Here's a question that's been percolating since ChatGPT abruptly entered the mainstream: Does AI provide more avenues to enhance and augment education, or drive it into obsolescence? According to Under 30 Europe lister Joel Hellermark, the future of artificial intelligence and machine learning is rife with possibilities that can help the ways in which humans learn and collaborate, not replace them. He offered the calculator as a comparison: "If we think about it just like an insanely powerful calculator, you'd want everyone to just learn to use the calculator. Why should you sit there and do a bunch of calculations? The 26-year-old cofounder of software company Sana Labs has been immersed in the coding space since taking online Stanford courses at just 13 years old in Sweden. Now, at his startup, he's built an AI-driven software to help businesses manage workforce onboarding and training. The program pulls from correspondences, documents and the internet to answer questions and help train employees. Sana introduced the product to the world just as it was shutting down in 2020, and initially offered their platform to hospitals free of charge (over 2,000 took them up on the offer). Sana has since landed paying clients, including Klarna, Merck and Electrolux, and has raised $54.5 million. Hellermark, who dropped out of school at 19 to start the company, envisions a near future where the content we interact with is presented to us dynamically and with our personal contexts in play. "We're so used to creating content and then someone consumes the exact thing that you created– that goes all the way back to the printing press," says Hellermark. "It hasn't changed that much since.

Japanese convenience-store giant Lawson plans to tap the power of artificial intelligence to help keep fresh food items from being thrown out before their expiration date. The move comes as the country's retailers try to cut back on food waste. Lawson has developed a system that predicts sales of perishable items like boxed meals and rice balls at each store. It's based on data such as the outlet's sales history and local weather conditions. The system figures out which products should be marked down by how much, and notifies the stores.

In a move to expand its business into the logistics and delivery segment, ride-hailing startup Via today announced that it acquired Fleetonomy for an undisclosed sum. Via, which says it plans to apply Fleetonomy's expertise in demand prediction and fleet utilization to support fully integrated, digitally powered logistics solutions, says the pandemic has highlighted the growing need for essential services and goods delivery. Tel Aviv-based Fleetonomy, which was founded in 2017 by CEO Israel Duanis and CTO Lior Gerenstein, taps AI to analyze data and deliver insights with the goal of maximizing inventory and promoting proactive maintenance. The company provides white label ride-sharing and on-demand car subscription services that can accommodate semiautonomous and autonomous fleets. With Fleetonomy's cloud-based suite of tools, managers can simulate services before deploying cars on the road, adjusting for factors such as fleet size, parking, charging locations, demand, and more.

Google today launched Read Along, an Android app that taps AI and machine learning to help children learn to read by providing verbal and visual feedback. Preliminary research suggests that apps like Read Along could significantly improve children's reading skills. A three-month pilot of Read Along's predecessor -- Bolo -- in the Unnao district of India involving 1,500 children across 200 villages found that, compared with a control group, 39% of the app's users reached the highest level of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) reading assessment test and 64% saw an increase in scores. Moreover, 92% of parents said they noticed some improvement in their child's skills. Read Along comes preloaded with around 500 stories and interactive games within those stories, for which kids earn stars and badges as they learn, practice, and progress.

Much has been written about the role artificial intelligence (AI) can play in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. While the practicality of new technology is still being explored, companies are earnestly working on AI-enabled tools that could support the measures being taken to curb the outbreak. This includes tools to enforce social distancing, assess contact tracing, share valuable insights, as well as automated rapid tests, risk assessment apps, and resources to accelerate associated drug discovery initiatives, among others. While the widespread adoption of these AI-enabled solutions for these applications could take time due to appropriate scepticism around it, there is no contesting the fact that it can expedite efforts to manage the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. But while caution should still be exercised when it comes to experimental technologies – especially during a health emergency like this – there are less-explored areas amid this crisis where technology can add a lot of value without the accompanied risk. Incorporating AI into the mundane – but critical – administrative functions in a hospital can relieve these institutes of unprecedented strain on resources, especially doctors, physicians, and other medical practitioners.

Can sensors see behind the corners of obstacles in real time? As it turns out, yes. A study by researchers at Stanford, Rice University, Princeton, and Southern Methodist University published in the journal Optica proposes a system that's capable of producing around-the-bend images at high resolutions and speeds. It's able to distinguish the submillimeter details of hidden objects from 1 meter away, and according to coauthor Felix Heide, it could be used to make out things like the license plates of hidden moving vehicles and personnel badges worn by walking individuals. "Non-line-of-sight imaging has important applications in medical imaging, navigation, robotics, and defense," said Heide.

Because algorithms "learn" from historical data, some companies have launched bots that simply replicate ethnic stereotypes and bias-filled decisions made by humans. Build processes and train teams to look for biases in data and machine learning models. Involve your board of directors - unintended consequences of AI could pose compliance risks and damage your brand.

While fintech companies have been at the leading edge of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered innovation, financial services marketers are making up ground fast. McKinsey Global Institute says healthcare, financial services, and professional services have seen the greatest increase in their profit margins because of AI adoption. Advances in digital and mobile banking have created a "greenfield" of new opportunities for bank and credit union marketers, including leveraging data to map, analyze, and optimize the customer journey through inbound and outbound marketing interactions. For financial brands beginning to transform their marketing, there are five best practices that will enhance customer engagement across the customer journey. Take a look at how to turn your clients into partners just by listening -- and then providing what they need.

Today at the Google I/O keynote, the search giant took the opportunity to showcase all the new ways artificial intelligence will revolutionize its phone OS with the upcoming Android P. One of the least sexy AI applications might benefit the most users. Adaptive Battery, as its called, takes note of user behavior to cunningly switch off apps when it predicts you'll need them least -- and will result in a 30 percent reduction in CPU app wakeups, which should save you some juice. In other words, if it knows you only click through Instagram during your morning and afternoon coffee breaks, it'll close it in the interim -- and save you some battery life. Similarly, Android P has a feature called Adaptive Brightness that dims the screen when it predicts you won't need it lit up so much. Click here to catch up on the latest news from Google I/O 2018!

Delivering customer insight without cognitive bias, adding value to the in-moment experience and building commercial value are just some of the ways financial services executives believe artificial intelligence is going to transform their sector. Speaking on a panel of Australian financial services businesses at this week's Dreamforce conference, head of technology for Silver Chef, Vinnie D'Alessandro, said the commercial equipment financier is already a heavily data-driven organisation, tapping financial data as well as 30 years of product data in order to improve customer engagement. He saw the introduction of machine learning into the business as a way of removing bias and building an even better customer approach. "A lot of our data acquisition recently has been about understanding consumer behaviour and profiles for us to market to them effectively and use the right touchpoints to surface content that's relevant to them," he said. "Previously, my data architect would pour over databases and spreadsheets. We're now looking at machine learning and [Salesforce] Einstein to give us the insight without the cognitive bias. "Sometimes sales people who have been there for 20 years have a way of doing things and think they know exactly how it works.