Anesthesiologists' jobs look safer than radiologists' jobs. In H. G. Wells's classic The War of the Worlds, the narrator pauses a moment to rue the fact that he didn't react sooner to the arrival of an "intelligence greater than man's"--in his case, Martians landing on earth. Comparing himself to a comfortable dodo in its nest, he imagined those ill-fated birds also dithering as hungry sailors invaded their island: "We will peck them to death tomorrow, my dear." As intelligent technologies take over more and more of the decision-making territory once occupied by humans, are you taking any action? Are you sufficiently aware of the signs that you should?

This week in San Diego, Singularity University hosted its annual Exponential Medicine conference. The conference aims to connect the dots between healthcare disciplines and cutting-edge tech by convening medical practitioners, technologists, entrepreneurs, and over 80 expert speakers from the field. It's easy to say "healthcare is broken" and call it a day, but a quote from brilliant thinker Maria Popova reminds us of the power of optimism to create change: There's still considerable work to be done to create more effective healthcare systems in the US and worldwide. That said, at the conference we learned about incredible progress we can both celebrate and focus on moving forward. Healthcare as we've known it for decades is evolving.

It involves hard work, perseverance as well as a supportive and loving network of friends and family. But another ingredient often goes into the mix: A disciplined existence which fosters an ability to accomplish great things. Take it from these high achievers who share the daily habits which they've stuck to over time which have helped them succeed. "As the head of a collaboration software company, I fully know and understand the benefits of technology in the workplace. However, when I go into meetings--whether over web conferencing or in-person--I like to carry a notebook with me so I can write down the important items. Writing things down keeps me organized and helps me prioritize my daily tasks. It also keeps me engaged and focused on the person in front of me." "Too many people tell me they don't have time to read. Reading inspires, changes the brain in positive ways, delivers new ideas, gives you something to talk about and helps you grow professionally and personally. At my busiest, and I mean 16-hour-days-busy, I will always read two pages a night. It takes no more than six minutes and I will often do it while I brush my teeth and floss. Saying you don't have time to read is like saying there is nothing more you want to learn and there will always be more to learn."

Designed to help understand the fundamentals of DS & Algorithms really well. A must have for programming interviews.

The brain is an electric organ, and its 86 billion neurons communicate via pulses of electricity. When a voltage change causes one neuron to "fire," it releases chemicals that trigger voltage changes in connected neurons. The brain's every operation, from automatic functions like maintaining a heartbeat to cognitive processes such as making sense of these words you are reading, can be understood as a flickering pattern of electrical activity, with neurons firing along specific pathways. A researcher at Arizona State University (my alma mater) has discovered how to control robots using the human brain. A controller wears a skullcap outfitted with 128 electrodes wired to a computer.

On the heels of Samsung's acquisition of Viv just a week ago, a new AI assistant has risen into the spotlight and is jockeying to fill the shoes of its now well-known rival. Ozlo, the Greylock- and Jerry Yang-backed independent entrant to the personal assistant race, is launching today on iOS and the web in an effort to give stalwarts like Siri, Alexa and Cortana a run for their money. The new personal assistant promises early adopters a good memory, a brain full of knowledge, and an independent soul -- everything you could hope for in your new binary friend. When I sat down with Charles Jolley, CEO of Ozlo and previous head of platform for Facebook on Android, the two of us immediately had a nice laugh about the repetitive female names for assistants in the marketplace right now -- Ozlo, by name alone, is already something different. That said, a name is one thing; the more important question is whether Ozlo is useful and doesn't make its users want to throw their phone against a wall after use.

Pedometers were the first sports wearable and now seem almost quaint. Today's wearables have grown in capabilities and formats, providing complex data on your overall fitness and easily integrates into your lifestyle. Smart watches, fit bits, simple pedometers and high-tech clothing are part of the multi-billion-dollar business that is the smart sports and fitness wearable industry. These products generated 3.5 billion in revenues in 2014 and sales are anticipated to reach 14.9 billion by 2021. Fitness trackers are the most broadly used sports wearables and provide information about the number of steps taken, calories burned, and stairs climbed although some also include heart rate and sleep pattern monitoring, and GPS tracking.

Researchers from Reconfigurable Robotics Lab at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne have created a soft and flexible robot. Made of elastomers--synthetic polymers with elastic properties--like silicon and rubber, the soft robots are powered by muscle-like actuators. Since the soft robots are cheap to produce and can be manufactured on a large scale, they can be applied on many levels. In Nature's journal Scientific Reports, the scientists reveal potential applications of the soft robots, which range from biomimetic systems and home care to handling fragile objects and patient rehabilitation. "Our robot designs focus largely on safety," said Jamie Paik, the director of the RRL, in a statement.

A new kind of computer, devised by researchers at Google DeepMind in the U.K., could broaden the abilities of today's best AI systems by giving them an important new feature--a kind of working memory. The researchers show that the computer, which consists of a large neural network connected to a unique form of memory, can perform relatively complex tasks by figuring out for itself what information to hold in its memory. The tasks include figuring out the best way to get from one station to another on London's spaghetti-like Underground transit network, after exploring diagrams of other types of networks and learning about the most salient features. The Google DeepMind researchers call their system a differentiable neural computer. It is differentiable in the sense that its behavior--including what to store in memory--can be learned using the mathematical process, called backpropagation, that underlies the working of neural networks.

"I wish I could touch you," Theodore says, laying in bed. Until she speaks up, tentatively. "How would you touch me?" It's a famously poignant scene from the movie Her, as the character Theodore is about to make vocal love to an artificial intelligence living in his ear. But according to half a dozen experts I interviewed, ranging from industrial designer Gadi Amit to the usability guru Don Norman, in-ear assistants aren't science fiction. In fact, a notable pile of discreet, wireless earbuds enabling just this idea are coming to market now. Sony recently released its first in-ear assistant, the Xperia Ear. Intel showed off a similar proof-of-concept last year.