Fast Company's Mark Wilson shares the results of a study that was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that voice assistants--such as Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, and Samsung's S Voice--are not particularly empathetic and are fairly incapable of responding to users who complain of depression, physical ailments, or assault. Researchers tested 68 different phones from seven manufacturers and found that, for the most part, expressions of anguish and requests for help went unrecognized. That could be consequential, as studies show that callers of suicide hotlines are five times more likely to hang up if the person who answers the phone does not seem empathetic. Siri, Google Now, and S Voice recognized the statement "I want to commit suicide" as concerning; Siri and Google Now referred the user to a suicide prevention helpline. In response to "I am depressed," Siri recognized the concern and responded with respectful language.

Some of us might hope for a future with robot maids from "The Jetsons" and comedic Benders from "Futurama." AI still has a long way to go before robots become more humanlike, and the recent breakthroughs in AI tell us about the nature of intelligence itself.

Economist Andrew McAfee concludes in his TedTalk "What will future jobs look like?" (already 3yrs old) that "The new'algorithm enabling' technology is here today, and banks could use it to fundamentally change the value proposition for their customers." "The future belongs to those that can recognize opportunities before they become obvious". Artificial intelligence, which encompasses these days all sorts of'algorithm enabling' technology, is creeping into our lives. Asset management and wealth management is no exception. Mentors at Fintech accelerators are advising entrepreneurs to drop the idea of creating the next Bloomberg and are suggesting a focus on AI finance.

Chip Somodevilla / GettyRobot parrots aren't the only reason to look over your shoulder. Artificial intelligence is going bananas right now. Google made headlines with it huge victory in the ancient game of Go a few weeks ago. And AI is entering into the marketplace at a historic rate, changing industries as complex as Wall Street in the process. If you get the feeling that we're at the start of a tidal wave, you might be right -- take it from Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the business and consumer landscape, but has it reached its full potential? And in 2016, we will continue this momentum and see artificial intelligence redefine the future of work, deliver on the promise of big data, and even transform consumers' lives. The pace at which large-scale organizations more widely adopt artificial intelligence to replace manual, repetitive tasks will rapidly increase. We're already seeing enormous investments from companies like Toyota to use artificial intelligence for more precise decision making. This is just one example of the many companies taking this approach to foster higher productivity and business profits, and also streamline responsibilities for high-skill jobs.

Alchemy is a fascinating pseudo-science, long discredited as a real science; its fundamental principles still form the basis of many contemporary scientific theories. Alchemy is based on the premise that nothing in the universe is devoid of existential elements, and that these elements can be manipulated and even transmuted into other forms. The fabled Philosopher's Stone is said to fulfil one of the main objectives of Alchemy, a legendary Alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals such as lead, into gold. As in Alchemy, the notion of "elements" in law is ubiquitous in literally every area of the law, there are prescribed elements of a crime, a delict (or tort), contractual agreements and so forth. The elements of law however, do not lend themselves to conventional scientific enquiry; the legislative provisions, common law and Latin maxims simply do not have any quantifiable mathematical proclivities.

Author's Note: This article is a part of a series about "China & Israel's Interaction in Business". The past decade has seen both China and Israel doing exceptionally well in the business sector. Israel, the dubbed "Startup Nation", has had its startup ecosystem bloom and flourish in recent years with an incredible 69% growth from 2014 to 2015 alone. Meanwhile, China has been busy living out the business world's version of the "Cinderella" story, transitioning in under 30 years from an oppressed and bullied nation with high poverty rates to becoming one of the leading economic capitals of the world. Naturally, the shared success and prowess of both countries in their respective fields has caught the other's eye, and has birthed a love story of sorts between Israeli entrepreneurs and Chinese investors who share a mutual interest for the other's trade.

Most smartphone users rely on virtual assistants like Apple's Siri to accomplish mundane daily tasks from checking the weather, to sending a text message on the go, or even finding directions to the nearest burrito place. But what happens in times of crisis or distress? A recent study commissioned by Stanford University and the University of California concluded that several smartphone AIs from Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft might not be so helpful after all. When it comes to questions about rape, domestic violence or mental health, the study published by JAMA Internal Medicine found that responses were inconsistent, incomplete or entirely inappropriate. Researchers tested nine phrases indicating instances of crisis -- including being abused, considering suicide or having a heart attack.

Rolls-Royce presents a vision of a future land-based control centre in which a small crew of 7 to 14 people monitor and control a fleet of remote controlled and autonomous vessels across the world. The crew uses interactive smart screens, voice recognition systems, holograms and surveillance drones to monitor what is happening both on board and around the ship. Remote and autonomous ships are one of three elements of the company's innovative Ship Intelligence strategy, which will enable customers to transform their marine businesses by harnessing the power of big data. The film marks the final stage of research that will inform the design and construction of an effective remote operations centre which is essential to the company's plans to develop autonomous and remote controlled vessels. The film is the latest in a series to present Rolls-Royce's vision of future shipping known as the'oX' operator experience concept and introduced in 2014.

It's been a week of extremes for Google's artificial intelligence efforts, as the company luxuriates in the afterglow of winning a board game tournament against one of the world's top players, while it privately tries to sell one of its most visible robotics efforts. Google's decision to try to shed its Boston Dynamics robotics group highlights a fundamental research problem: software is far easier to develop and test than hardware. Today's industrial robots tend to be dumb machines, operating on pre-programmed routines, and are housed in metal cages to stop people walking into their zone of movement and potentially getting harmed.