Twenty high schoolers in Philadelphia will have the opportunity this fall to learn about artificial intelligence as part of a free program financed by billionaire Mark Cuban's foundation. Applications are now being accepted for the AI Bootcamp, which targets girls, students of color and young people from low- and middle-income families. The program is being hosted locally by CSL Behring, a King of Prussia-based biopharmaceutical company. "We don't want them to think AI is something that other people do," said John Thompson, CSL Behring's global head of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. "We want them to realize that they can be part of the AI future, that they can have a career in advanced analytics and AI." Participants, who must be in 9th through 12th grades, will gather for five hours on four consecutive Saturdays from Oct. 22 to Nov. 12 for interactive lessons and lab exercises.

Sign up for our Daily Email newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest local news throughout Philadelphia. Artificial Intelligence has become a reality in retail stores and this technology has important functions--especially today amidst a global pandemic--since it can be used to analyze inventory, allow contactless payments and even pick up products in the form of robots. AI use is becoming popular among retailers, as it is now being used in stores to facilitate the work of sellers and encourage people to buy more products. According to a Capgemini Research Institute study, by 2018 more than a quarter of retailers worldwide (28 percent) were implementing AI in their stores. The same study revealed that 98 percent of the 400 retailers that implemented the technology expected the number of customer complaints to decrease by up to 15%, while 99% expected AI to increase sales by the same amount.