In New York government news, state officials are examining the opportunities -- and risks -- posed by artificial intelligence. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, signed legislation this month that creates a 13-member commission tasked with reviewing the emerging technology and what it will mean for New Yorkers. Meanwhile, the ongoing scourge of opioid abuse is getting some attention with lawmakers announcing a series of public hearings to identify ways the state could do a better job of addressing the problem. While no one is predicting a robot uprising any time soon, state officials say they are concerned by how the rise of artificial intelligence and robotics could affect jobs, the delivery of government services and personal privacy. The New York State Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation Commission, approved by lawmakers earlier this year, will also look at how A.I. could be used "in unlawful or unsafe ways."

Machine learning and artificial intelligence holds the promise of smart devices and systems that will enrich our lives, but according to one ICT executive, this promise of a digital utopia is a misguided one. "We are collecting a lot more data, processing a lot more data, and inventing what many are calling smart devices. But they're not artificially intelligent, and there is a danger we're making claims for artificial intelligence giving us a utopia that we're not going to get," said Mike Hinchey, president of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). "We don't really know what intelligence is, and we're making claims that these intelligent technologies are going to do things." However, Hinchey told IoT Hub that there are companies making genuine progress in AI, and that their efforts shouldn't be discounted.