After fifty years of books, games and movies, what more could the Aliens franchise deliver? The description "genre-defying" gets thrown around a lot these days - it is a convenient sticking plaster for any film or series that hasn't quite figured out what it wants to be. That said, it is an apt term for the Alien franchise. Ridley Scott's 1979 movie Alien, in which Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is part of a crew trapped on a spaceship with a salivating, scorpion-like "xenomorph", had such blood-curdling visuals that it made an indelible impact on both science fiction and horror films. But while the deadly parasite and its psychosexual torment were ever present, subsequent instalments tried their hand at being everything from a blockbuster to a prison flick to a philosophical drama.

Spotting AI's work can be increasingly difficult as its capabilities and subtleties continue to improve. This continued shift makes labeling AI generated work all the more critical -- something that is being done in bits and pieces. The latest development to do so comes from Google, which will now use SynthID technology to mark mages edited using Reimagine in Magic Editor. Google DeepMind launched SynthID in 2023, a technology that allows for imperceptible digital watermarks within any content created with generative AI. The company has previously used it in AI-powered programs such as Lyria, Imagen and Gemini.

If there's one thing that truly scares horror fans, it's a modern reboot of a beloved franchise. However, while those ageing terrors might have their charms, they don't quite match up to the fear factor of modern monsters. Now, AI has been used to reimagine what some of our favourite on-screen spooks might look like with modern film-making techniques. According to the AI, the Alien Queen from Aliens would be sleeker and shinier than her predecessor. Meanwhile, Stripe from Gremlins would be absolutely terrifying, with huge eyes - and enormous fangs to match.

Opinions abound on what's right and wrong with our U.S. healthcare system, but there's one thing most can agree on: There's a need to transform the experience for patients, providers and payers. The Covid-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for us to relook at and reimagine the digitization of the healthcare system. The strategic adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) could be transformational, but technology leaders at healthcare organizations are constrained by stringent compliance requirements and security concerns. And their fears aren't unfounded--any data breach could be catastrophic. Trust in AI doesn't come easily--one must tread cautiously, particularly in this industry.

The headlines read "Artificial Intelligence (AI) will completely transform your business." But does the hype match the reality? We have been seeing these exclamations for two decades, but where are the examples? Where are the success stories? Is AI really a game changer, and does it actually apply to my business?

Customer experience has evolved in exciting ways in the past few years. Michael Iacobucci, CEO at Interactions Corporation, cites two major reasons for this industry-wide evolution: the increasingly critical need for better customer experiences as a brand differentiator, and the AI advancement to enable those experiences. According to a recent survey, 75% of customers say they will pay more to do business with a company that provides good CX. "Exceptional customer service is not optional for today's businesses," Iacobucci said. "In order to succeed, CX must be a top priority."

Public accountability is today a pivotal issue for the high-tech sector that it discounts at its own peril. We see this play out in the media seemingly every day as certain high-profile tech companies are castigated for the undesirable societal effects of their products and services. Most vividly, we have witnessed how social media platforms can spread dangerous falsehoods about COVID. For some providers, these impacts are unintentional. For others, they result from prioritizing growth goals over everything else. Regardless, the potentially profound effects of emerging technologies' machine-learning algorithms, complex AI models and data biases must always command our attention.

Soumen helps enterprises to embrace data and augment cognitive intelligence. Every day we read about some new AI breakthrough. AI is omnipresent in our everyday lives whether we use mobile devices, wearables or voice assistants or stream our favorite shows. Enterprises control the epicenter of the AI economy, and they drive the innovation through a new trajectory, attracting investors through their impeccably timed innovations promising the new efficiency frontier. A new forecast from IDC Worldwide predicts the AI market will have worldwide revenues surpassing $300 billion in 2024 with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.1%.

Cyberpunk is like cyberspace: instantly recognizable, but so ubiquitous as to be intangible. An aesthetic movement and a commentary on capitalism, it can be a genre, a subjectivity, an adjective, a political approach, a time period. It can tackle artificial intelligence, embodied identity, digital immortality, or simply, in the case of Pat Cadigan's Synners, whether a marriage can survive electronic pornography addiction. Like the best fiction, cyberpunk still slips on like a pair of fingerless gloves, even if--in the 21st century, partially situated in the future it imagined--it's hard to see where fiction ends and reality begins. Despite all of this, cyberpunk often gets reduced to an aesthetic: black leather, mirror shades, implants--pieces of flare that look cool when lit by neon and computer screens.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is launching a project in Britain that will use artificial intelligence software to "reimagine" the process of discovering new drugs and medical treatments. Alphabet said the new company, Isomorphic Labs, will expand on research previously conducted by DeepMind, a British artificial intelligence company that Google acquired several years ago. Officials said the venture, which will help scientists analyze data, could lead to cures for some of the most debilitating diseases. "Now the time is right to push this forward at pace, and with the dedicated focus and resources that Isomorphic Labs will bring," CEO Demis Hassabis said in a statement. Hassabis added that the company aims to "reimagine the entire drug discovery process from the ground up," and partner with pharma and medical companies to advance "digital biology."