Imagine a swarm of genetically-engineered cyborg insects capable of flying around undetected while engaging in spying and other activities on behalf of government intelligence, the military or law enforcement agencies – or for that matter, a foreign power or terrorist organization. It may sound like science fiction, but the technology is real, and it’s very […]

Artificial intelligence has arrived at one Beijing fast-food restaurant… but its not without some rather nefarious side effects. A KFC outlet in the city’s financial district now uses facial recognition software to predict what a customer might order. Partnering with KFC, tech firm Baidu, often described as the Google equivalent in China, developed the software […]

A six-year-old girl from Dallas, Texas, became one happy little lady recently after her family’s Amazon Echo, an always-listening speaker device that’s gradually being implemented into thousands of consumer electronic products, responded to a simple voice command she made and ordered her both a tin of shortbread cookies and a large dollhouse — both of […]

Later this month, an insurance firm in Japan will be replacing more than 30 employees on their workforce with artificial intelligence. Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance is set to implement the robotic replacements, with a cost of 200m Yen (more than 1.7 million US dollars) by the end of the month. They estimate that they will […]

As part of a joint project with Amazon.com, LG Electronics is planning to unveil a new “smart” refrigerator equipped with cameras and other spying equipment designed to monitor what people eat and keep track of their food purchasing habits. The refrigerator will reportedly work in tandem with Amazon’s “Echo” device to listen to, watch and […]

Uber blames it on the humans who must be behind the wheel while Uber’s test automobiles are learning to drive themselves on California roads, says The Guardian. One car ploughed through “a pedestrian crosswalk in downtown” and another “entered an intersection” in San Francisco while the light was red. California motor vehicle authorities told Uber to stand down and get a “testing permit,” […]

BMW is trying to position itself at the forefront of connected and autonomous automotive technology. The automaker just signed up for a partnership that focuses on data. IBM announced that they will be working with BMW on research and development, which integrates Watson sensors and computing into the vehicles. Data will be picked up to […]

Although this month’s much-heralded first delivery performed by a fully autonomous Amazon.com drone was, in effect, little more than a publicity stunt – beta testing of the company’s drone delivery service currently includes a total of only two customers living in rural England – Jeff Bezos’ dream of filling the skies with commercial drones ready […]

A newly-opened eatery in Manhattan incorporates a futuristic take on a not-so-new concept in providing fresh, healthy and relatively inexpensive vegetarian meals to the public. Eatsa is a modern, high-tech version of the automated lunch counter – an innovation first introduced to New Yorkers over a century ago. The restaurant employs no waiters or cashiers; […]

Artificial intelligence is one of the biggest threats to our future imaginable. If not treated properly, humanity is extremely likely to completely be destroyed by artificial intelligence if we continue to allow it to grow in power. Once it reaches a certain level, it will be impossible to stop — and that is an extremely […]

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Zdnet.com reminds us, is not a “magical, mystical source of truth.” After all, AI machines are dependent upon algorithms “whose output is only ever as good as the data put in, or the rules that humans set.” Historically, Homo sapiens have been as capable of creating tremendously beneficial inventions as they have been in furbishing weapons […]

Silicon Valley-based AnalyticsMD is an AI-based software platform that helps increase efficiency of health systems and improve margins. The platform is also supposed to enhance the patient experience by reducing provider burnout. AnalyticsMD acts as a virtual air traffic control by allowing hospital administrations and front-line teams to make the best decisions at critical moments. […]

Deep learning, as explained by tech journalist Michael Copeland on Blogs.nvidia.com, is the newest and most powerful computational development thus far. It combines all prior research in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. At its most fundamental level, Copeland explains, deep learning uses algorithms to peruse massive amounts of data, and then learn from that data to make […]

In one of the most pathetic news stories of the year thus far – which is saying a lot about the year that has given us the story of how Anthony Weiner’s nude photos may win Donald Trump the election – sex robots are on the verge of breaking their way back into the mainstream. […]

As beer runs go, this one stands out. Article by Phil Lebau Anheuser-Busch hauled a trailer loaded with beer 120 miles in an autonomous-drive truck, completing what’s believed to be the first commercial shipment by a self-driving vehicle. The trip happened last week in Colorado as Anheuser-Busch, collaborated with Otto, a subsidiary of Uber that […]