A test run of a suitcase-shaped robot equipped with artificial intelligence to guide visually impaired people was conducted at the Toranomon Hills complex in Tokyo on Monday. Mori Building and others showcased a demonstration in Tokyo on Monday of a suitcase-shaped robot equipped with artificial intelligence that can guide visually impaired people. The trial at the Toranomon Hills complex will run throughout October. It comprises two courses -- one that guides people with impaired vision through indoor and outdoor areas and another allowing any visitor to try out the device. The robot is being developed by the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, also known as Miraikan, with the aim of eventually offering it as a rental service.

Pope Leo says concerns about AI doom scenarios are not'fake news' Pope Leo gives a news conference on his return flight from France on Monday. ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT - Pope Leo on Monday said concerns that artificial intelligence could destroy the world are not "fake news" and should be taken seriously, in an apparent rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump. The first U.S. pope, who has warned of the dangers of AI throughout his 16-month papacy, also directly criticized technology CEOs who argued there should be no guardrails on the technology. "I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI, should be taken seriously," the pontiff said in a news conference on his flight back to Rome after a four-day trip to France. "I don't think that that is fake news, as some have said."

Annual spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure may reach as much as $1.5 trillion by 2031, consulting firm Bain & Co. said in its annual global technology report. The global artificial intelligence industry needs to earn $6 trillion in annual revenue by 2031 to justify the capital being deployed to build data centers around the world, Bain & Co. said. Existing consumer and enterprise AI services may generate as much as $1.8 trillion of that sum, leaving $4.2 trillion in new revenue that needs to be created, the consulting firm said Tuesday in its annual global technology report. The shortfall likely will come from nascent segments ranging from autonomous machines to robotics, as well as emerging fields such as drug discovery, mental health and energy generation, it said. "What the industry needs is a wave of innovation that will dwarf what mobile and cloud unlocked," said David Crawford, the report's lead author and chair of Bain's Global Technology, Media, and Telecommunications practice.