If your cat's sulking, your dog's whining or your rabbit's doing that strange thing with its paws again, you will recognise that familiar pang of guilt shared by most other pet owners. But for those who wish they knew just what was going on in the minds of their loyal companions, help may soon be at hand – thanks to the establishment of first scientific institution dedicated to empirically investigating the consciousness of animals. The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience, based at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), will begin its work on 30 September, researching non-human animals, including those as evolutionarily distant from us as insects, crabs and cuttlefish. One of its most eye-catching projects will be to explore how AI can help humans "speak" with their pets, the dangers of it going wrong – and what we need to do to prevent that happening. "We like our pets to display human characteristics and with the advent of AI, the ways in which your pet will be able to speak to you is going to be taken to a whole new level," said Prof Jonathan Birch, the inaugural director of the centre.

Pogrebna is a pioneer in behavioural data science – a field that combines behavioural science and data science techniques to better understand, model and predict the behaviour of humans, algorithms and complex systems in the face of risk and uncertainty. "I warmly welcome Professor Pogrebna to the University and look forward to working with her to establish the Cybersecurity and Data Science Institute," Charles Sturt pro vice-chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Mark Evans said. "Professor Pogrebna comes to the University with a wealth of experience. This includes being the Lead of the Behavioural Data Science strand at The Alan Turing Institute – the national centre for AI and data science in London where she is also a Fellow working on hybrid modelling approaches between behavioural science and data science (e.g. According to Evans, Pogrebna helps leaders in businesses, charities and the public sector better understand why they make the decisions they make and how they can optimise their behaviour to achieve higher profit, better social and commercial outcomes, and bolster the wellbeing of their teams. Pogrebna said her goal as executive director of the Cybersecurity and Data Science Institute is to avoid'building a silo'. "I have spent several weeks visiting our researchers across the University's campuses and became aware of the incredible work they are doing," she said. "The new Institute will aim to support our local talent and build on it, seeing how we can develop new research collaborations in Australia as well as internationally.

In 2016, Microsoft unveiled its first AI chatbot, Tay, developed to interact and converse with users in real-time on Twitter and engage Millennials. Tay was released with a basic grasp of language based on a dataset of anonymised public data and some pre-written material, with the intention to subsequently learn from interactions with users. On March 23, Tay took its first steps on Twitter, posting mostly innocuous messages and jokes, like "humans are super cool". However, within hours of its release, Tay had tweeted over 95,000 times and many of those messages were abusive and offensive misogynist/racist remarks, such as variations on "Hitler was right" and "9/11 was an inside job". Microsoft ended up taking down the account 16 hours after joining the internet.

The use of "nudges" in policymaking has been a major trend since the UK launched the world's first government-embedded behavioural insights unit in 2010. But governments around the world, from Denmark to Singapore, have been using principles from behavioural science to influence citizens since at least the 1960s. That's according to a new World Bank report, Behavioural Science Around the World, which highlights 10 countries that are pioneering the use of behavioural insights: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, the UK and the US. The World Bank report looks at how these teams are integrated into government, which projects they're working on and how they are run -- and, most importantly, which experiments have worked. It predicts that in the future, behavioural insights units will benefit from artificial intelligence, machine learning and virtual reality the same way they've gained from advancements in open data and e-government.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has announced a trial of a redesigned banking app that it says has been backed by "world-leading" machine learning, data analytics, and behavioural science. The bank said its app boasts 5.3 million unique users and more than 6.5 million log-ons per day. It expects the redesign will provide the "first completely personalised and smart digital banking experience in Australia, backed by world-leading application of machine learning technology". According to chief digital officer Pete Steel, CBA has a "unique ability to use technology and innovation capabilities to support good financial habits". "We're using a combination of cutting edge machine learning technology, data analytics, and behavioural science to develop smart banking features to create a highly personalised digital banking experience," he said.

Most of you will have interacted with several algorithms already today. Algorithms are of course simply sets of rules for solving problems, and existed long before computers. But algorithms are now everywhere in digital services. An algorithm decided the results of your internet searches today. If you used Google Maps to get here, an algorithm proposed your route. Algorithms decided the news you read on your news feed and the ads you saw.

Today, global technology company Huawei launched a study on the similarities between the human brain and Artificial Intelligence, which revealed that the average UK resident is unaware of 99.68% of the actual decisions they make every day, showing how hard our brain works without us having to consciously engage it. It is commonly accepted that the human brain makes approximately 35,000 decisions1 a day; however, the new research, polling 1,000 UK adults revealed that the average Brit is aware of just 0.32% of these decisions, with respondents on average believing they make only 111 decisions per day. Walter Ji, president at Huawei Western Europe Consumer Business Group comments, "The research shows how human intelligence works just like Artificial Intelligence, operating in the background to empower us in everything we do. While revealing a significant gap between the number of decisions we believe we make every day and the actual number we make, the results also shed light on other discrepancies between how we think we spend our time, and how we actually spend it." The research also revealed how people would like their smartphones to help with decision-making to make their lives easier.

Global technology company Huawei has launched a study on the similarities between the human brain and Artificial Intelligence, which reveals that the average European is unaware of 99.74% of the actual decisions they make every day, showing how hard our brain works without us having to consciously engage it. It is commonly accepted that the human brain makes approximately 35,000 decisions a day; however, the new research, polling 10,000 Europeans, reveals that we are aware of just 0.26% of these decisions with respondents on average believing they make only 92 decisions per day. Walter Ji, President, Huawei Western Europe Consumer Business Group comments, "The research shows how human intelligence works just like Artificial Intelligence, operating in the background to empower us in everything we do. While revealing a significant gap between the number of decisions we believe we make every day and the actual number we make, the results also shed light on other discrepancies between how we think we spend our time, and how we actually spend it." The research also revealed how people would like their smartphones to help with decisions and make their lives easier, with 47% saying they would like to be presented with creative ways to use up the food that's in their fridge, and 43% saying they would like automatic notifications about travel.

The 49th Sveriges Riksbank prize in economic sciences – commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize for economics – has been awarded to Richard H Thaler for his contributions to behavioural economics. He was a key proponent of the idea that humans do not act entirely rationally and is primarily known for his often misunderstood concept of Nudge Theory. Attributed to Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in their book "Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness," a "Nudge" can change the behaviour or decision that a human will make. The basis of Nudge theory is to apply an understanding of predicted behaviours to shape and influence that automated process. Leveraging a variety of different strategies, such as default settings, information as an incentive and right context, companies have proven the ability to change someone's behaviour through a successful Nudge.

Interested in shaping the future of cyber/data security and having an impact on the UK's economy?Are you an up and coming cyber security engineer with an interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning in a business context, looking to accelerate your career? Are you interested in understanding the role of human behaviour in cyber security? If so this may be the role for you. We're looking to appoint an enthusiastic and dynamic graduate. You'll lead/deliver the 36-month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project between Clearswift Ltd and the University of Surrey, working with both the company and university academics.