Have you ever spent hours grinding your mind predicting one’s death? Well, the answer is pretty simple. Take a scan of your eyes, and everything will be revealed.

Australian researchers have devised a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme that can help predict a person’s years of life simply by looking at their retina—the tissue at the back of the eye.

The findings, published on Wednesday in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, are based on studies of the retina—which the scientists claimed acts as a “window” in allowing doctors to take a deeper look at someone’s health.

The researchers from Melbourne's Centre for Eye Research claimed that the AI algorithm accurately predicts the retinal age after analysing almost 19,000 fundus scans.&nbsp;

“The retina offers a unique, accessible window to evaluate underlying pathological processes of systemic vascular and neurological diseases that are associated with increased risks of mortality,” wrote study author Dr Mingguang He, a professor of ophthalmic epidemiology in the University of Melbourne and Centre for Eye Research in Australia.

The <a href="https://bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2021/11/17/bjophthalmol-2021-319807#">study </a>analysed over 130,000 retinal images from samples given by people participating in the UK BioBank, a long-term government study of over 500,000 UK participants&nbsp;between the ages of 40 and 69.

There was a 2 per cent increase in the risk of death from any cause for each year of difference between a person's actual age and the older biological age identified in the eye, the study found.

“The significant association between retinal age gap and non-cardiovascular/non-cancer mortality, together with the growing evidence of the link between eye and brain, may support the notion that the retina is the 'window' of neurological diseases,” the authors&nbsp;write.

(With inputs from agencies)

Have you ever spent hours grinding your mind predicting one’s death? Well, the answer is pretty simple. Take a scan of your eyes, and everything will be revealed.

Have you ever spent hours grinding your mind predicting one’s death? Well, the answer is pretty simple. Take a scan of your eyes, and everything will be revealed. Australian researchers have devised a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme that can help predict a person’s years of life simply by looking at their retina—the tissue at the back of the eye. The findings, published on Wednesday in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, are based on studies of the retina—which the scientists claimed acts as a “window” in allowing doctors to take a deeper look at someone’s health. The researchers from Melbourne's Centre for Eye Research claimed that the AI algorithm accurately predicts the retinal age after analysing almost 19,000 fundus scans. “The retina offers a unique, accessible window to evaluate underlying pathological processes of systemic vascular and neurological diseases that are associated with increased risks of mortality,” wrote study author Dr Mingguang He, a professor of ophthalmic epidemiology in the University of Melbourne and Centre for Eye Research in Australia. The study analysed over 130,000 retinal images from samples given by people participating in the UK BioBank, a long-term government study of over 500,000 UK participants between the ages of 40 and 69. There was a 2 per cent increase in the risk of death from any cause for each year of difference between a person's actual age and the older biological age identified in the eye, the study found. “The significant association between retinal age gap and non-cardiovascular/non-cancer mortality, together with the growing evidence of the link between eye and brain, may support the notion that the retina is the 'window' of neurological diseases,” the authors write. (With inputs from agencies)

Can eyes predict death? Scientists in Australia claim to hold potential evidence

China seems to have taken a massive leap in robotics as a group of scientists claimed to have built a robot that can read people's minds with 96 per cent accuracy.

The developers at China Three Gorges University’s Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation Technology Centre tested the robot at an assembly factory, reports&nbsp;Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post.

The industrial robot not only monitored the worker’s brain waves, but also collected electric signals from muscles, as it worked seamlessly together to assemble a complex product, the developers said.

The robot was able to instantly read the co-worker’s brain waves without the latter saying anything and was able to pick up a tool and put it on the workstation, according to the developers.

“In modern industrial manufacturing, assembly work accounts for 45 per cent of the total workload, and 20-30 per cent of the total production cost,” project lead scientist Dong Yuanfa and his co-researchers said in a paper published in domestic peer-reviewed journal China Mechanical Engineering.

Collaborative robots, or “cobots”, could accelerate the pace of an assembly line, but their application remained limited because “their ability to recognise human intention is often inaccurate and unstable”, the paper said.

Dong said his robot was put through “hundreds of hours of training” by volunteers, which included assembly line workers carefully putting together a product.

The robot reportedly followed commands of the workers 70 per cent of the time but did need volunteers to “concentrate very hard” for the brain message to be read.

Many of them grew too distracted due to the repetitive nature of their thoughts.

The paper noted that further tests would be needed to establish whether the technology could be used in an actual factory, as all tests so far had been conducted in a lab.

(With inputs from agencies)

China seems to have taken a massive leap in robotics as a group of scientists claimed to have built a robot that can read people's minds with 96 per cent accuracy.

China seems to have taken a massive leap in robotics as a group of scientists claimed to have built a robot that can read people's minds with 96 per cent accuracy. The developers at China Three Gorges University’s Intelligent Manufacturing Innovation Technology Centre tested the robot at an assembly factory, reports Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post. The industrial robot not only monitored the worker’s brain waves, but also collected electric signals from muscles, as it worked seamlessly together to assemble a complex product, the developers said. The robot was able to instantly read the co-worker’s brain waves without the latter saying anything and was able to pick up a tool and put it on the workstation, according to the developers. “In modern industrial manufacturing, assembly work accounts for 45 per cent of the total workload, and 20-30 per cent of the total production cost,” project lead scientist Dong Yuanfa and his co-researchers said in a paper published in domestic peer-reviewed journal China Mechanical Engineering. Collaborative robots, or “cobots”, could accelerate the pace of an assembly line, but their application remained limited because “their ability to recognise human intention is often inaccurate and unstable”, the paper said. Dong said his robot was put through “hundreds of hours of training” by volunteers, which included assembly line workers carefully putting together a product. The robot reportedly followed commands of the workers 70 per cent of the time but did need volunteers to “concentrate very hard” for the brain message to be read. Many of them grew too distracted due to the repetitive nature of their thoughts. The paper noted that further tests would be needed to establish whether the technology could be used in an actual factory, as all tests so far had been conducted in a lab. (With inputs from agencies)

Chinese scientists build robot that can read mind with 96% accuracy: Report

An AI-powered chess board helps master the game. It can sense moves and guide players in an interactive way to help them learn the game.

AI-powered chess board help master the game

As artificial intelligence(AI) technology gathers momentum worldwide, reports claim China has developed an AI "prosecutor" which can charge people using the high-end technology.

According to Chinese researchers, the AI "prosecutor" can file charges against an accused with over 97 per cent accuracy based on verbal description.

The machine has reportedly been built by Shanghai Pudong People's Procuratorate. In a paper published by Chinese researchers, they&nbsp;said the AI technology can help lessen the workload of prosecutors and it has the ability to replace prosecutors in the decision-making process in&nbsp;some cases.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-identify-new-pattern-in-mathematics-using-artificial-intelligence-434395">Also Read:&nbsp;Scientists identify new pattern in mathematics using artificial intelligence</a>

The new technology can reportedly be used on a desktop computer as it analyses billions of data stored in its system. The AI machine was reportedly trained using thousands of cases between 2015 to 2020. It can reportedly spot dangerous driving, credit card fraud, gambling operations including theft and fraud with upgrades likely to be put into the system by the researchers.

However, some prosecutors are wary about the new technology. They say the "AI prosecutor" could make a mistake in complicated cases. Also, the fact that it has been trained in previous cases would make it unreliable in new cases under ever changing social environment.

<a href="Humans may get to talk to whales, courtesy artificial intelligence">Also Read:&nbsp;Humans may get to talk to whales, courtesy artificial intelligence</a>

Recently, UK's MI-6 chief Richard Moore had said that, "Chinese intelligence services are highly capable and continue to conduct large scale espionage operations against the UK and our allies."

Moore had expressed concern over Chinese government's attempt to "distort public discourse" and "political decision-making across the globe"&nbsp;as he pointed out that&nbsp;&nbsp;"adversaries are pouring money and ambition into mastering&nbsp;artificial&nbsp;intelligence and&nbsp;quantum computing.

(With inputs from Agencies)

As artificial intelligence(AI) technology gathers momentum worldwide, reports claim China has developed an AI "prosecutor" which can charge people using the high-end technology.

As artificial intelligence(AI) technology gathers momentum worldwide, reports claim China has developed an AI "prosecutor" which can charge people using the high-end technology. According to Chinese researchers, the AI "prosecutor" can file charges against an accused with over 97 per cent accuracy based on verbal description. The machine has reportedly been built by Shanghai Pudong People's Procuratorate. In a paper published by Chinese researchers, they said the AI technology can help lessen the workload of prosecutors and it has the ability to replace prosecutors in the decision-making process in some cases. Also Read: Scientists identify new pattern in mathematics using artificial intelligence The new technology can reportedly be used on a desktop computer as it analyses billions of data stored in its system. The AI machine was reportedly trained using thousands of cases between 2015 to 2020. It can reportedly spot dangerous driving, credit card fraud, gambling operations including theft and fraud with upgrades likely to be put into the system by the researchers. However, some prosecutors are wary about the new technology. They say the "AI prosecutor" could make a mistake in complicated cases. Also, the fact that it has been trained in previous cases would make it unreliable in new cases under ever changing social environment. Also Read: Humans may get to talk to whales, courtesy artificial intelligence Recently, UK's MI-6 chief Richard Moore had said that, "Chinese intelligence services are highly capable and continue to conduct large scale espionage operations against the UK and our allies." Moore had expressed concern over Chinese government's attempt to "distort public discourse" and "political decision-making across the globe" as he pointed out that "adversaries are pouring money and ambition into mastering artificial intelligence and quantum computing. (With inputs from Agencies)

Now, China develops AI 'prosecutor'

It may have seemed like an obscure United Nations conclave, but a meeting this week in Geneva was followed intently by experts in artificial intelligence, military strategy, disarmament and humanitarian law.

