In the lead up to Pausefest, we sat down with AI expert Dr. John R. Smith from IBM to find out if robots can ever become truly creative. Why is artificial intelligence an important avenue to explore within the realms of technology? Researchers have actually been exploring AI and machine learning technologies for decades, even though it's really only been the past few years that it's gained traction outside of the lab. AI represents a new kind of computing - one that can learn through experience, much like humans do, and interact with humans in a more natural way than was previously possible. At IBM we believe that it will transform the world in dramatic ways - from things simple as how we interact with our devices and computers to access information (think voice recognition), to more profound ways like healthcare, cancer and climate change.

In our view, 2018 will be the year leading innovators begin to reveal -- and revel in -- the possibilities offered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) across all parts of the fashion value chain. Over the past couple of years, the potential of AI -- computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence -- has expanded considerably as a result of increasingly large and diverse data sets, advancement in key algorithms, and unprecedented levels of mathematical computing power. Although fashion has not thus far been a leader in this sphere, we expect to see fashion companies on the digital frontier demonstrate this potential as they start to deploy breakthrough AI innovations. Pioneers in this field will realise palpable returns from these efforts and demonstrate the potential advantages for companies that successfully marry creativity and AI. Many fashion executives regard AI as too mechanical to capture the creative core of fashion, and so are uncertain of what exactly it can do for them.

Ever yearned to chisel a sculpture, compose a symphony or design a gigantic neon metropolis? Tue 6 Feb 2018 11.38 EST Last modified on Tue 6 Feb 2018 11.42 EST Most homes hide abandoned easels, guitars and origami kits, all bought with good intentions to express the latent creativity that grownup life can easily stifle. You might want to unlock it, but the effort is too intimidating. Media Molecule, a game developer based in Guildford, believes that video games can help. A studio populated by artists, musicians and creatives of all stripes, it is best known for the successful LittleBigPlanet games – cheerful adventures with a hand-crafted look and a novel "play, create, share" philosophy, letting players remix the levels and make their own.

We are living in interesting times, where digital assistants schedule meetings, chatbots work alongside humans as teaching assistants, and your suitcase can now become self driving luggage as showcased at CES, 2018. The implications are just starting to be felt in the workplace. In 2017, I wrote about how The Employee Experience is the Future of Work. Now, as we enter 2018, the next journey for HR leaders will be to leverage artificial intelligence combined with human intelligence and create a more personalized employee experience. As we increase our personal usage of chatbots (defined as software which provides an automated, yet personalized, conversation between itself and human users), employees will soon interact with them in the workplace as well. Forward looking HR leaders are piloting chatbots now to transform HR, and, in the process, re-imagine, re-invent, and re-tool the employee experience.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is proving to be a brilliant product of human innovation. It automates a wide variety of business processes to the scale of the internet, of email, and of digital media. It can do things that humans never could -- like predict hospital outcomes from Electronic Medical Records and explore the galaxy using datasets too massive for humans to fathom. While a significant innovation in itself, AI only produces optimizations for existing practice. It detects patterns, but does not comprehend the physical world.

AI is without a doubt efficient. It is fast, precise, and unencumbered by the emotions that cloud human intelligence. An algorithm's got it covered. But what if the goal is to create art? Because it is a product of science and technology, we tend to associate AI with fields outside the creative world where logic instead of feelings reign supreme. It's an easy assumption to make because machines do lack emotional intelligence and intuition (for now).

Toronto-based Cyclica President and CEO Naheed Kurji acknowledges that artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative technology, but he contends it is not the "silver bullet" for drug discovery and development. Instead, he says that AI together with cloud-based computing could serve as a catalyst for a new approach to drug development. Kurji emphasizes that it is important to create "a virtual drug discovery ecosystem where a number of companies who are expert in their space come together and present a more holistic solution than any individual one could do itself because there is no one silver bullet to this problem. The market is so big and there are so many issues, one company can't do it alone." Kurji leads a five-year-old company that has developed and validated a cloud-based platform, called Ligand Express, which uses biophysics, bioinformatics and AI to help pharmaceutical companies navigate the drug discovery pipeline by assessing the safety and efficacy of drugs. The integrated platform enables companies to screen potential small-molecule drugs against repositories of structurally-characterized proteins or'proteomes' to identify significant protein targets. The platform then leverages AI to determine the biological relevance of these targets, and systems biology data to link this information to particular biological pathways or diseases. Kurji says Cyclica's platform, broadly launched in November 2017 already is being used by some of the top 50 pharma companies globally.

Leading experts in artificial intelligence (AI) debated whether machines can ever be truly creative during an event at Imperial College London. The panel debate was part of the Night of Ideas, a programme of free debates exploring the latest ideas behind issues central to our times organised by the Institut Français. Academics from Imperial and other London institutions, were joined by a director from Spotify to talk about their latest research involving AI and discussed the creativity potential of computer software. The experts debated how developments in AI were enabling machines to produce music and paintings but questioned whether this meant they were being truly creative and should be recognised as artists in their own right. Dr Aldo Faisal, from the Department of Bioengineering and Department of Computing, gave his thoughts on what is powering the AI revolution.

The human brain is an amazing biological marvel of incredible complexities and astonishing capabilities. It is capable of creating art, devising engineering solutions, visualizing the future of technology, understanding and course-correcting to seek a better future for the planet, and guiding the growth of the human race. Howsoever incredible it may seem, the human brain still has certain limitations. There's a limit to how much information and data the human brain can compute and at what speed. Add to that the effects of aging, health factors, and numerous psychological factors, and it's clear that the human brain has serious limitations. Even though humanity has come a long way from the stone age, there's much more to do and a lot more to accomplish.

Young fashion shoppers today are demanding personalization more than ever. According to an IBM study, 52% of female Generation Z would like to see tools that allow them to customize products for themselves. This coincides with an ever-increasing expectation for speed in delivery of product. While several fast fashion retailers can get product to shelves in weeks, the majority of clothing items take anywhere from six to 12 months of development. Technology is impacting throughout the supply chain to shift this forward, including in the creative process itself.