A UK technology company is inserting customised product placement into films and TV shows – even those that were originally released decades ago. The firm uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse films and TV episodes for space where the ads or objects can be subtly inserted. It means old Hollywood classics like Casablanca or The Great Escape could soon appear on streaming services with the newest ads in the background, like a new Apple smartphone or the latest McDonald's whopper. Streaming services including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video could be temped by large offers from companies to insert their ads to content, to accompany the subscription fees from its userbase. Mirriad's technology could even allow different ads to be seen by different people, based on their internet search history, just like targeted ads on Facebook.

The late theoretical physicist Albert Einstein has been brought back to life with a digital human platform that recreated the famous scientist's look and voice. Digital Einstein was developed to'put a friendly and well-known face on digital human technology' face between machines and humans.' Complete with the German accent, the digital copy speaks in a soft, friendly tone and is programmed with the same dry sense of humor as the real Einstein was said to have. Users can participate in daily quizzes and ask the AI-powered character questions about science, his life and work. Digital Einstein was developed to'put a friendly and well-known face on digital human technology' face between machines and humans' Einstein is well-known for his work in physics, specifically for the theory of relativity that changed the understanding of space time, gravity and the universe.

In the event you get bored waiting for your Audi A6 e-tron to charge its batteries, instead of kicking back to read a newspaper you can play a video game in the car - and have it beamed onto a wall by the headlights. But beneath the fun, froth and frippery there's also some really significant stuff going on as its underpinnings become the basis for a new coupe-style saloon and a whole family of new Audi electric cars. For long distance travellers who want to cruise in style the new Audi A6 e-tron Sportback has a claimed range of more than 434 miles. Audi's electric saloon turned games console on wheels: Bosses say the new Digital Matrix LED headlights on the new A6 e-tron concept are so crisp that they can project'cinematic quality' footage - including video games - onto a wall The matrix LED lights can project images - even the indicator lights project their beam onto the ground as well as into the air, says Audi. Should you get bored while re-charging your car, the new electric A6 e-tron's main digital matrix LED front headlights enjoy a'cinematic quality' that can also be harnessed to play video games.

Self-driving vehicles may be inherently racist because they're unable to detect dark-skinned faces in the dark, experts have warned. The Law Commission says racial bias'has crept into the design of vehicles and automated systems', which could have disastrous consequences. Autonomous vehicles are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that's trained to detect pedestrians in order to know when to stop and avoid a collision. But this inherent bias effectively means anyone with a'non-white' skin tone might be at greater risk of being involved in an accident in poor light conditions. Self-driving vehicles may also be prejudiced against women and the mobility-impaired, because their operating systems have largely been created by able-bodied men, according to the Law Commission.

Archaeologists in Guatemala believe they have discovered a hidden'embassy' in the legendary Mayan city of Tikal. The compound includes a pyramid, burial site and various items indicative of Teotihuacan, a rival city-state hundreds of miles away in Mexico. The finding suggests Teotihuacan, which conquered Tikal in the late 4th century, was once on good terms with its rival to build a diplomatic base there. LiDAR is able to pierce the dense forest canopy that has grown in the centuries since Tikal fell and find the remains of buildings hidden by trees and soil. Archaeologists were able to determine Tikal was much larger than previously presumed, with millions more inhabitants.

With the arrival of numerous effective vaccines, the battle against COVID-19 has shifted to getting the jab to as many people as possible. And now tech giant Google has added vaccination site locations to Google Map and Search in the US, Canada, France, Chile, India and Singapore in a bid to help speed up the process. Users simply type'vaccination sites' to get a map with pins tagging various locations near them which provide the injections. Google AI is also powering'virtual agents' that can help individuals find out if they're eligible for vaccination, book an appointment and even get reminders as the date approaches. The internet giant announced it is sponsoring pop-up vaccination sites across the US targeting marginalized communities and donating 250,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries in need.

Living in a busy city doesn't increase the chance of getting Covid-19, but overcrowding does, a new study reveals. AC-19, which was withdrawn from Google's app store last year over alleged concerns of government spying, tracks positive cases and deaths by geographic location. After investigating the link between density and virus transmission in the city, the researchers found that'density alone cannot be considered a risk factor'. The experts stress the difference between high urban density – a high number of people inhabiting an urbanised area – and overcrowding. The right figure shows the state of pandemic spread at the city level and the left one depicts the status at the national level.

Substituting a cup of cocoa throughout the day for other snacks could help obese people lose weight – even if they're on a high-fat diet, a new study claims. In lab experiments, US researchers gave obese mice with liver disease a dietary supplement of cocoa powder, for a period of eight weeks. Even though the mice were on a high-fat diet, the experts found the supplement reduced DNA damage and the amount of fat in their livers. While there is more to learn about the health benefits of cocoa, the researchers believe it may in some way impede the digestion of dietary fat and carbohydrate, thereby avoiding weight gain. Supplementation of cocoa powder in the diet of high-fat-fed mice with liver disease markedly reduced the severity of their condition, according to a new study.

US researchers have created a photo colourising tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create eerily lifelike images of deceased historical figures.

The world is heading for a'wild west' free for all in space that could lead to disaster as firms fight for every scrap of resource in low Earth orbit, an expert has warned. Paul Kostek, a space policy specialist from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), says global agreement is'highly unlikely' anytime soon. As the commercial space sector continues to grow at a rapid rate, firms are vying to launch constellations of satellites and new experimental craft into low Earth orbit. This has left astronomers frustrated and struggling due to'blots in the sky' that make observations harder and less accurate, as well as concerns over space junk. The need for regulation has become more pressing after satellites from OneWeb and SpaceX Starlink came close to hitting each other last week.