The reason for the interest? Killer robots — drones, guns and bombs that decide on their own, with artificial brains, whether to attack and kill — and what should be done, if anything, to regulate or ban them.

Once the domain of science fiction films like the “Terminator” series and “RoboCop,” killer robots, more technically known as Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, have been invented and tested at an accelerated pace with little oversight. Some prototypes have even been used in actual conflicts.

The evolution of these machines is considered a potentially seismic event in warfare, akin to the invention of gunpowder and nuclear bombs.

This year, for the first time, a majority of the 125 nations that belong to an agreement called the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons said they wanted curbs on killer robots. But they were opposed by members that are developing these weapons, most notably the United States and Russia.

The group’s conference concluded Friday with only a vague statement about considering possible measures acceptable to all. The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a disarmament group, said the outcome fell “drastically short.”

What is the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons?

Sometimes known as the Inhumane Weapons Convention, it is a framework of rules that ban or restrict weapons considered to cause unnecessary, unjustifiable and indiscriminate suffering, such as incendiary explosives, blinding lasers and booby traps that don’t distinguish between fighters and civilians. The convention has no provisions for killer robots.

What exactly are killer robots?

Opinions differ on an exact definition, but they are widely considered to be weapons that make decisions with little or no human involvement. Rapid improvements in robotics, AI and image recognition are making such armaments possible.

The drones the United States has used extensively in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere are not considered robots because they are operated remotely by people, who choose targets and decide whether to shoot.

Why are they considered attractive?

To war planners, the weapons offer the promise of keeping soldiers out of harm’s way, and making faster decisions than a human would, by giving more battlefield responsibilities to autonomous systems like pilotless drones and driverless tanks that independently decide when to strike.

What are the objections?

Critics argue it is morally repugnant to assign lethal decision making to machines, regardless of technological sophistication. How does a machine differentiate an adult from a child, a fighter with a bazooka from a civilian with a broom, a hostile combatant from a wounded or surrendering soldier?

“Fundamentally, autonomous weapon systems raise ethical concerns for society about substituting human decisions about life and death with sensor, software and machine processes,” Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross and an outspoken opponent of killer robots, told the Geneva conference.

In advance of the conference, Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic called for steps toward a legally binding agreement that requires human control at all times.

“Robots lack the compassion, empathy, mercy and judgment necessary to treat humans humanely, and they cannot understand the inherent worth of human life,” the groups argued in a briefing paper to support their recommendations.

Others said autonomous weapons, rather than reducing the risk of war, could do the opposite — by providing antagonists with ways of inflicting harm that minimize risks to their own soldiers.

“Mass-produced killer robots could lower the threshold for war by taking humans out of the kill chain and unleashing machines that could engage a human target without any human at the controls,” said Phil Twyford, New Zealand’s disarmament minister.

Why was the Geneva conference important?

The conference was widely considered by disarmament experts to be the best opportunity so far to devise ways to regulate, if not prohibit, the use of killer robots under the convention.

It was the culmination of years of discussions by a group of experts who had been asked to identify the challenges and possible approaches to reducing the threats from killer robots. But the experts could not even reach agreement on basic questions.

What do opponents of a new treaty say?

Some, like Russia, insist that any decisions on limits must be unanimous — in effect giving opponents a veto.

The United States argues that existing international laws are sufficient and that banning autonomous weapons technology would be premature. The chief U.S. delegate to the conference, Joshua Dorosin, proposed a nonbinding “code of conduct” for use of killer robots — an idea that disarmament advocates dismissed as a delaying tactic.

The U.S. military has invested heavily in AI, working with the biggest defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. The work has included projects to develop long-range missiles that detect moving targets based on radio frequency, swarm drones that can identify and attack a target, and automated missile defense systems, according to research by opponents of the weapons systems.

The complexity and varying uses of AI make it more difficult to regulate than nuclear weapons or land mines, said Maaike Verbruggen, an expert on emerging military security technology at the Center for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy in Brussels. She said lack of transparency about what different countries are building has created “fear and concern” among military leaders that they must keep up.

“It’s very hard to get a sense of what another country is doing,” said Verbruggen, who is working toward a doctorate on the topic. “There is a lot of uncertainty and that drives military innovation.”

Franz-Stefan Gady, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the “arms race for autonomous weapons systems is already underway and won’t be called off anytime soon.”

Is there conflict in the defense establishment about killer robots?

Yes. Even as the technology becomes more advanced, there has been reluctance to use autonomous weapons in combat because of fears of mistakes, Gady said.

“Can military commanders trust the judgment of autonomous weapon systems? Here the answer at the moment is clearly ‘no’ and will remain so for the near future,” he said.

The debate over autonomous weapons has spilled into Silicon Valley. In 2018, Google said it would not renew a contract with the Pentagon after thousands of its employees signed a letter protesting the company’s work on a program using AI to interpret images that could be used to choose drone targets. The company also created new ethical guidelines prohibiting the use of its technology for weapons and surveillance.

Others believe the United States is not going far enough to compete with rivals.

In October, the former chief software officer for the Air Force, Nicolas Chaillan, told the Financial Times that he had resigned because of what he saw as weak technological progress inside the U.S. military, particularly the use of AI. He said policymakers are slowed down by questions about ethics, while countries like China press ahead.

Where have autonomous weapons been used?

There are not many verified battlefield examples, but critics point to a few incidents that show the technology’s potential.

In March, U.N. investigators said a “lethal autonomous weapons system” had been used by government-backed forces in Libya against militia fighters. A drone called Kargu-2, made by a Turkish defense contractor, tracked and attacked the fighters as they fled a rocket attack, according to the report, which left unclear whether any human controlled the drones.

In the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan fought Armenia with attack drones and missiles that loiter in the air until detecting the signal of an assigned target.

What happens now?

Many disarmament advocates said the outcome of the conference had hardened what they described as a resolve to push for a new treaty in the next few years, like those that prohibit land mines and cluster munitions.

Daan Kayser, an autonomous weapons expert at PAX, a Netherlands-based peace advocacy group, said the conference’s failure to agree to even negotiate on killer robots was “a really plain signal that the CCW isn’t up to the job.”

Noel Sharkey, an AI expert and chair of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control, said the meeting had demonstrated that a new treaty was preferable to further convention deliberations.

“There was a sense of urgency in the room,” he said, that “if there’s no movement, we’re not prepared to stay on this treadmill.”

It may have seemed like an obscure United Nations conclave, but a meeting this week in Geneva was followed intently by experts in artificial intelligence, military strategy, disarmament and humanitarian law.

