Artificial intelligence (AI) was once a science fiction dream, but today's technology brings it ever closer to reality. And, unlike those science fiction movies where AI resided in life-like android bodies, it may soon fit neatly in our pockets. Through advances in areas such as deep learning and low-power computer chips, AI could soon find a home in one of our most frequently used devices--our smartphones. Your smartphone is probably one of the most useful tools you own. Not only does it allow you to stay in touch with friends, family, and business associates, it permits you to access nearly any information on the internet, get directions (and arrival times), find entertainment, play games, check email, maintain your calendar … you get the idea.

The term Artificial Intelligence was originally coined by John McCarthy in 1955, defining it as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines". Now more than a half a century old, the field of AI and machine learning is finally achieving some of its oldest goals by being used successfully in areas such as data mining, industrial robotics, logistics, speech recognition, banking software, medical diagnosis and search engines. Tech giants have all been investing heavily in AI and Machine Learning. In 2010 Facebook introduced facial recognition technology, and in 2013 Mark Zuckerberg dedicated a lab to AI research. In 2014 Google bought artificial intelligence startup DeepMind for $400 million (£263 million), making it one of the largest tech acquisitions to date.

It may take several years or even decades, but hackers won't necessarily always be human. Artificial intelligence -- a technology that also promises to revolutionize cybersecurity -- could one day become the go-to hacking tool. Organizers of the Cyber Grand Challenge, a contest sponsored by the U.S. defense agency DARPA, gave a glimpse of the power of AI during their August event. Seven supercomputers battled each other to show that machines can indeed find and patch software vulnerabilities. Theoretically, the technology can be used to perfect any coding, ridding it of exploitable flaws.

AImotive, formerly AdasWorks, is the leader in AI-powered motion. AImotive delivers a full stack technology solution and powerful Artificial Intelligence software for the automotive industry, designed to provide self-driving vehicles better safety and increased productivity. How does your self-driving technology work? AImotive products deliver the robust technology required to operate self-driving vehicles in all conditions, and can be adapted to different driving styles and cultures. AImotive enables OEMs to move faster and more efficiently into fully autonomous car production.

There has never been more exciting times than now when building Machine Intelligence in systems is given more emphasis than ever. When I first started studying about Machine Learning, I knew, this will not only change the current state of engineering, but the way Digital is being perceived. Initially, to most, Digital meant SMAC stack, but that never convinced me.Most promising definition I could put was, Digital Engineering is about re-imagining current system engineering to improve customer journeys and increase system engagements. From framework thinking, I like this 3I acronym for Digital. Interface – Rethinking how digital can change the way customers interact and achieve their objectives.

Astronomers first discovered planets beyond our own solar system in the early 1990s. Since then, scientists have tagged 3,400 of these exoplanets. Now they want to determine which might be home to extraterrestrial life. But researchers sometimes spend days or even weeks analyzing a single exoplanet. New instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope, which launches in 2018, will soon be piping back so much information that scientists won't be able to manually process it.

Not so long ago the difficulty in working with data stemmed from the fact it came from different places in different forms, much of it was unstructured or at best semi structured. Getting this data into a shape where it could be analysed and used to provide insights was a tedious process, data cleaning and preparation can be time consuming processes. I have mentioned elsewhere about the "The dirty little secret of big data," being that fact, "that most data analysts spend the vast majority of their time cleaning and integrating data-- not actually analysing it." In the recent past the routines to get inside the data were repetitive and time time consuming, people were doing those very tasks that software was good at. The trouble was the software tools we tended to use did not have high levels of flexibility.

Ben Dickson is a software engineer and the founder of TechTalks. More posts by this contributor: Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the supply chain Why it's so hard to create unbiased artificial intelligence Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the supply chain Why it's so hard to create unbiased artificial intelligence Why it's so hard to create unbiased artificial intelligence While machine learning is introducing innovation and change to many sectors, it also is bringing trouble and worries to others. One of the most worrying aspects of emerging machine learning technologies is their invasiveness on user privacy. From rooting out your intimate and embarrassing secrets to imitating you, machine learning is making it hard to not only hide your identity but also keep ownership of it and prevent from being attributed to you words you haven't uttered and actions you haven't taken. Here are some of the technologies that might have been created with good-natured intent, but can also be used for evil deeds when put into the wrong hands.

When an app claims to be powered by "artificial intelligence" it feels like you're in the future. What does that really mean, though? We're taking a look at what buzzwords like AI, machine learning, and neural networks really mean and whether they actually help improve your apps. Just recently, Google and Microsoft both added neural network learning to their translation apps. Google said it's using machine learning to suggest playlists. Todoist says it's using AI to suggest when you should finish a task.

The hottest ticket in tech is an invitation to a banal South Florida business park, indistinguishable on the outside from countless other office buildings that dot America's suburban landscape. Humanoid robots walk down the halls, and green reptilian monsters hang out in the lounge. Cartoon fairies turn the lights on and off. Even the office equipment does the impossible. The high-definition television hanging on the wall seems perfectly normal. Incredibly, it is now levitating in midair. Get as close as you'd like, check it out from different angles.