Yoshua Bengio, one of the leading figures behind the rise of deep learning, is launching a Silicon Valley-style startup incubator dedicated to this enormously influential form of artificial intelligence. The incubator, Element AI, will help build companies from AI research that emerges from the University of Montreal, where Bengio is a professor, and nearby McGill University, and he says this is just part of his efforts to develop an "AI ecosystem" in Montreal. Bengio says the Canadian city offers "the biggest concentration in the world" of academic researchers exploring deep learning, the breed of AI that now plays such an important role inside the likes of Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. "Element AI will help entrepreneurs get started in that high-growth area, with a team of experts--and my help--to steer those companies in the right direction," he says. According to Bengio, about 100 researchers are exploring deep learning at the University of Montreal and about 50 others are doing similar work at McGill.

Despite political discord, the American economy is doing well, Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Thursday. "I think the math is the American economy is doing well, and the unemployment situation is [going] well, and if you're confused on that, visit Europe," Schmidt said. Schmidt spoke from the DealBook Conference in New York City, hosted by CNBC anchor and New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and the editors of the Times. The conference focuses on "playing for the long term" in a business environment that's shackled to quarterly returns and compressed news cycles. After an election cycle that stoked arguments over the shrinking middle class and widening inequality, Schmidt addressed the role that information played in the political process.

Intu aims to put "embodied cognition" in a range of devices. Developers can use the platform to embed the various machine learning functions offered by IBM's Watson service into shedloads of form factors – from avatars to drones to robots and just about any other kind of'Internet of Things' device. This will allow devices will be able to "interact more naturally" with users via a range of emotions and behaviours, leading to more meaningful and immersive user experiences, IBM said. Project Intu's forte is in conversation, language and visual recognition. Here, developers can integrate Watson's abilities with a device's capabilities to effectively "act out" interactions with users.

LISBON, PORTUGAL: Artificial intelligence (AI) will one day take on decision making and planning, freeing up enterprise employees for more creative roles. Speaking at the Web Summit 2016 technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal on Tuesday, the executive said that the "robotic enterprise" is closer than we think -- with some roles already well on the way to being ran almost exclusively by machine learning (ML), AI and algorithms. One of today's biggest opportunities for IT to make an impact is by automating business processes, manufacturing, repetitive tasks, and more. Volkswagen has a total of three centers and research labs dedicated to researching AI applications and "taking AI into a completely different environment," according to the CIO. Each of these centers is working not only in the creation of connected car solutions, but also in developing AI systems for speeding up corporate processes -- all of which eventually becomes public domain. Hofmann says there are five main "stages" Volkswagen uses to define the application of AI technology in the enterprise market.

Microsoft is betting on artificial intelligence (AI) with the creation at the end of September of a new AI and Research Group. This newly formed group brings together Microsoft's research organization and more than 5,000 computer scientists and engineers focused on AI and is now the fourth major division in the company, on par with the Windows, Office and Cloud divisions. When Microsoft talks of "infusing" every application with AI, it's reminiscent of the famous "Internet Tidal Wave" email Bill Gates sent to all staff in 1995. In it, Gates outlined his desire to focus the company's efforts on the internet with immediate effect and told them to "assign the internet the highest level of importance" in everything that they did henceforth. Is the creation of the AI and research group effectively a "tidal wave" message?

A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occurs involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.[1] The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, as well as a subject of philosophical and religious interest, throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology.[2] Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep--when brain activity is high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable.[3] The length of a dream can vary; they may last for a few seconds, or approximately 20–30 minutes.[3] People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase. The average person has three to five dreams per night, and some may have up to seven;[4] however, most dreams are immediately or quickly forgotten.[5] Dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full eight-hour night sleep, most dreams occur in the typical two hours of REM.[6] In modern times, dreams have been seen as a connection to the unconscious mind. They range from normal and ordinary to overly surreal and bizarre. Dreams can have varying natures, such as being frightening, exciting, magical, melancholic, adventurous, or sexual. The events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, with the exception of lucid dreaming, where the dreamer is self-aware.[7]

Last week, Casey Newton wrote about Roman, an AI bot created by Eugenia and her team to memorialize their deceased friend. The piece ignited many thoughts and conversations I've had on this topic… My parents are "digital immigrants", born before the widespread adoption of digital technology. I grew up with computers and the internet, shaping my world view and relationships. Technology often brings us together but it has also spread generations apart. Try calling a millennial on the phone.

With Facebook and Twitter now offering branded chatbots, how can brands get the most out of AI-powered customer service? Matt Wright, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) freelancer and Venturebeat contributor, looks at the 8 basic conversations your bot should be well-versed in before meeting your consumers. Chatbots are robotic messenger services where audiences can ask a robotic chat simulator basic questions. They may well in the future sit prominently on your brand site, helping to replace and make the most of website chat widgets, WhatsApp conversations, Facebook Messenger chats, Kik or in combination with voice search services such as Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google voice search or Google Home. Chat bots should really be exciting SEOs right now if your ask me https://t.co/crQdzVBYnF

CBR looks at the'Artificial intelligence: an overview for policy-makers' report from the Government Office for Science. The UK government is driving the artificial intelligence agenda, pinpointing it as a future technology driving the fourth revolution and billing its importance on par with the steam engine. The report on Artificial Intelligence by the Government Office for Science follows the recent House of Commons Committee report on Robotics and AI, setting out the opportunities and implications for the future of decision making. In a report which spans government deployment, ethics and the labour market, Digital Minister Matt Hancock provided a foreword which pushed AI as a technology which would benefit the economy and UK citizens. "As one the world's leading digital nations, artificial intelligence presents a huge opportunity for the UK. Get this right, and we can create a more prosperous economy with better and more fulfilling jobs," Mr Hancock wrote in the report.

InfiniBand is set to hit 200Gbps (bits per second) in products that were announced Thursday, potentially accelerating machine-learning platforms as well as HPC (high-performance computing) systems. The massive computing performance of new servers equipped with GPUs calls for high network speeds, and these systems are quickly being deployed to handle machine-learning tasks, Dell'Oro Group analyst Sameh Boujelbene said. So-called HDR InfiniBand, which will be generally available next year in three sets of products from Mellanox Technologies, will double the top speed of InfiniBand. It will also have twice the top speed of Ethernet. But the high-performance crowd that's likely to adopt this new interconnect is a small one, Boujelbene said. Look for the top 10 percent of InfiniBand users, who already use 100Gbps InfiniBand, to jump on the new stuff, she said.