It may have seemed like an obscure United Nations conclave, but a meeting this week in Geneva was followed intently by experts in artificial intelligence, military strategy, disarmament and humanitarian law. The reason for the interest? Killer robots — drones, guns and bombs that decide on their own, with artificial brains, whether to attack and kill — and what should be done, if anything, to regulate or ban them. Once the domain of science fiction films like the “Terminator” series and “RoboCop,” killer robots, more technically known as Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, have been invented and tested at an accelerated pace with little oversight. Some prototypes have even been used in actual conflicts. The evolution of these machines is considered a potentially seismic event in warfare, akin to the invention of gunpowder and nuclear bombs. This year, for the first time, a majority of the 125 nations that belong to an agreement called the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons said they wanted curbs on killer robots. But they were opposed by members that are developing these weapons, most notably the United States and Russia. The group’s conference concluded Friday with only a vague statement about considering possible measures acceptable to all. The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a disarmament group, said the outcome fell “drastically short.” What is the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons? Sometimes known as the Inhumane Weapons Convention, it is a framework of rules that ban or restrict weapons considered to cause unnecessary, unjustifiable and indiscriminate suffering, such as incendiary explosives, blinding lasers and booby traps that don’t distinguish between fighters and civilians. The convention has no provisions for killer robots. What exactly are killer robots? Opinions differ on an exact definition, but they are widely considered to be weapons that make decisions with little or no human involvement. Rapid improvements in robotics, AI and image recognition are making such armaments possible. The drones the United States has used extensively in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere are not considered robots because they are operated remotely by people, who choose targets and decide whether to shoot. Why are they considered attractive? To war planners, the weapons offer the promise of keeping soldiers out of harm’s way, and making faster decisions than a human would, by giving more battlefield responsibilities to autonomous systems like pilotless drones and driverless tanks that independently decide when to strike. What are the objections? Critics argue it is morally repugnant to assign lethal decision making to machines, regardless of technological sophistication. How does a machine differentiate an adult from a child, a fighter with a bazooka from a civilian with a broom, a hostile combatant from a wounded or surrendering soldier? “Fundamentally, autonomous weapon systems raise ethical concerns for society about substituting human decisions about life and death with sensor, software and machine processes,” Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross and an outspoken opponent of killer robots, told the Geneva conference. In advance of the conference, Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic called for steps toward a legally binding agreement that requires human control at all times. “Robots lack the compassion, empathy, mercy and judgment necessary to treat humans humanely, and they cannot understand the inherent worth of human life,” the groups argued in a briefing paper to support their recommendations. Others said autonomous weapons, rather than reducing the risk of war, could do the opposite — by providing antagonists with ways of inflicting harm that minimize risks to their own soldiers. “Mass-produced killer robots could lower the threshold for war by taking humans out of the kill chain and unleashing machines that could engage a human target without any human at the controls,” said Phil Twyford, New Zealand’s disarmament minister. Why was the Geneva conference important? The conference was widely considered by disarmament experts to be the best opportunity so far to devise ways to regulate, if not prohibit, the use of killer robots under the convention. It was the culmination of years of discussions by a group of experts who had been asked to identify the challenges and possible approaches to reducing the threats from killer robots. But the experts could not even reach agreement on basic questions. What do opponents of a new treaty say? Some, like Russia, insist that any decisions on limits must be unanimous — in effect giving opponents a veto. The United States argues that existing international laws are sufficient and that banning autonomous weapons technology would be premature. The chief U.S. delegate to the conference, Joshua Dorosin, proposed a nonbinding “code of conduct” for use of killer robots — an idea that disarmament advocates dismissed as a delaying tactic. The U.S. military has invested heavily in AI, working with the biggest defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. The work has included projects to develop long-range missiles that detect moving targets based on radio frequency, swarm drones that can identify and attack a target, and automated missile defense systems, according to research by opponents of the weapons systems. The complexity and varying uses of AI make it more difficult to regulate than nuclear weapons or land mines, said Maaike Verbruggen, an expert on emerging military security technology at the Center for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy in Brussels. She said lack of transparency about what different countries are building has created “fear and concern” among military leaders that they must keep up. “It’s very hard to get a sense of what another country is doing,” said Verbruggen, who is working toward a doctorate on the topic. “There is a lot of uncertainty and that drives military innovation.” Franz-Stefan Gady, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the “arms race for autonomous weapons systems is already underway and won’t be called off anytime soon.” Is there conflict in the defense establishment about killer robots? Yes. Even as the technology becomes more advanced, there has been reluctance to use autonomous weapons in combat because of fears of mistakes, Gady said. “Can military commanders trust the judgment of autonomous weapon systems? Here the answer at the moment is clearly ‘no’ and will remain so for the near future,” he said. The debate over autonomous weapons has spilled into Silicon Valley. In 2018, Google said it would not renew a contract with the Pentagon after thousands of its employees signed a letter protesting the company’s work on a program using AI to interpret images that could be used to choose drone targets. The company also created new ethical guidelines prohibiting the use of its technology for weapons and surveillance. Others believe the United States is not going far enough to compete with rivals. In October, the former chief software officer for the Air Force, Nicolas Chaillan, told the Financial Times that he had resigned because of what he saw as weak technological progress inside the U.S. military, particularly the use of AI. He said policymakers are slowed down by questions about ethics, while countries like China press ahead. Where have autonomous weapons been used? There are not many verified battlefield examples, but critics point to a few incidents that show the technology’s potential. In March, U.N. investigators said a “lethal autonomous weapons system” had been used by government-backed forces in Libya against militia fighters. A drone called Kargu-2, made by a Turkish defense contractor, tracked and attacked the fighters as they fled a rocket attack, according to the report, which left unclear whether any human controlled the drones. In the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan fought Armenia with attack drones and missiles that loiter in the air until detecting the signal of an assigned target. What happens now? Many disarmament advocates said the outcome of the conference had hardened what they described as a resolve to push for a new treaty in the next few years, like those that prohibit land mines and cluster munitions. Daan Kayser, an autonomous weapons expert at PAX, a Netherlands-based peace advocacy group, said the conference’s failure to agree to even negotiate on killer robots was “a really plain signal that the CCW isn’t up to the job.” Noel Sharkey, an AI expert and chair of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control, said the meeting had demonstrated that a new treaty was preferable to further convention deliberations. “There was a sense of urgency in the room,” he said, that “if there’s no movement, we’re not prepared to stay on this treadmill.”

Killer robots aren’t science fiction. A push to ban them is growing.

President Joe Biden came away from his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping on Nov. 15 committed to prosecuting what he called “simple, straightforward competition” with China. Yet Beijing is already beating the United States and its allies in one crucial domain: data.

Data is the oil of the 21st century, the indispensable resource that will fuel artificial-intelligence algorithms, economic strength and national power. The wellspring of this data is all of us: our health records and genetic sequences, our online habits, the supply chain flows of our businesses, the terabytes of imagery guzzled by phones, drones and autonomous cars.

The competition for global influence in the 21st century will require protecting and harnessing this data to achieve commercial, technological and military advantages. So far, China is winning, and the West is barely even engaged.

Through a latticework of recent laws and regulations, Mr. Xi has been hard at work making the Chinese Communist Party the world’s most powerful data broker. How does Beijing do that? By walling Chinese data off from the world, exerting new extraterritorial power over global data flows and putting foreign companies operating in China in a legal bind — all while absorbing other countries’ data by means licit and illicit.

Mr. Xi knows that even locking down only Chinese data, representing the patterns and behavior of some 1.4 billion people, would hobble Beijing’s rivals in the quest for global economic superiority.

The Biden administration has spoken about the importance of data in our competition with China. But no visible strategy has emerged. That threatens Americans’ privacy, economic competitiveness, national security and future global standing. This will be a major test of America’s China policy in 2022.

Washington’s blind spot to the centrality of big data in Beijing’s ambitions and to the ways our own data are being exploited in service of those ambitions is perplexing at a time when American politicians are growing more concerned about the collection and potential exploitation of big data by U.S. tech giants.

It is further perplexing because Americans in bipartisan fashion also are wising up to the ways that Beijing exploits and weaponizes other U.S. resources, like our capital markets.

That’s evident in how Washington is finally — if fitfully — beginning to address the self-destructive flow of U.S. dollars into China’s military and global surveillance apparatus. While these sorts of measures still need to be scaled up dramatically, at least policymakers now have some tools to curb Beijing’s easy access to U.S. capital.

Not so when it comes to data, where Beijing believes that it has a free hand and that the West is too distracted or feckless to respond meaningfully. Mr. Xi is thinking and acting big, and has been since his first days in power.

In 2013, shortly after assuming the presidency in Beijing, Mr. Xi declared: “The vast ocean of data, just like oil resources during industrialization, contains immense productive power and opportunities. Whoever controls big data technologies will control the resources for development and have the upper hand.”

Since then, Beijing has been building the framework to ensure that mass accumulations of data serve the Chinese Communist Party’s strategic interests.

A series of laws implemented in 2017 asserted the party’s power to gain access to private data on Chinese networks, whether in China or associated with Chinese firms such as Huawei overseas.

Now Beijing has quietly enacted a new set of laws — first the Data Security Law in September, followed in November by the Personal Information Protection Law — that go even further by demanding not just access to private data but also effective control over it.

This has a huge impact on foreign firms operating in China. Not only must their Chinese data stay in China and be accessible by the state, but Beijing now demands control over whether they can send it to their own headquarters; to a corporate lab in, say, California; or to a foreign government that has made a law enforcement or regulatory request.

Beijing’s new laws may make it criminal to comply with foreign sanctions against China that involve data — like shutting off banking or cloud services to a Chinese entity linked to human rights atrocities. In these cases, foreign firms can comply with U.S. law, or they can comply with Chinese law, but not both.

The impact of these laws is clear. Tesla, Apple and others have opted to build dedicated Chinese data centers — sometimes in partnership with Chinese state entities, lest they lose access to the large Chinese consumer market. Goldman Sachs faced pressure against sending memos to its U.S. headquarters.

Beijing’s recent actions complement its longstanding efforts to buy, steal and otherwise acquire data from foreign sources worldwide. Beijing hacks multinational corporate databases. It runs “talent recruitment” programs at foreign universities and firms. It buys foreign companies, such as an Italian maker of military drones. It funds its own data-driven start-ups in open foreign markets like Silicon Valley.

The approach is nakedly nonreciprocal. It relies on access to foreign data while denying foreigners access to Chinese data — and appears to assume that foreign governments won’t respond. The United States, after all, has no comprehensive federal approach to data governance, while the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is focused mostly on consumer privacy.

Will American and allied policymakers develop approaches to limit strategic data flows to China? For now, the Biden administration’s answer is: maybe.

“Our strategic competitors see big data as a strategic asset,” the U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said this summer, “and we have to see it the same way.”

This is clear and compelling language. But data did not appear to be high on Mr. Biden’s agenda with Mr. Xi, judging from official readouts of the summit.

And to date, U.S. policy remedies are idle and insufficient.

In June, the administration issued an executive order embracing a new regulatory process to restrict cross-border data flows on national security grounds. But the new process hasn’t yet been put to use — not against Chinese drones, Chinese access to U.S. data centers and biotech labs, or other potential targets.

In the meantime, U.S. diplomats’ and trade negotiators’ engagement on data issues is dominated by bitter fights with European regulators over privacy rules for American tech giants. The far greater threat from Beijing goes largely unaddressed.

The good news is that if democratic nations get their act together, they may be in a better position than Beijing, which complicates its own progress through apparent paranoia.

In recent months, Mr. Xi has cracked down on private Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba and Tencent, forcing them to relinquish their data troves to state-controlled third parties. This crackdown, which helped erase more than $1 trillion in market value, will make these companies less innovative now that they no longer control their data.

But banking on Chinese authoritarian overreach to preserve America’s edge is no strategy.

A smarter approach would begin domestically, with actual (and robust) implementation of the Biden administration’s June executive order. This would entail blocking or unwinding arrangements by which large volumes of sensitive U.S. data flow to China, whether through medical records, cellphone apps or other channels — all of which are basically unregulated right now.

Democratic allies must also work together to promote data sharing among themselves while limiting flows to China. A blueprint was introduced by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. This idea, called Data Free Flow With Trust, ought to become allied policy.

For upward of a generation, Beijing has been coldly effective in designing a strategy of global data mercantilism: data hoarding for me, data relinquishing for thee.

If Washington and its allies don’t organize a strong response, Mr. Xi will succeed in commanding the heights of future global power.

President Joe Biden came away from his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping on Nov. 15 committed to prosecuting what he called “simple, straightforward competition” with China.

