First Posted: May 06, 2016 10:50 AM EDT Tags Deep Learning, contextual deep learning, artificial intelligence, AI, RAGE Frameworks Contextual deep learning allows artificial intelligence machines to react in a more natural and intelligent way to the real-world auditory, visual or other type of data. Information for and about the digital publishing industry from the leading trade association dedicated to representing the interests of high-quality digital publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Includes recent news and latest research on the industry, as well as membership information. Or you might imagine the disembodied voice of HAL, the recalcitrant computer that wouldn't open the pod-bay doors in '2001: A Space Odyssey,' the ... For those betting on the 142nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, there are several ways to approach the strategy. Last year, Jimmy Fallon's puppies took a stab at it-and correctly predicted the winner, American Pharoah.

The rolling robot BB-8 captivated moviegoers as it helped save the day in the 2016 film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" -- though even the most die-hard fan would admit that we aren't likely to see a real-world robot quite like that in the near future. However, there's another spherical, programmable, rolling robot currently in development that's capable of doing important work to engage children with special needs, particularly children on the autism spectrum. Described by its designers as "a robotic companion," the roly-poly Leka robot is shaped like a ball, has an endearing "face" that changes expressions, and uses sound, light and colors to interact with users through customizable games that improve cognitive and motor skills. Caregivers and educators can program the toy to guide children with developmental disabilities through a range of activities, helping them to improve communication and learn to connect with their environment and with others around them. For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), connecting with others and interpreting social cues can be enormously challenging.

The world going crazy over smartphone and other high-tech devices does not mean that spirituality has no more place in the hearts and lives of people. To disprove that, a Buddhist temple outside Beijing developed Xian'er, a monk robot that could recite mantras and explain the basics of Buddhism. The two-foot-high robot, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), has a shaved head and wears a saffron robe like traditional Buddhist monks, reported The Guardian. A touchscreen on the chest of the robot monk, found at the 500-year-old Longquan Temple, provides answers to 20 simple questions about the Buddhist faith and daily life at the temple. Among the questions is "What is the meaning of life?" Xian'er replied, "My master says the meaning of life is to help more people finally leave behind bitterness and gain happiness," quoted CNET.

AI is not likely to take over the world, but will probably make major inroads in the enterprise IT space. This will happen as soon as business decision makers can be shown a compelling economic reason to adopt such technology. What is needed are use cases that lay out the expected ROIs for such investments. This paper examines the state of AI business rationalization, and looks at one company, IBM, that is attempting to provide support to business leaders presented with the decision to adopt AI solutions. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been very prevalent in the popular press, and seems to be comprised of equal parts speculation and hyperbole.

The future of health care is wearable devices that transmit our vitals to our physicians. Instead of self-reported data, which is often inaccurate (no offense, but your memory just kind of sucks), doctors will have real numbers to form the basis for diagnoses and treatment plans. In the wake of Apple's CareKit launch, connected medical device maker Qardio is launching a platform to share health data from its hardware with your doctor. QardioArm is a medical-grade smart blood pressure monitor that can send data to your doctor. The company has two FDA-approved products for consumers: the smart blood pressure monitor QardioArm and wireless scale QardioBase.

Will Machine Learning come to rescue for cybersecurity? Or is it just more empty promises. This is the third part of a short series on cybersecurity. Watch the video below and let's discuss. This article is published as part of the IDG Contributor Network.

Search giant Google announced Wednesday that it would cut payday loan providers from its advertising platforms, citing the potentially damaging effects to borrowers of short-term, high-interest cash loans. "Research has shown that these loans can result in unaffordable payment and high default rates for users so we will be updating our policies globally to reflect that," Google's head of global product policy, David Graf,f said in an announcement posted to the company's blog. The average payday loan borrower spends five months of the year in debt, paying more in fees than originally received, according to research compiled by the Pew Charitable Trusts. "Our hope is that fewer people will be exposed to misleading or harmful products," Graff said. The policy change, which follows a similar move by Facebook, won plaudits from advocacy groups concerned with the impact of payday loans on low-income borrowers.

Novel thinkers and pioneers in brain research, technology, healthcare and the economy will gather this month in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the third conference of The Brain Forum. The forum, on May 26 and 27, will also be attended by researchers, engineers, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, industrialists, investors, funding agencies and policy makers to advance the understanding of how the brain works and to accelerate the application and value of this knowledge in society and the economy. The event will be divided into two sections – with Day 1 focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation, and Day 2 on new advances in science and technology. During Day 1, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Day, entrepreneurs and investors will share their expertise in translating science into business, and discuss their ideas for the future. The keynote lecture'Practical lessons in machine learning', will be presented by Greg Corrado, a senior research scientist working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computational neuroscience, and scalable machine learning at Google Research, and will explore aspects of machine learning – upon which much of Google's work on language, speech, translation, visual processing, ranking and prediction relies.

Five years ago, playing against past human champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, IBM's Watson won "Jeopardy!" in a landslide. Now, supercomputers are trying to win your heart. In the last few months, Google's Artificial Intelligence Engine has begun poring over romance novels, nearly 3,000 of them so far. The aim is to help the Artificial Intelligence, or AI as it's known, develop a more varied emotive tone in its interactions with humans. The books - well, imagine titles like "Ignited" and "Unconditional Love."

Aptly named TacoBot, the software will make use of AI advancements like natural language processing to let users talk with the bot, order food, and even pay for items entirely through Slack. TacoBot can also provide recommendations, answer questions, and organize group office orders. It apparently comes equipped with a "witty personality you'd expect from Taco Bell." "The TacoBot Slack integration is the latest step on our journey to make the brand more accessible wherever and whenever our fans want it," said Lawrence Kim, Taco Bell's director of digital innovation and on demand, in a statement. "Taco Bell is about food tailor-made for social consumption with friends, and that's why integrating with a social communications platform like Slack makes perfect sense. TacoBot is the next best thing to having your own Taco Bell butler… and who wouldn't want that??" Kim asks a good question, and the answer is nobody.