When space exploration became the hottest topic nearly half a century ago, many declared it to be mankind's final frontier. Today, however, the tides have completely shifted. Man's final frontier appears to be something else. And if you would just closely look at the latest in digital technology, it would be easily made clear that AI is now that final frontier. We've seen a lot of movies and TV shows that are depicting robotic creatures in a creative and compelling way that we could somehow visualize a digital apocalypse so clearly in our heads.

How much does someone's living room tell about how they live? Peeking into another person's life might be just part of natural human curiosity, but the answer to this question may provide insights in a wide range of aspects of human behavior. A new study published in EPJ Data Science uses the power of machine learning to explore patterns of home decors--and what they could tell about their owners--in popular accommodation website Airbnb. The Internet has provided the world with more images than can be viewed in a lifetime. Some sites, like Craigslist, Zillow, and Airbnb, specifically let us see the interiors of peoples' homes, nests of revealing human creativity, design, style and culture.

As more data is gathered from individuals, and artificial intelligence (AI) is employed to make important decisions, we must continue to ask precisely who is benefiting. We must also be intentional about inclusive and ethical AI. Only then can the benefits of AI be equitably distributed. For example, in the last few years, advances in AI have renewed hope in the capacity of technology to help drive precision healthcare--the ability to deliver the right treatment to the right person at the right time seems ever more attainable. With enough health data, we can train algorithms to make precise medical decisions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), defined as the capability of machines to imitate intelligent human behavior and learn from data, is considered by many to be the final frontier of computing. And environmentalists and tech companies are now harnessing the power of AI to service to the environment. To wit, Microsoft announced in December 2017 that it is expanding its "AI for Earth" program and committing $50 million over the next five years to put AI technologies in the hands of individuals and organizations working to solve global environmental challenges, including climate change as well as water, agriculture and biodiversity issues. Lucas Joppa, Microsoft's first Chief Environmental Scientist, is convinced that AI is now mature enough and the global environmental crisis acute enough to justify the creation of an AI platform for the planet. "I believe that for every environmental problem, governments, non-profits, academia and the technology industry need to ask two questions: 'How can AI help solve this?' and'How can we facilitate the application of AI?'," Joppa said.