President Joe Biden came away from his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping on Nov. 15 committed to prosecuting what he called “simple, straightforward competition” with China. Yet Beijing is already beating the United States and its allies in one crucial domain: data. Data is the oil of the 21st century, the indispensable resource that will fuel artificial-intelligence algorithms, economic strength and national power. The wellspring of this data is all of us: our health records and genetic sequences, our online habits, the supply chain flows of our businesses, the terabytes of imagery guzzled by phones, drones and autonomous cars. The competition for global influence in the 21st century will require protecting and harnessing this data to achieve commercial, technological and military advantages. So far, China is winning, and the West is barely even engaged. Through a latticework of recent laws and regulations, Mr. Xi has been hard at work making the Chinese Communist Party the world’s most powerful data broker. How does Beijing do that? By walling Chinese data off from the world, exerting new extraterritorial power over global data flows and putting foreign companies operating in China in a legal bind — all while absorbing other countries’ data by means licit and illicit. Mr. Xi knows that even locking down only Chinese data, representing the patterns and behavior of some 1.4 billion people, would hobble Beijing’s rivals in the quest for global economic superiority. The Biden administration has spoken about the importance of data in our competition with China. But no visible strategy has emerged. That threatens Americans’ privacy, economic competitiveness, national security and future global standing. This will be a major test of America’s China policy in 2022. Washington’s blind spot to the centrality of big data in Beijing’s ambitions and to the ways our own data are being exploited in service of those ambitions is perplexing at a time when American politicians are growing more concerned about the collection and potential exploitation of big data by U.S. tech giants. It is further perplexing because Americans in bipartisan fashion also are wising up to the ways that Beijing exploits and weaponizes other U.S. resources, like our capital markets. That’s evident in how Washington is finally — if fitfully — beginning to address the self-destructive flow of U.S. dollars into China’s military and global surveillance apparatus. While these sorts of measures still need to be scaled up dramatically, at least policymakers now have some tools to curb Beijing’s easy access to U.S. capital. Not so when it comes to data, where Beijing believes that it has a free hand and that the West is too distracted or feckless to respond meaningfully. Mr. Xi is thinking and acting big, and has been since his first days in power. In 2013, shortly after assuming the presidency in Beijing, Mr. Xi declared: “The vast ocean of data, just like oil resources during industrialization, contains immense productive power and opportunities. Whoever controls big data technologies will control the resources for development and have the upper hand.” Since then, Beijing has been building the framework to ensure that mass accumulations of data serve the Chinese Communist Party’s strategic interests. A series of laws implemented in 2017 asserted the party’s power to gain access to private data on Chinese networks, whether in China or associated with Chinese firms such as Huawei overseas. Now Beijing has quietly enacted a new set of laws — first the Data Security Law in September, followed in November by the Personal Information Protection Law — that go even further by demanding not just access to private data but also effective control over it. This has a huge impact on foreign firms operating in China. Not only must their Chinese data stay in China and be accessible by the state, but Beijing now demands control over whether they can send it to their own headquarters; to a corporate lab in, say, California; or to a foreign government that has made a law enforcement or regulatory request. Beijing’s new laws may make it criminal to comply with foreign sanctions against China that involve data — like shutting off banking or cloud services to a Chinese entity linked to human rights atrocities. In these cases, foreign firms can comply with U.S. law, or they can comply with Chinese law, but not both. The impact of these laws is clear. Tesla, Apple and others have opted to build dedicated Chinese data centers — sometimes in partnership with Chinese state entities, lest they lose access to the large Chinese consumer market. Goldman Sachs faced pressure against sending memos to its U.S. headquarters. Beijing’s recent actions complement its longstanding efforts to buy, steal and otherwise acquire data from foreign sources worldwide. Beijing hacks multinational corporate databases. It runs “talent recruitment” programs at foreign universities and firms. It buys foreign companies, such as an Italian maker of military drones. It funds its own data-driven start-ups in open foreign markets like Silicon Valley. The approach is nakedly nonreciprocal. It relies on access to foreign data while denying foreigners access to Chinese data — and appears to assume that foreign governments won’t respond. The United States, after all, has no comprehensive federal approach to data governance, while the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is focused mostly on consumer privacy. Will American and allied policymakers develop approaches to limit strategic data flows to China? For now, the Biden administration’s answer is: maybe. “Our strategic competitors see big data as a strategic asset,” the U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said this summer, “and we have to see it the same way.” This is clear and compelling language. But data did not appear to be high on Mr. Biden’s agenda with Mr. Xi, judging from official readouts of the summit. And to date, U.S. policy remedies are idle and insufficient. In June, the administration issued an executive order embracing a new regulatory process to restrict cross-border data flows on national security grounds. But the new process hasn’t yet been put to use — not against Chinese drones, Chinese access to U.S. data centers and biotech labs, or other potential targets. In the meantime, U.S. diplomats’ and trade negotiators’ engagement on data issues is dominated by bitter fights with European regulators over privacy rules for American tech giants. The far greater threat from Beijing goes largely unaddressed. The good news is that if democratic nations get their act together, they may be in a better position than Beijing, which complicates its own progress through apparent paranoia. In recent months, Mr. Xi has cracked down on private Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba and Tencent, forcing them to relinquish their data troves to state-controlled third parties. This crackdown, which helped erase more than $1 trillion in market value, will make these companies less innovative now that they no longer control their data. But banking on Chinese authoritarian overreach to preserve America’s edge is no strategy. A smarter approach would begin domestically, with actual (and robust) implementation of the Biden administration’s June executive order. This would entail blocking or unwinding arrangements by which large volumes of sensitive U.S. data flow to China, whether through medical records, cellphone apps or other channels — all of which are basically unregulated right now. Democratic allies must also work together to promote data sharing among themselves while limiting flows to China. A blueprint was introduced by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. This idea, called Data Free Flow With Trust, ought to become allied policy. For upward of a generation, Beijing has been coldly effective in designing a strategy of global data mercantilism: data hoarding for me, data relinquishing for thee. If Washington and its allies don’t organize a strong response, Mr. Xi will succeed in commanding the heights of future global power.

China, the most powerful data broker in the world, is winning the war against the US

UNESCO has adopted the world's first international ethics guidelines for artificial intelligence, which prohibit the use of the technology for "social scoring" and mass surveillance.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) director-general, Audrey Azoulay, presented the world's first global standard on artificial intelligence (AI) on Thursday.

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At the UNESCO General Conference on Tuesday, the members of UNESCO adopted the agreement.

"AI has the potential to benefit societies and economies in many ways, but it also presents risks and challenges," UNESCO said in a press release.&nbsp;

Instead of defining a binding agreement, the organisation said that guidelines serve as a global set of "recommendations."

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The 28-page document, formally titled "Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence," sets out common values and principles for establishing the legal infrastructure necessary to ensure AI's healthy development.

"The world needs rules for artificial intelligence to benefit humanity. The recommendation on the ethics of AI is a major answer," Azoulay told the press conference in Paris.

According to UNESCO, the agreement "will not only protect but also promote human rights and human dignity, and will be an ethical guiding compass and a global normative bedrock allowing to build strong respect for the rule of law in the digital world'.

Watch |&nbsp;<a>Gravitas: Artificial Intelligence is racist and islamophobic</a>

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There are three main parts of the recommendation: values, principles, and strategic areas.

Data protection, banning social scoring and mass surveillance, monitoring and evaluating, and protecting the environment are some of the main components of the recommendation.

There is a call for greater transparency over the control of personal data, as well as for greater limits and awareness of AI's ability to mimic human traits and behaviour.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/it-is-already-over-ex-pentagon-software-chief-claims-us-has-lost-ai-battle-against-china-419997">'It is already over': Ex-Pentagon software chief claims US has lost AI battle against China</a>

Qingdao in&nbsp;China will host the 2021 International Forum on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education as a hybrid event (online and in-person) on Dec. 7 and 8.

Participants will evaluate how to strengthen AI governance and innovation networks so that AI is directed towards the common good in education, and for humanity as a whole.

(With inputs from agencies)

UNESCO has adopted the world's first international ethics guidelines for artificial intelligence, which prohibit the use of the technology for "social scoring" and mass surveillance.

UNESCO has adopted the world's first international ethics guidelines for artificial intelligence, which prohibit the use of the technology for "social scoring" and mass surveillance. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) director-general, Audrey Azoulay, presented the world's first global standard on artificial intelligence (AI) on Thursday. Also read | Scientists discover lie detector that uses artificial intelligence to detect micro-expressions At the UNESCO General Conference on Tuesday, the members of UNESCO adopted the agreement. "AI has the potential to benefit societies and economies in many ways, but it also presents risks and challenges," UNESCO said in a press release. Instead of defining a binding agreement, the organisation said that guidelines serve as a global set of "recommendations." Also read | Humans may get to talk to whales, courtesy artificial intelligence The 28-page document, formally titled "Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence," sets out common values and principles for establishing the legal infrastructure necessary to ensure AI's healthy development. "The world needs rules for artificial intelligence to benefit humanity. The recommendation on the ethics of AI is a major answer," Azoulay told the press conference in Paris. According to UNESCO, the agreement "will not only protect but also promote human rights and human dignity, and will be an ethical guiding compass and a global normative bedrock allowing to build strong respect for the rule of law in the digital world'. Watch | Gravitas: Artificial Intelligence is racist and islamophobic There are three main parts of the recommendation: values, principles, and strategic areas. Data protection, banning social scoring and mass surveillance, monitoring and evaluating, and protecting the environment are some of the main components of the recommendation. There is a call for greater transparency over the control of personal data, as well as for greater limits and awareness of AI's ability to mimic human traits and behaviour. Also read | 'It is already over': Ex-Pentagon software chief claims US has lost AI battle against China Qingdao in China will host the 2021 International Forum on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education as a hybrid event (online and in-person) on Dec. 7 and 8. Participants will evaluate how to strengthen AI governance and innovation networks so that AI is directed towards the common good in education, and for humanity as a whole. (With inputs from agencies)

UNESCO member states adopt the first global agreement on artificial intelligence ethics

Britain’s three spy agencies have entered into a contract with Amazon’s cloud computing platform, AWS, to host classified materials aimed at facilitating data analysis and artificial intelligence for espionage activities, the Financial Times has reported.

