interesting year in the technology business, here's a look at my predictions for the top 10 tech developments of 2017. One of the key metrics for the relative health of the tech industry has always been the measurement of unit shipments and/or revenues for various categories of hardware-based tech devices. From PCs, tablets and smartphones, through smartwatches, smart TVs and head-mounted displays, there has been a decades-long obsession with counting the numbers and drawing conclusions from how the results end up. The problem is, the lines between these categories have been getting murkier and more difficult to distinguish for years, making what once seemed like well-defined groupings become increasingly arbitrary.

Amazon is set to take on eBay by allowing people to sell their secondhand goods. The program, which is still in its pilot phase, has been launched as'Sell as Individual' and is only available in Bangalore so far. The service includes doorstep pick-up, packing and delivery and will compete with other companies that allow people to sell their used goods such as eBay, Quikr and Olx. The secondhand products are listed on the website and when someone orders it, an Amazon staff visits the seller and collects their product from their home at a time the seller chooses. Sellers are charged 15 cents (10 rupees) for items below $15 (1,000 rupees), 75 cents (50 rupees) for items between $15 and $75 (5,000 rupees), and $1.50 (100 rupees) for items sold at more than $75. Amazon has unveiled a convenience store in Seattle that uses technologies found in self-driving cars to replace cashiers.