I have spent a lot of time working with spreadsheets, databases, and data more generally. This work has led to me having a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you.

Following recent reports from the Government Office for Science and the House of Commons Select Committee, Digital Catapult comments on how access to data can open opportunities to the UK's AI entrepreneurs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the centre of two recent government reports. Yesterday, the Government Office for Science published an overview of AI that focuses on several significant areas: the effect of AI on productivity and economic value, advantages to government, effects on the labour market, ethical challenges and public trust. Earlier in October the House of Commons Select Committee published their report on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence that recommends that the government is to invest in education and training infrastructures, ensure digital inclusion and governance mechanisms, and provide leadership for future growth in robotics and AI. When considering where the government can provide a significant boost to UK AI and machine learning entrepreneurs, Digital Catapult believes there is a major opportunity in access to data.

Google has invested C$4.5m to support the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA). The news, confirmed by the online giant this week, has further cemented the Canadian city's standing as a centre in AI research, with more than 150 researchers at the University of Montreal already working in the field. The money from Google will be used to fund seven faculties across a number of Montreal institutions. Along with the academic support, Google will also open an AI research group in their Montreal office, linked directly to the Google Brain team in California. The $82.5 billion firm has already assembled one of the biggest groups of AI researchers, adding Snapchat's Jia Li and Stanford's Fei-FeiLi to its team of experts just last week.

The AI Summit on December 1st, at New York, aims at fostering a meeting of minds -- a fruitful synergy of ideas and future trends among leading technology solution providers. The event is envisaged to look at the practical implications of AI for enterprise organisations, the actual solutions that are transforming business productivity. Supported by the leading AI solution providers, the summit gathers 600 business CxOs, AI start-up innovators, press/media and acclaimed researchers. Unlike academic conferences and forums, the summit lays stress on a hands-on approach to machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) -- reaching beyond theoretical capabilities and analysing practical applications for your organization. Connect with scientists, technology specialists, industry experts, and thought leaders to discover the potential of AI, and their direct impact on business.

When we think about artificial intelligence, we often imagine robots performing tasks on the warehouse or factory floor that were once exclusively the work of people. This conjures up the specter of lost jobs and upheaval for many workers. Yet, it can also seem a bit remote -- something that will happen in "the future." But the future is a lot closer than many realize. It also looks more promising than many have predicted.

After the US election, many people feel we're on the verge of an apocalypse. What might not be obvious is that it's an artificial intelligence apocalypse, like the ones in The Terminator and The Matrix. The fact is the machines have taken over, enslaved us, and may now destroy us. Here's what an AI apocalypse looks like in broad brushstrokes: Unfortunately, the unintended consequence is the downfall of humanity. The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard reports that nearly half of all Americans get their news from Facebook.

Computers could not only act like brains, but respond as quickly.

DeepMind Health's inaugural collaboration with the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS), initially focused on building an app for helping early detection of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), was relaunched earlier today -- under a new information-sharing agreement with the Royal Free NHS Trust, and a broader scope for the collaboration. Under the arrangement, patient identifiable data (PID, aka people's medical records) continues to be shared across a wide range of data types for some 1.6 million individuals who are being treated or have been treated at the Royal Free's three London hospitals (five years of historical in-patient data is also made accessible under the arrangement). The types of data being shared under ISA 1 and 2 (aka the legal contracts that set out how the data can be used) are described as "similar" by DeepMind -- and a spokesman confirmed that patient data shared under the original arrangement has therefore not been deleted (given that they view it as a continuation of the same arrangement). The relevant section of ISA 2, detailing the data types being shared, can be found at the bottom of this post. There are some notable additions to the project at this point -- such as a plan to create a technical audit infrastructure to track and log individual access to patient data, and an explicit commitment in the ISA that Google will not use the PID for any other purpose, nor combine it with other data, nor sell data to third parties.

Just Eat, the world's leading marketplace for online food delivery, today gave a sneak peek into the future, bringing together exciting technologies in the fields of Virtual and Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, self-driving delivery robots and other innovations aimed at transforming how people discover, order and enjoy food. At an event in the Village Underground in Shoreditch, London titled "The Future Now – Redefining Food Discovery", Just Eat showcased the future of online food technology. Just Eat's dedicated product development team provided guests with a hands-on experience of the innovations that will help improve food experiences for both customers and restaurants in the decades to come. David Buttress, chief executive of Just Eat, said: "Technology is at the heart of everything we do at Just Eat. We are always seeking ways to help our restaurant partners grow and ensure new and existing customers have a reliable, convenient and, increasingly, fun experience when they order from us. Technology innovation helps us bring the greatest breadth of choice to consumers while giving our fantastic restaurant partners the tools and resources to further their own ambitions."

Werner Vogels, CTO of Amazon, announced yesterday that the MXNet deep learning framework would become "[Amazon's] deep learning framework of choice." Amazon Web Services is expected to announce a new version of its PostgreSQL database for its cloud customers during its AWS re:Invent conference next week, according to a Fortune report. Democratizing Machine Learning has always been BigML's founding mission, so we are continually searching for new opportunities. As such, when a company is interested in our technology and is willing to help us further our cause of "Machine Learning for everyone", we feel the urge to collaborate. This is exactly what happened with our new education partner.