The GCHQ is said to have struck a deal for the procurement of high-security cloud which will also be used by MI5 and MI6 and other government departments during joint operations.

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&nbsp;The deal, which is estimated by industry experts to be worth £ 500 to £ 1 billion over the next decade, will reportedly boost the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence for the UK's intelligence agencies.

According to the report citing people familiar with the development, the agreement was signed this year with AWS, Amazon.com Inc's cloud service unit, and the data of all the agencies will be held in Britain.

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In February, Britain's cyber spies at the GCHQ intelligence agency said they had fully embraced artificial intelligence to uncover patterns in vast amounts of global data to counter hostile disinformation and snare child abusers.

GCHQ has been using basic forms of AI such as translation technology for years but is now stepping up its use, partly in response to the use of AI by hostile states and partly due to the data explosion that makes it effective.

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Earlier on Monday, GCHQ Director Jeremy Fleming told a conference the number of ransomware attacks had doubled across the UK in 2021, compared with last year, according to the FT

(With inputs from agencies)

Britain’s three spy agencies have entered into a contract with Amazon’s cloud computing platform, AWS, to host classified materials aimed at facilitating data analysis and artificial intelligence for espionage activities, the Financial Times has reported.

Britain’s three spy agencies have entered into a contract with Amazon’s cloud computing platform, AWS, to host classified materials aimed at facilitating data analysis and artificial intelligence for espionage activities, the Financial Times has reported. The GCHQ is said to have struck a deal for the procurement of high-security cloud which will also be used by MI5 and MI6 and other government departments during joint operations. Also read | Britain's Secret Intelligence Service MI6 looking for new 'Q' spy tech master The deal, which is estimated by industry experts to be worth £ 500 to £ 1 billion over the next decade, will reportedly boost the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence for the UK's intelligence agencies. According to the report citing people familiar with the development, the agreement was signed this year with AWS, Amazon.com Inc's cloud service unit, and the data of all the agencies will be held in Britain. Also read | UK spy agencies too male and pale: Report In February, Britain's cyber spies at the GCHQ intelligence agency said they had fully embraced artificial intelligence to uncover patterns in vast amounts of global data to counter hostile disinformation and snare child abusers. GCHQ has been using basic forms of AI such as translation technology for years but is now stepping up its use, partly in response to the use of AI by hostile states and partly due to the data explosion that makes it effective. Also read | British intelligence agency says dyslexics possess skills that it requires Earlier on Monday, GCHQ Director Jeremy Fleming told a conference the number of ransomware attacks had doubled across the UK in 2021, compared with last year, according to the FT (With inputs from agencies)

British spy agencies sign deal with Amazon to host ‘top secret data’ for espionage: Report

Facebook is developing a new project called EGO 4D which is a long term 'AI' project. The new machine learning project has one aim, i.e., to teach 'AI' how to understand the world - but through a first-person perspective. The EGO-4D project involves a consortium of researchers who are spread across 13 universities and labs in nine countries.

Facebook develops new long term 'AI' project, EGO 4D

Artificial intelligence is a thriving field of emerging technologies that in a nutshell allows computers to think, understand and act. 'AI' systems can achieve a variety of feats. Such as problem-solving, comprehension, movement, making predictions and classifications. In the coming decade, 'AI' is expected to change the way we live, but can it produce good music? Find out in our next report.

Can artificial intelligence systems produce good music?

As the US and China compete for technological advantage, Pentagon's former chief software officer&nbsp;Nicolas Chaillan has declared that the US has "no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years" over artificial intelligence.

"It's already a done deal," Chaillan&nbsp;told the Financial Times newspaper.&nbsp;Chaillan maintained that the US has no chance of competing with China over artificial intelligence, in fact, he added that "it is already over".

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Chaillan warned that China was heading towards "global dominance" due to enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities including in machine learning.

Chaillan contented that new technology was far more critical than America's quest for F-35 fighter jet while adding that some of US cyber defenses were at “kindergarten level”.&nbsp;

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The former Pentagon chief software officer also hit out at Google's defiance to work with the US government on artificial intelligence comparing it to China where companies work with the government and have been making “massive investment into AI without regard to ethics."

Chaillan reportedly told the newspaper that he plans to testify before US lawmakers about China's cyber threat.

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Last month the US had announced it was establishing a committee named National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC) to advise President Joe Biden and other agencies on AI.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo had said AI can help to address various issues including strengthen "technological competitiveness". The US committee on AI is set to include people from the industry, &nbsp;academia and non-profit institutions.

(With inputs from Agencies)

As the US and China compete for technological advantage, Pentagon's former chief software officer Nicolas Chaillan has declared that the US has "no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years" over artificial intelligence.

As the US and China compete for technological advantage, Pentagon's former chief software officer Nicolas Chaillan has declared that the US has "no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years" over artificial intelligence. "It's already a done deal," Chaillan told the Financial Times newspaper. Chaillan maintained that the US has no chance of competing with China over artificial intelligence, in fact, he added that "it is already over". Also Read | China aims to build a fully modern military on par with the United States by 2027 Chaillan warned that China was heading towards "global dominance" due to enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities including in machine learning. Chaillan contented that new technology was far more critical than America's quest for F-35 fighter jet while adding that some of US cyber defenses were at “kindergarten level”. Also Read | Chinese artificial intelligence company files $1.4 billion lawsuit against Apple The former Pentagon chief software officer also hit out at Google's defiance to work with the US government on artificial intelligence comparing it to China where companies work with the government and have been making “massive investment into AI without regard to ethics." Chaillan reportedly told the newspaper that he plans to testify before US lawmakers about China's cyber threat. Also Read: Elon Musk announces humanoid robot Tesla Bot that uses artificial intelligence Last month the US had announced it was establishing a committee named National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC) to advise President Joe Biden and other agencies on AI. US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo had said AI can help to address various issues including strengthen "technological competitiveness". The US committee on AI is set to include people from the industry, academia and non-profit institutions. (With inputs from Agencies)

'It is already over': Ex-Pentagon software chief claims US has lost AI battle against China

In a recent development, scientists have successfully used artificial intelligence to create a new drug regime for children with a deadly form of brain cancer, in which survival rates have not improved for 50 years.&nbsp;

Professor Kristian Helin, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, where a team of scientists, doctors and data analysts made the discovery, was quoted by The Guardian as saying, "The use of AI promises to have a transformative effect on drug discovery."

He added, “In this study, use of AI has identified a drug combination which appears to have promise as a future treatment for some children with incurable brain cancer. It’s exciting to think that it could become one of the first examples of a treatment proposed by AI going on to benefit patients.”

Scientists and cancer specialists at the ICR and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust used AI to work out that combining the drug everolimus with another called vandetanib could treat diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

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It is a rare and fast-growing type of brain tumour in children.

Such tumours are difficult to remove surgically because they are diffuse. This means that they do not have well-defined borders suitable for operations.

A quarter of children with DIPG have a mutation in a gene known as ACVR1, but there are currently no treatments approved to target this mutation.

“DIPG is a rare and aggressive childhood brain cancer, and survival rates have not changed over the past 50 years so we desperately need to find new treatments for this disease,” Chris Jones, professor of paediatric brain tumour biology at the ICR, was quoted by The Guardian.

In a recent development, scientists have successfully used artificial intelligence to create a new drug regime for children with a deadly form of brain cancer, in which survival rates have not improved for 50 years.

In a recent development, scientists have successfully used artificial intelligence to create a new drug regime for children with a deadly form of brain cancer, in which survival rates have not improved for 50 years. Professor Kristian Helin, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, where a team of scientists, doctors and data analysts made the discovery, was quoted by The Guardian as saying, "The use of AI promises to have a transformative effect on drug discovery." He added, “In this study, use of AI has identified a drug combination which appears to have promise as a future treatment for some children with incurable brain cancer. It’s exciting to think that it could become one of the first examples of a treatment proposed by AI going on to benefit patients.” Scientists and cancer specialists at the ICR and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust used AI to work out that combining the drug everolimus with another called vandetanib could treat diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). Also read | A movement to make sign language a human right It is a rare and fast-growing type of brain tumour in children. Such tumours are difficult to remove surgically because they are diffuse. This means that they do not have well-defined borders suitable for operations. A quarter of children with DIPG have a mutation in a gene known as ACVR1, but there are currently no treatments approved to target this mutation. “DIPG is a rare and aggressive childhood brain cancer, and survival rates have not changed over the past 50 years so we desperately need to find new treatments for this disease,” Chris Jones, professor of paediatric brain tumour biology at the ICR, was quoted by The Guardian.

AI used by scientists to discover a treatment for childhood cancer

Iran’s top nuclear scientist woke up an hour before dawn, as he did most days, to study Islamic philosophy before his day began. That afternoon, he and his wife would leave their vacation home on the Caspian Sea and drive to their country house in Absard, a bucolic town east of Tehran, where they planned to spend the weekend.

The scientist and the AI-assisted, remote-control killing machine

After a painful break-up from a cheating ex, Beijing-based HR manager Melissa was introduced to someone new by a friend late last year. He is a perfect boyfriend material. But he’s not real. Instead, Melissa chats to a virtual chatbot created by XiaoIce, a cutting-edge AI system designed to create emotional bonds with its 700 million users worldwide.

