In a 30 million mansion perched on a cliff overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, a group of AI researchers, philosophers, and technologists gathered to discuss the end of humanity. The Sunday afternoon symposium, called "Worthy Successor," revolved around a provocative idea from entrepreneur Daniel Faggella: The "moral aim" of advanced AI should be to create a form of intelligence so powerful and wise that "you would gladly prefer that it (not humanity) determine the future path of life itself." Faggella made the theme clear in his invitation. "This event is very much focused on posthuman transition," he wrote to me via X DMs. "Not on AGI that eternally serves as a tool for humanity."

Two pharmaceutical companies have embarked on a brave new world, having begun human testing for the first time on a drug treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder designed by artificial intelligence. British startup Exscientia and Japan's Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma used artificial intelligence to create the drug in less than 12 months, cutting four years from the average time it takes ordinary humans to develop a medication. Exscientia CEO Andrew Hopkins described the clinical human trial of the drug -- a molecule called DSP-1181 -- as a "key milestone in drug discovery." TOP STORIES Milwaukee teacher placed on leave after praising Rush Limbaugh's cancer diagnosis Impeachment 2.0? "Our driving motivation is to accelerate the range of innovative drugs from cutting-edge science entering into the clinic to increase the treatment options for patients. That means reducing the time to make and test a drug. The consumer should see benefits from faster progress to the clinic," Mr. Hopkins told The Washington Times.

Nothing beats getting stuck in the slow-lane for the self-checkout machine --or in the endless loop of an automated phone system that keeps disconnecting you--to underline how much more convenient interacting with a real person can be. While automation saves businesses time and money, it also inflicts very real frustrations on everyday people who are forced to do the work once done by employees of the companies they patronize. One recent survey found that about 70% of consumers said they'd rather talk with a human customer service representative than a digital service rep or chatbot. That poses a big opportunity for one-person businesses and other very small firms where the owners are still willing to interact with customers every day. Many consumers and businesses still value what real humans can bring to the table and some will pay for it, even when it costs more.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, and the tricky question for small business owners is not whether to jump on board, but when. Daniel Faggella, AI strategist and founder and CEO of Emerj, writes, "Given the inevitability of AI's applications across sectors, it would seem a good idea for small businesses to jump on the AI bandwagon sooner than later to be more competitive... Right?" In his Emerj article Is Artificial Intelligence for Small Business? Factors to Consider for Technology Adoption, he encourages caution. "Contrary to what might be hyped on social media, in nearly all application areas AI is an expensive and complex solution without evidence of direct ROI (return on investment)," writes Faggella.

Virtual agents and chatbots will be the top consumer applications of artificial intelligence over the next five years, according to a consensus poll released today by TechEmergence, a marketing research firm for AI and machine learning. The emphasis on virtual agents and chatbots is in many ways not surprising. After all, the tech industry's 800-pound gorillas have all made big bets: Apple with Siri, Amazon with Alexa, Facebook with M and Messenger, Google with Google Assistant, Microsoft with Cortana and Tay. However, the poll's data also suggests that chatbots may soon be viewed as a horizontal enabling technology for many industries. "The most unexpected result was that so many founders who were not directly involved in the chatbot space or smart home/device space were very excited about these areas," wrote Daniel Faggella, founder of TechEmergence, in an email interview.

Virtual agents and chatbots will be the top consumer applications of artificial intelligence over the next five years, according to a consensus poll released today by TechEmergence, a marketing research firm for AI and machine learning. The emphasis on virtual agents and chatbots is in many ways not surprising. After all, the tech industry's 800-pound gorillas have all made big bets: Apple with Siri, Amazon with Alexa, Facebook with M and Messenger, Google with Google Assistant, Microsoft with Cortana and Tay. However, the poll's data also suggests that chatbots may soon be viewed as a horizontal enabling technology for many industries. "The most unexpected result was that so many founders who were not directly involved in the chatbot space or smart home/device space were very excited about these areas," wrote Daniel Faggella, founder of TechEmergence, in an email interview.

One of the most important things that ever happened to Dan Faggella was a collapsed roof. The then 25-year-old had been building his own business in his hometown of Wakefield, Rhode Island: a martial arts gym focusing on his specialty, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. "I was 17 or so when I first learned Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and I really fell in love with the'chess game' aspect of the martial art," Faggella says. When his teacher's studio closed, he used the money he'd earned from teaching private lessons and working at a local beach to open his own studio, which grew from a rented space in someone else's gym to a 500-square-foot training area to 2,500 square feet of his own. At the same time, he was using his earnings from the studio to pursue what might seem like a very different path: a one-year Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) at the University of Pennsylvania, studying under well-known author and positive psychology expert Martin Seligman.