… technological advances and applications in areas such as artificial intelligence, … Internet of Things, 5G and machine learning startups.

The vehicle Elon Musk sees as the key to fast travel around the Earth and multiplanetary living has only taken short hops so far, but its next trip will reach 50,000 feet. The plan is to test out its aerodynamic capabilities and attempt a landing flip maneuver. SpaceX's stream begins at 7 AM, but stay tuned for more information on exactly when the test will go down if you want to watch live -- this could be historic. After multiple delays, CD Projekt Red's highly anticipated RPG (based on the table-top game of the same name) arrives on PC and consoles, and Jessica Conditt has spent about 20 hours in the world on Night City. The game is too deep for that to give a comprehensive view of what it contains (she took six hours to get beyond the prologue and meet Keanu Reeves) but more than enough to see if its 80s-tinged vision of the future holds up.

The novel coronavirus that first appeared in mainland China has now spread across the world, with more than 82,000 reported cases and nearly 3,000 deaths, as of Thursday. And right alongside the outbreak is the deployment of myriad types of AI-powered tech that is now being put on full display. New technology like infrared thermometers -- potentially unreliable devices known as "thermometer guns" -- are becoming increasingly commonplace in China, where health workers regularly check people's temperatures. Somewhat behind the scenes, however, more futuristic technology powered by artificial intelligence is helping to identify coronavirus symptoms, find new treatments, and track the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, robots are making interactions with and treatment of sick patients easier. Powerful surveillance tech -- including facial recognition-enabled cameras and drones -- is also helping find people who might be sick or who aren't wearing masks.

A few years ago, a breakthrough in machine learning suddenly enabled computers to recognize objects shown in photographs with unprecedented--almost spooky--accuracy. The question now is whether machines can make another leap, by learning to make sense of what's actually going on in such images. A new image database, called Visual Genome, could push computers toward this goal, and help gauge the progress of computers attempting to better understand the real world. Teaching computers to parse visual scenes is fundamentally important for artificial intelligence. It might not only spawn more useful vision algorithms, but also help train computers how to communicate more effectively, because language is so intimately tied to representation of the physical world.