'Always there': AI chatbot comforting China's lonely millions

'Come for the show, Stay for the Pizza': Now, robots start baking pizza in Paris

Researchers from the Seoul Institute of Technology&nbsp;are using artificial intelligence to detect and prevent suicide attempts.

To do so,&nbsp;the AI system they are developing has been learning patterns of behaviour by analysing data from cameras, sensors, and the dispatch records of rescue services since April 2020.

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Based on information from hours of CCTV footage and assessing details such as the hesitation of the person, the AI can then forecast a hazardous situation and immediately alert rescue teams, principal researcher Kim Jun-chul said.

“We believe the new CCTV will enable our crews to detect the cases a bit faster and help us head to a call more promptly,” Kim Hyeong-gil, who is in charge of the Yeouido Water Rescue Brigade, told Reuters as he monitored real-time footage from bridges on Seoul's Han River.

Kim's team have been working with the researchers to come up with the technology that his crew and the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters will be piloting from October. Their work cannot come quickly enough.

South Korea, with a population of 52 million people in 2019, had the highest suicide rate in the OECD. More than 13,700 people took their own lives the same year, government data showed.

Nearly 500 suicide attempts are reported on 27 bridges over the nearly 500 km (300 miles) long Han River every year, the city said.

The number of rescue dispatches surged about 30 per cent&nbsp;in 2020 compared to the year before and many of the attempts were made by the people in their 20s and 30s as the coronavirus pandemic brought greater economic hardship and increased the battle for jobs, the rescue brigade's Kim said.

"The system learns the footage itself, which can bring about improved results by greatly reducing false alarms," the principal researcher said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Researchers from the Seoul Institute of Technology are using artificial intelligence to detect and prevent suicide attempts. To do so, the AI system they are developing has been learning patterns of behaviour by analysing data from cameras, sensors, and the dispatch records of rescue services since April 2020.

Researchers from the Seoul Institute of Technology are using artificial intelligence to detect and prevent suicide attempts. To do so, the AI system they are developing has been learning patterns of behaviour by analysing data from cameras, sensors, and the dispatch records of rescue services since April 2020. Based on information from hours of CCTV footage and assessing details such as the hesitation of the person, the AI can then forecast a hazardous situation and immediately alert rescue teams, principal researcher Kim Jun-chul said. “We believe the new CCTV will enable our crews to detect the cases a bit faster and help us head to a call more promptly,” Kim Hyeong-gil, who is in charge of the Yeouido Water Rescue Brigade, told Reuters as he monitored real-time footage from bridges on Seoul's Han River. Kim's team have been working with the researchers to come up with the technology that his crew and the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters will be piloting from October. Their work cannot come quickly enough. South Korea, with a population of 52 million people in 2019, had the highest suicide rate in the OECD. More than 13,700 people took their own lives the same year, government data showed. Nearly 500 suicide attempts are reported on 27 bridges over the nearly 500 km (300 miles) long Han River every year, the city said. The number of rescue dispatches surged about 30 per cent in 2020 compared to the year before and many of the attempts were made by the people in their 20s and 30s as the coronavirus pandemic brought greater economic hardship and increased the battle for jobs, the rescue brigade's Kim said. "The system learns the footage itself, which can bring about improved results by greatly reducing false alarms," the principal researcher said. (With inputs from agencies)

AI to detect and prevent suicide attempts? Researchers make unique innovation

After seven long years of fanfare, Japan’s SoftBank has decided to suspend production of its humanoid robot Pepper.

The chatty and famous Pepper robots were used in different hotels and stores to greet people. These robots were pint-sized and cost $1,790 (198,000 yen), in addition to rental fees.

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Pepper robots increasingly became famous during the coronavirus lockdowns as many people used these artificial intelligence-laden robots to ease their pain of loneliness. Quarantine hotels, too, brought in these robots for patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 in quarantine rooms.

However, the production company has decided to put a small pause on the robot facility. "We are temporarily suspending production of Pepper but are ready to restart anytime depending on inventory situations," a spokesperson for the company said. "Pepper has chiefly been a rental service and you don't need a lot of new units."

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Pepper robots were unique and were instantly famous as these were rare ‘species of robots that could even detect emotions such as happiness and sadness by reading people’s faces.

This news has come after the company reported the possibility of few job reductions with its European robotics unit. "We are negotiating about the cuts but it will take time to reach a deal in France," the spokesperson said.&nbsp; She also clarified that the reduction was "part of our regular efforts to optimise our businesses" and was not linked to the discontinuation of the Pepper robot.

After seven long years of fanfare, Japan’s SoftBank has decided to suspend production of its humanoid robot Pepper. The chatty and famous Pepper robots were used in different hotels and stores to greet people.

After seven long years of fanfare, Japan’s SoftBank has decided to suspend production of its humanoid robot Pepper. The chatty and famous Pepper robots were used in different hotels and stores to greet people. These robots were pint-sized and cost $1,790 (198,000 yen), in addition to rental fees. Also read | Keep your jaw shut: New Zealand researchers' new 'weight loss' device labelled as 'torture' Pepper robots increasingly became famous during the coronavirus lockdowns as many people used these artificial intelligence-laden robots to ease their pain of loneliness. Quarantine hotels, too, brought in these robots for patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 in quarantine rooms. However, the production company has decided to put a small pause on the robot facility. "We are temporarily suspending production of Pepper but are ready to restart anytime depending on inventory situations," a spokesperson for the company said. "Pepper has chiefly been a rental service and you don't need a lot of new units." Also read | Bank accidentally deposits $50 billion in US couple's account Pepper robots were unique and were instantly famous as these were rare ‘species of robots that could even detect emotions such as happiness and sadness by reading people’s faces. This news has come after the company reported the possibility of few job reductions with its European robotics unit. "We are negotiating about the cuts but it will take time to reach a deal in France," the spokesperson said. She also clarified that the reduction was "part of our regular efforts to optimise our businesses" and was not linked to the discontinuation of the Pepper robot.

Japan's SoftBank discontinues famous Pepper robots

European Union's data protection agencies called for a &nbsp;ban on use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify people in public places. The agencies pointed to the "extremely high risk to privacy.

The two bodies called for a "general ban" &nbsp;on the practice that would include "recognition of faces, gait, fingerprints, DNA, voice, keystrokes and other biometric or behavioural signals, in any context". It is a non-binding opinion.

Such practices "interfere with fundamental rights and freedoms to such an extent that they may call into question the essence of these rights and freedoms," the heads of the European Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor said.

If it becomes a reality, the ban would include any AI that would &nbsp;"categorise individuals into clusters based on ethnicity, gender, political or sexual orientation", the statement said

The opinion of the agencies is intended for the European Commission.

The commission's plan includes special exceptions for allowing the use of mass facial recognition in cases such as searching for a missing child, averting a terror threat, or tracking down someone suspected of a serious crime.

Brussels hopes its first-ever legislative package on AI will help Europe catch up with the US and China in a sector that spans from voice recognition to insurance and law enforcement.

In a statement, the commission said it took note of the opinion, but stood by a proposal "that provides sufficient protection and limits the use of those systems to the strict minimum necessary".&nbsp;

The proposal is under negotiation at the European Parliament and among the 27 member states. The outcome could set a global standard for how tech is regulated.

(With inputs from agencies)

European Union's data protection agencies called for a ban on use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify people in public places. The agencies pointed to the "extremely high risk to privacy.

European Union's data protection agencies called for a ban on use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify people in public places. The agencies pointed to the "extremely high risk to privacy. The two bodies called for a "general ban" on the practice that would include "recognition of faces, gait, fingerprints, DNA, voice, keystrokes and other biometric or behavioural signals, in any context". It is a non-binding opinion. Such practices "interfere with fundamental rights and freedoms to such an extent that they may call into question the essence of these rights and freedoms," the heads of the European Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor said. If it becomes a reality, the ban would include any AI that would "categorise individuals into clusters based on ethnicity, gender, political or sexual orientation", the statement said The opinion of the agencies is intended for the European Commission. The commission's plan includes special exceptions for allowing the use of mass facial recognition in cases such as searching for a missing child, averting a terror threat, or tracking down someone suspected of a serious crime. Brussels hopes its first-ever legislative package on AI will help Europe catch up with the US and China in a sector that spans from voice recognition to insurance and law enforcement. In a statement, the commission said it took note of the opinion, but stood by a proposal "that provides sufficient protection and limits the use of those systems to the strict minimum necessary". The proposal is under negotiation at the European Parliament and among the 27 member states. The outcome could set a global standard for how tech is regulated. (With inputs from agencies)

EU data protection agencies want ban on AI facial recognition

Dark Matter is indeed an intriguing thing in space. Like normal matter, it cannot be felt or observed directly. It does not interact with light so even that door is closed. Dark Matter must be 'observed' through the gravitational effect it has on matter in space. The true nature of Dark Matter is unknown but scientists are sure that it performs vital function for the universe.

A new map of Dark Matter made with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is showing 'bridges' made up of Dark Matter that are connecting the galaxies. Scientists and researchers from the American Astronomical Society have made this map.

The map focusses on local universe, the neighbourhood that surrounds Milky Way galaxy.

Researchers trained a machine-learning program on simulations of visible and dark matter. Sophisticated set of simulations by the name of Illustris-TNG were used for this study. After the machine learning and testing phase, the scientists applied this to real-world data.

This threw up map of Dark Matter in local universe and its interaction with visible matter.

The map showed many things that were already known but also suggested new features like filaments of Dark Matter connecting Milky Way galaxy to other galaxies in the surroundings. Such connections were also seen between other galaxies in the neighbourhood.

The research was published in Astrophysical Journal.

Dark Matter is indeed an intriguing thing in space. Like normal matter, it cannot be felt or observed directly. It does not interact with light so even that door is closed.

