Google has reportedly admitted that Google employees listen to private recordings of customer conversations via Google Assistant. Moreover, employees are able to access conversations which were not meant to be recorded. Leak of 1,000 private conversations in Dutch language by some of Google's partners to a Belgian news site further proved that third-party contractors working for Google were also able to access these multiple sensitive user conversations, that were reportedly recorded unintentionally. Usually, users with Google Assistant on their phones and smart speakers have to say "Ok, Google" to start a conversation with the AI-powered virtual assistant. But even when users didn't call up the virtual assistant, various user conversations that were personal and sensitive in nature were recorded.

We already knew humans could make biased AIs -- but the United Nations says the reverse is true as well. Millions of people talk to AI voice assistants, such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. When those assistants talk back, they do so in female-sounding voices, and a new UN report argues that those voices and the words they're programmed to say amplify gender biases and encourage users to be sexist -- but it's not too late to change course. The report is the work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and its title -- "I'd blush if I could" -- is the response Siri was programmed in 2011 to give if a user called her a "bitch." According to UNESCO, that programming exemplifies the problems with today's AI assistants.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago (ICATT), earlier this month, hosted a business forum comprising an audience of financial executives from various sectors including energy, banking and finance at the KPMG Headquarters in Port of Spain. The event themed "Artificial Intelligence (AI) – the Future of Accounting" exposed professional accountants to global developments, good practice guidance and knowledge-sharing that will enhance their roles and domain across the economy. In delivering the opening remarks, ICATT's president, Stacy-Ann Golding, praised the ICATT Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee for organising the forum, the topic of which, she noted, was critical to improving the readiness of today's accounting professionals to deal with AI and its implications. Bring a depth of insight and experience were featured speakers Nigel Romano, managing director and chief executive officer, JMMB Bank and Leslie Lee Fook, director of Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Analytics at Incus Services Ltd. Romano spoke on the use of AI, "I can recall the now obsolete, clunky computerised systems used in accounting during the 1970s and how they helped speed up work processes at that time. Today a similar shift is happening as current systems will soon be overshadowed by those powered by self-learning / machine learning capabilities."

Do chatbots, robots and digital assistants intrigue you? What about automated vehicles and virtual assistants? AI is a field of computer science that focuses on the creation of a machine that can replicate human behaviour. The science fiction of yesterday quickly becomes reality. AI statistics surrounding the business and tech industries are changing.

"Alexa, why is my baby crying?" Scientists say they have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can reliably interpret the cries of babies. Using similar technology to Amazon's Alexa assistant, it can tell parents whether their little one is hungry, needs changing or is in pain. Crying babies demand attention, but for their anxious parents it's often difficult to understand exactly what the problem might be. Now a group of American researchers has developed a AI that can help.

From 2010 to 2011, I worked on YouTube's artificial intelligence recommendation engine--the algorithm that directs what you see next based on your previous viewing habits and searches. One of my main tasks was to increase the amount of time people spent on YouTube. At the time, this pursuit seemed harmless. But nearly a decade later, I can see that our work had unintended--but not unpredictable--consequences. In some cases, the AI went terribly wrong.

Amazon is developing a higher quality version of the Echo speaker and ramping up work on its home robot. The company plans to release the new Echo by next year, according to people familiar with the product. Prototypes of the cylindrical speaker are wider than the current Echo to squeeze in additional components including at least four tweeters, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter. The robot, previously reported by Bloomberg, has wheels and can be controlled by Alexa voice commands, the people said. Both devices are being developed by Amazon Lab126, a research and development arm based in Sunnyvale, California.

Editor-at-Large based in London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Expertise in Unemployment, Food, recipes, Sports, Science & space, Technology, see all» Women's health, Environment & green living, Sexual health, Men's health, Concerts, Music, Pets, Celebrities, Social media, Pharmaceuticals, Travel, Internet, Careers & workplace, Government, Stocks & trading, Drinks, Jobs, Charity & volunteer work, Books, Education, Automotive, Board games, Entertainment, Politics, Movies, General business news & info, Small business, Video games, Health, Food, dining & restaurants Dell Technologies has released the final update to its 2020 Legacy of Good plan, reporting on its sustainability progress. Hair straighteners may not be the fist item that comes to mind when hacking is mentioned, but as more and more devices become connected, anything that relies on digital technology carries a vulnerability. Electric cars could be used as battery hubs in order to store renewable energy. This concept, being considered for the U.K., is about capturing and utilizing some of the excess energy produced from electric vehicles.

There is an unprecedented growth in the percentage of aging population throughout the world, particularly in growing economies such as Europe, Japan and China. Form 2000 to 2050, the percentage of the world's population who is 60 years of age and older will approximately double from about 12% to 22% (from 605 million to 2 billion). During the same period, the number of people aged 80 years and older will quadruple. In the USA, 14.5% of the population is 65 years or older, but by 2030 these number is anticipated to grow to 20%. This rapid aging demographic will directly affect social, economic and health outcomes for these growing economies.

Google officials have admitted that the company's workers can listen to Google Assistant users, and that one of them recently leaked confidential data. A Dutch language expert working for Google to train its speech technology leaked private information in a breach of the company's security policies, company officials said. The disclosure came after Belgian broadcaster VRT NWS reported that its reporters listened to more than 1,000 conversations recorded by the search giant's virtual assistant, including some that revealed identifiable information about the users. "As part of our work to develop speech technology for more languages, we partner with language experts around the world who understand the nuances and accents of a specific language," Google executive David Monsees wrote in a blog post posted on Thursday. These language experts review and transcribe a small set of queries to help us better understand those languages." "We just learned that one of these language reviewers has violated our data security policies by leaking confidential Dutch audio data.