How can scientists deal with the huge volume of new research publish on a daily basis? How can computers go further than merely parsing scientific papers, and actually suggest hypotheses themselves? When will we see a computer as another member of the lab team, serving hundreds of scientists simultaneously from its huge data set of extant research? This is the work of John Bachman, a systems biology PhD from Harvard Medical School, and Ben Giori, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School's systems pharmacology lab. They're part of Darpa's Big Mechanism project, which is developing technology to read research abstracts and papers to extract pieces of causal mechanisms, then to assemble these pieces into more complete causal models, and to produce explanations.

Here are four case studies on how machines can perform tasks that previously required human intelligence across various industries. The rise of artificial intelligence is the great story of our time. Leaving the laboratory after decades in the making, artificial intelligence, or AI, is infusing itself into many aspects our daily lives – from homes and phones to cars and offices. Machines are now able to perform tasks that previously required human intelligence across various industries. Insurance, once perceived as highly resistant to change, has now accelerated the race for innovation.

Voice is a Big Deal in tech this year. Amazon has probably sold 10m Echos, you couldn't move for Alexa partnerships at CES, Google has made its own and, it seems, this is the new platform. There are a couple of different causes for this explosion, and, also, a couple of problems. First, voice is a big deal because voice input now works in a way that it did not until very recently. The advances in machine learning in the past couple of years mean (to simplify hugely) that computers are getting much better at recognizing what people are saying.

A camera shield for a computer, which allows the user to block the camera when not in use. SAN FRANCISCO – So it looks as if the CIA could potentially break into most smart phone or computer networks, at least according to the stolen documents released by WikiLeaks on Tuesday. Whether you have anything to hide or not, it's a good reminder that in a digital age, keeping your life private requires some work. Here's a list of nine things everyone should be doing already to keep their information relatively confidential, plus four more for the truly paranoid. The most common way the CIA's cyber tools, and hackers for that matter, get into your devices are via phishing emails or texts.

HARI SREENIVASAN: The WikiLeaks release earlier this week showed the CIA could use hacking tools to break into cell phones, computers and Internet-connected televisions. We should say there is no evidence the CIA used this against Americans. But the revelations surprised many. It raises the concerns for the increasing number of Internet-connected devices all around us, and what they're monitoring and who has access to it. In fact, in a recent murder case, law enforcement is trying to gather recordings from an Amazon Echo in order to see if it might have picked up evidence surrounding the crime.

In recent years, almost every big name in tech (Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Salesforce, Uber, etc.) has jumped onboard the Artificial Intelligence (AI) bandwagon. Investing in research labs and acquiring companies focused in these areas, each is looking for a way to incorporate AI into their products and services to more intelligently and proactively serve their clients. Although some have called for more regulatory oversight when it comes to AI, tech companies don't seem to be slowing down their endeavours to create human-like machines that can think independently and make decisions. In September 2016, Microsoft formed the Microsoft AI and Research Group, which joined their research organisation with thousands of computer scientists and engineers, with the goal of democratising AI for all. Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, described this commitment saying, 'At Microsoft, we are focused on empowering both people and organisations, by democratising access to intelligence to help solve our most pressing challenges.

With the CIA's ability to'breach almost anything connected to the internet' made public, many citizens have begun questioning their devices. A clip has surfaced showing an anonymous woman asking Amazon's Alexa a series of questions - starting with'would you lie to me' and finishing with'Alexa, are you connected to the CIA?' The virtual assistant swiftly responded to the first question, but shutdown after it was interrogated about its connections with the US government agency. A video appeared on Reddit that has people questioning their virtual assistants. A woman is seen asking Amazon's Alexa a series of questions. ' 'I am not always right, but I would never intentionally lie to you or anyone else,' responded Alexa. Alexa answered, 'The Unites States Central Intelligence Agency, CIA'.

If you don't want the CIA agency hearing about the tedious detail of your life, maybe hold off on using your Amazon Echo for a bit. A viral video Thursday showed someone asking the virtual assistant, dubbed Alexa, if she was "connected" to the CIA, to which the device had no response. "I always try to tell the truth, I'm not always right, but I would never intentionally lie to you or anyone else," the device answered. The device answered that it was the U.S.' Central Intelligence Agency. "Alexa, are you connected to the CIA?" the user then asked.

Siri isn't bi-lingual or even tri-lingual, the best word to describe Siri would be to call her (or him) a polyglot, or one who has mastered many languages, as she heads towards mastering Shanghainese. Apple's voice assist currently knows 21 languages localized with different dialects for more than 36 countries and regions, according to Reuters. Siri is exception, even among peers. Amazon's Alexa can only speak English, Google's Assistant speaks English, and German on pixel phones, while Microsoft's Cortana has mastered eight languages in 13 different regions. So how does Siri do it?

HONG KONG Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is in talks with banks to raise $5 billion in new funding, sources told Thomson Reuters' Basis Point, amid a flurry of fund-raising by China's tech giants.