Dark Matter is indeed an intriguing thing in space. Like normal matter, it cannot be felt or observed directly. It does not interact with light so even that door is closed. Dark Matter must be 'observed' through the gravitational effect it has on matter in space. The true nature of Dark Matter is unknown but scientists are sure that it performs vital function for the universe. A new map of Dark Matter made with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is showing 'bridges' made up of Dark Matter that are connecting the galaxies. Scientists and researchers from the American Astronomical Society have made this map. The map focusses on local universe, the neighbourhood that surrounds Milky Way galaxy. Researchers trained a machine-learning program on simulations of visible and dark matter. Sophisticated set of simulations by the name of Illustris-TNG were used for this study. After the machine learning and testing phase, the scientists applied this to real-world data. This threw up map of Dark Matter in local universe and its interaction with visible matter. The map showed many things that were already known but also suggested new features like filaments of Dark Matter connecting Milky Way galaxy to other galaxies in the surroundings. Such connections were also seen between other galaxies in the neighbourhood. The research was published in Astrophysical Journal.

AI-generated map of Dark Matter shows 'bridges' between galaxies

Lawmakers Vs Artificial Intelligence: Will you give parliament seats to AI?

Will you give parliament seats to AI?

A software engineer has revealed that the Chinese government had been testing facial recognition and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to check the state of emotions of the Uighur community in the Xinjiang region.

The revelation was made by the software engineer to BBC’s Panorama programme on&nbsp; condition of anonymity as the engineer fears for his safety.

ALso read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/forced-sterilisation-and-xinjiangs-shrinking-population-386001" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/forced-sterilisation-and-xinjiangs-shrinking-population-386001&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiVreC54ObwAhWV73MBHZ83BYAQFjAGegQICBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw2hZJiSjf4h-3vr5rHCx3Z9" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/forced-sterilisation-and-xinjiangs-shrinking-population-386001" target="_blank">Forced sterilisation and&nbsp;Xinjiang's&nbsp;shrinking population</a>

China's Xinjiang area is infamous for poor human rights and mistreatment of the minority communities such as Uighurs in the disguise of re-education centres.

It was revealed that the Chinese government has been treating the Uighur community as lab rats and the AI system was being tested on selected individuals. This system helped detect even the slightest changes of emotions in the selected individuals.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/solar-panel-manufacturing-linked-to-forced-labour-of-uighur-in-xinjiang-385251" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/solar-panel-manufacturing-linked-to-forced-labour-of-uighur-in-xinjiang-385251&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiVreC54ObwAhWV73MBHZ83BYAQFjAIegQIBBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1qMyLtQb1tAfw0kgd2jT-E" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/solar-panel-manufacturing-linked-to-forced-labour-of-uighur-in-xinjiang-385251" target="_blank">Solar panel manufacturing linked to forced labour of Uighur</a>

"The Chinese government use Uyghurs as test subjects for various experiments just like rats are used in laboratories," the software engineer said. "We placed the emotion detection camera 3m from the subject. It is similar to a lie detector but far more advanced technology."

As per the engineer, the AI software makes pie charts to showcase the result and the majority of the individuals showed a major ‘red zone’ which signifies an anxious state of mind or scared.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/mosques-disappear-as-china-strives-to-build-beautiful-xinjiang-384889" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/mosques-disappear-as-china-strives-to-build-beautiful-xinjiang-384889&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiVreC54ObwAhWV73MBHZ83BYAQFjAJegQIAhAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3eG98pXn8P3UR7v3NkiF7M" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mosques-disappear-as-china-strives-to-build-beautiful-xinjiang-384889" target="_blank">Mosques disappear as China strives to 'build beautiful&nbsp;Xinjiang</a>'

He also said that the local police has been using restraint chairs in which “your wrists are locked in place by metal restraints, and [the] same applies to your ankles”.

These claims were dismissed by the Chinese embassy in London who claim "the political, economic, and social rights and freedom of religious belief in all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are fully guaranteed."

Once again, dismissing all reports of inhumane treatment of the minority communities in the region, the officials said, "people live in harmony regardless of their ethnic backgrounds and enjoy a stable and peaceful life with no restriction to personal freedom".

A software engineer has revealed that the Chinese government had been testing facial recognition and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to check the state of emotions of the Uighur community in the Xinjiang region.

A software engineer has revealed that the Chinese government had been testing facial recognition and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to check the state of emotions of the Uighur community in the Xinjiang region. The revelation was made by the software engineer to BBC’s Panorama programme on condition of anonymity as the engineer fears for his safety. ALso read | Forced sterilisation and Xinjiang's shrinking population China's Xinjiang area is infamous for poor human rights and mistreatment of the minority communities such as Uighurs in the disguise of re-education centres. It was revealed that the Chinese government has been treating the Uighur community as lab rats and the AI system was being tested on selected individuals. This system helped detect even the slightest changes of emotions in the selected individuals. Also read | Solar panel manufacturing linked to forced labour of Uighur "The Chinese government use Uyghurs as test subjects for various experiments just like rats are used in laboratories," the software engineer said. "We placed the emotion detection camera 3m from the subject. It is similar to a lie detector but far more advanced technology." As per the engineer, the AI software makes pie charts to showcase the result and the majority of the individuals showed a major ‘red zone’ which signifies an anxious state of mind or scared. Also read | Mosques disappear as China strives to 'build beautiful Xinjiang' He also said that the local police has been using restraint chairs in which “your wrists are locked in place by metal restraints, and [the] same applies to your ankles”. These claims were dismissed by the Chinese embassy in London who claim "the political, economic, and social rights and freedom of religious belief in all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are fully guaranteed." Once again, dismissing all reports of inhumane treatment of the minority communities in the region, the officials said, "people live in harmony regardless of their ethnic backgrounds and enjoy a stable and peaceful life with no restriction to personal freedom".

China using facial recognition tech on Uighurs in Xinjiang to detect emotions: Reports

The "Mayflower&nbsp;400",&nbsp;the world's first intelligent ship,&nbsp;bobs gently in a light swell as it stops its engines in Plymouth Sound, off England's southwest coast, before self-activating a hydrophone designed to listen to whales.

The 50-foot (15-metre) trimaran, which weighs nine tonnes and navigates with complete autonomy, is preparing for a transatlantic voyage.

On its journey, the vessel, covered in solar panels, will study marine pollution and analyse plastic in the water, as well as track aquatic mammals.

Eighty per cent of the underwater world remains unexplored.

Brett Phaneuf, the co-founder of the charity ProMare and the mastermind behind the&nbsp;Mayflower&nbsp;project, said the ocean exerts "the most powerful force" on the global climate.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/al-driven-robot-mayflower-recreates-historic-voyage-370411/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Rosie Lickorish, a specialist in emerging technologies at IBM, one of the partners on the project, said the unmanned craft provided an advantage in the "unforgiving environment".

"Having a ship without people on board allows scientists to expand the area they can observe," she told AFP.

A variety of technology and service providers have contributed to the project with hundreds of individuals involved from nations including India, Switzerland and the United States, said Phaneuf.

The project would have cost 10 times the roughly $1 million (820,000 euros) invested by ProMare without the "global effort," he added.

Smart captain&nbsp;

The non-profit venture will offer the data gathered by the project free of charge. The information could be of particular use to the future of commercial shipping.

The autonomous ship is scheduled to embark on May 15 if the weather is favourable and permission is granted by British authorities.

The journey to Plymouth, Massachusetts,&nbsp;the same voyage made by pilgrims on the original "Mayflower" in 1620 as they sought a new life in America, will take three weeks.

While the&nbsp;Mayflower&nbsp;400&nbsp;voyage has been delayed because of the pandemic, Phaneuf said at least no one will fall ill on the trip.

"No one will get bored or tired or sick on this one. So it can take as long as it likes to do science," he said from the British port.

Sitting alongside him were three computer technicians checking the equipment remotely.&nbsp;

Meirwen Jenking-Rees, a 21-year-old student engineer, checked the ship's engines before it headed out for a sea trial.

Construction of the trimaran, which is automated from the robotic rudder that steers it to the diesel generator that supplements its solar power, took a year.

Developing its "smart captain", the onboard artificial intelligence, took even longer as the computer has had to learn how to identify maritime obstacles by analysing thousands of photographs.

Lack of regulations&nbsp;

The "Mayflower&nbsp;400" also had to be taught how to avoid collisions and first went to sea for "supervised learning".

Robotics and software engineer Ollie Thompson said that by running a "number of scenarios" the ship can learn "what are good actions, bad actions, so safe and unsafe".

So if it makes a mistake, the boat can correct itself "and then learn itself," he added.

The automated vessel uses its "eyes" and "ears",&nbsp;a sophisticated system of six cameras and radar, to continue learning on its own.

Because of a lack of regulations around unmanned sailing, the&nbsp;Mayflower&nbsp;400&nbsp;is yet to be tested in rough seas or storms, a situation Jenking-Rees described as a "worst case scenario".

In simulated settings, however, the robotic craft has faced 50-metre waves.

Lickorish explained that the boat's artificial intelligence will be pivotal in conducting scientific experiments.

"It was trained with hundreds of hours of audio data," she said, "to detect the presence of marine mammals, recognise the marine mammals, and actually tell us something about population distributions out in the open ocean".&nbsp;

Analysing the chemical composition of the water, measuring sea levels and collecting samples of microplastics are the ship's other missions.&nbsp;

Similar robotic data collection has been ongoing in space for decades.

While the ship is totally autonomous, the team will monitor the ship 24 hours a day from England, ready to intervene remotely in case of danger.

The "Mayflower 400", the world's first intelligent ship, bobs gently in a light swell as it stops its engines in Plymouth Sound, off England's southwest coast, before self-activating a hydrophone designed to listen to whales.

The "Mayflower 400", the world's first intelligent ship, bobs gently in a light swell as it stops its engines in Plymouth Sound, off England's southwest coast, before self-activating a hydrophone designed to listen to whales. The 50-foot (15-metre) trimaran, which weighs nine tonnes and navigates with complete autonomy, is preparing for a transatlantic voyage. On its journey, the vessel, covered in solar panels, will study marine pollution and analyse plastic in the water, as well as track aquatic mammals. Eighty per cent of the underwater world remains unexplored. Brett Phaneuf, the co-founder of the charity ProMare and the mastermind behind the Mayflower project, said the ocean exerts "the most powerful force" on the global climate. Rosie Lickorish, a specialist in emerging technologies at IBM, one of the partners on the project, said the unmanned craft provided an advantage in the "unforgiving environment". "Having a ship without people on board allows scientists to expand the area they can observe," she told AFP. A variety of technology and service providers have contributed to the project with hundreds of individuals involved from nations including India, Switzerland and the United States, said Phaneuf. The project would have cost 10 times the roughly $1 million (820,000 euros) invested by ProMare without the "global effort," he added. Smart captain The non-profit venture will offer the data gathered by the project free of charge. The information could be of particular use to the future of commercial shipping. The autonomous ship is scheduled to embark on May 15 if the weather is favourable and permission is granted by British authorities. The journey to Plymouth, Massachusetts, the same voyage made by pilgrims on the original "Mayflower" in 1620 as they sought a new life in America, will take three weeks. While the Mayflower 400 voyage has been delayed because of the pandemic, Phaneuf said at least no one will fall ill on the trip. "No one will get bored or tired or sick on this one. So it can take as long as it likes to do science," he said from the British port. Sitting alongside him were three computer technicians checking the equipment remotely. Meirwen Jenking-Rees, a 21-year-old student engineer, checked the ship's engines before it headed out for a sea trial. Construction of the trimaran, which is automated from the robotic rudder that steers it to the diesel generator that supplements its solar power, took a year. Developing its "smart captain", the onboard artificial intelligence, took even longer as the computer has had to learn how to identify maritime obstacles by analysing thousands of photographs. Lack of regulations The "Mayflower 400" also had to be taught how to avoid collisions and first went to sea for "supervised learning". Robotics and software engineer Ollie Thompson said that by running a "number of scenarios" the ship can learn "what are good actions, bad actions, so safe and unsafe". So if it makes a mistake, the boat can correct itself "and then learn itself," he added. The automated vessel uses its "eyes" and "ears", a sophisticated system of six cameras and radar, to continue learning on its own. Because of a lack of regulations around unmanned sailing, the Mayflower 400 is yet to be tested in rough seas or storms, a situation Jenking-Rees described as a "worst case scenario". In simulated settings, however, the robotic craft has faced 50-metre waves. Lickorish explained that the boat's artificial intelligence will be pivotal in conducting scientific experiments. "It was trained with hundreds of hours of audio data," she said, "to detect the presence of marine mammals, recognise the marine mammals, and actually tell us something about population distributions out in the open ocean". Analysing the chemical composition of the water, measuring sea levels and collecting samples of microplastics are the ship's other missions. Similar robotic data collection has been ongoing in space for decades. While the ship is totally autonomous, the team will monitor the ship 24 hours a day from England, ready to intervene remotely in case of danger.

First ship controlled by artificial intelligence prepares for maiden voyage

In the continuing fight against racism in the tech giant, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/google">Google</a> researcher manager Samy Bengio has resigned from the company, a little after his colleagues questioned diversity in the company.

Bengio has resigned after a couple of his colleagues put down their papers to protest against the firing of artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru. Bengio is the highest-ranking employee to leave the tech giant.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/i-pity-you-after-timnit-gebru-google-fires-top-ai-researcher-margaret-mitchell-364958">'I pity you': After Timnit Gebru, Google fires top AI researcher Margaret Mitchell</a>

The protest in Google began after firing of Timnit Gebru, who, now, took to Twitter to lend support to her former employee. "This news of Samy’s resignation just reminds me of how easy it is to destroy something &amp; how hard it is to build it. We worked so hard to improve the environment &amp; we were starting to have some success after so much exhaustion. And in one swoop, just like that, gone," Twitter&nbsp;post read.

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This news of Samy’s resignation just reminds me of how easy it is to destroy something &amp; how hard it is to build it. We worked so hard to improve the environment &amp; we were starting to have some success after so much exhaustion. And in one swoop, just like that, gone.
— Timnit Gebru (@timnitGebru) <a href="https://twitter.com/timnitGebru/status/1379621512391626759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Bengio's resignation&nbsp;has come a few months after Margaret Mitchell, a lead artificial intelligence ethics researcher, took to Twitter to announce the termination of her employment with Google.

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I'm fired.
— MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) <a href="https://twitter.com/mmitchell_ai/status/1362885356127801345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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"This manager's conduct, we confirmed that there were multiple violations of our code of conduct, as well as of our security policies, which included the exfiltration of confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees," Google was quoted by the news agency AFP.

Google had claimed that Mitchell was involved in illegal activities which were causing danger for the security of the tech giant's data.

However, her termination came a few days after she wrote a letter to the authorities about the unjust firing of her colleague, and Mitchell claims her termination was due to that letter.

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I am concerned about <a href="https://twitter.com/timnitGebru?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@timnitGebru</a> 's firing from Google and its relationship to sexism and discrimination. I wanted to share the email I wrote to Google press the day my access was cut off.<a href="https://t.co/O7JPlqJW8L">https://t.co/O7JPlqJW8L</a>
— MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) <a href="https://twitter.com/mmitchell_ai/status/1357819673455202304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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"The firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru is not okay, and the way it was done is not okay. &nbsp;It appears to stem from the same lack of foresight that is at the core of modern technology, and so itself serves as an example of the problem," she wrote in the letter.&nbsp;&nbsp;

She also added that "the firing seems to have been fueled by the same underpinnings of racism and sexism that our AI systems, when in the wrong hands, tend to soak up.”

In the continuing fight against racism in the tech giant, Google researcher manager Samy Bengio has resigned from the company, a little after his colleagues questioned diversity in the company.

In the continuing fight against racism in the tech giant, Google researcher manager Samy Bengio has resigned from the company, a little after his colleagues questioned diversity in the company. Bengio has resigned after a couple of his colleagues put down their papers to protest against the firing of artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru. Bengio is the highest-ranking employee to leave the tech giant. Also read | 'I pity you': After Timnit Gebru, Google fires top AI researcher Margaret Mitchell The protest in Google began after firing of Timnit Gebru, who, now, took to Twitter to lend support to her former employee. "This news of Samy’s resignation just reminds me of how easy it is to destroy something & how hard it is to build it. We worked so hard to improve the environment & we were starting to have some success after so much exhaustion. And in one swoop, just like that, gone," Twitter post read. This news of Samy’s resignation just reminds me of how easy it is to destroy something & how hard it is to build it. We worked so hard to improve the environment & we were starting to have some success after so much exhaustion. And in one swoop, just like that, gone. — Timnit Gebru (@timnitGebru) April 7, 2021 × Bengio's resignation has come a few months after Margaret Mitchell, a lead artificial intelligence ethics researcher, took to Twitter to announce the termination of her employment with Google. I'm fired. — MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) February 19, 2021 × "This manager's conduct, we confirmed that there were multiple violations of our code of conduct, as well as of our security policies, which included the exfiltration of confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees," Google was quoted by the news agency AFP. Google had claimed that Mitchell was involved in illegal activities which were causing danger for the security of the tech giant's data. However, her termination came a few days after she wrote a letter to the authorities about the unjust firing of her colleague, and Mitchell claims her termination was due to that letter. I am concerned about @timnitGebru 's firing from Google and its relationship to sexism and discrimination. I wanted to share the email I wrote to Google press the day my access was cut off.https://t.co/O7JPlqJW8L — MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) February 5, 2021 × "The firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru is not okay, and the way it was done is not okay. It appears to stem from the same lack of foresight that is at the core of modern technology, and so itself serves as an example of the problem," she wrote in the letter. She also added that "the firing seems to have been fueled by the same underpinnings of racism and sexism that our AI systems, when in the wrong hands, tend to soak up.”

Google AI chief Samy Bengio resigns over colleagues' firing and racial discrimination

Dragging and pressing a paint brush, Sophia the Robot is creating her latest artwork. The robot artist, who will see her first piece of art go up for auction on Wednesday (March 24), says she draws inspiration for her work from people and is open to future creative partnerships with humans.

NFT digital artwork by humanoid robot Sophia to go on auction in a world's first

Researchers have developed a method based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that rapidly identifies currently available medications that may treat Alzheimer's disease.&nbsp;

The method could represent a rapid and inexpensive way to repurpose existing therapies into new treatments for this progressive, debilitating neurodegenerative condition. Importantly, it could also help reveal new, unexplored targets for therapy by pointing to mechanisms of drug action.&nbsp;

"Repurposing FDA-approved drugs for Alzheimer's disease is an attractive idea that can help accelerate the arrival of effective treatment -- but unfortunately, even for previously approved drugs, clinical trials require substantial resources, making it impossible to evaluate every drug in patients with Alzheimer's disease," said researcher Artem Sokolov from Harvard Medical School.&nbsp;

"We therefore built a framework for prioritising drugs, helping clinical studies to focus on the most promising ones," Sokolov added.&nbsp;

For the study, published in Nature Communications, the team described their framework, called Drug Repurposing in Alzheimer's Disease (DRIAD), which relies on machine learning -- a branch of artificial intelligence in which systems are 'trained' on vast amounts of data, 'learn' to identify telltale patterns and augment researchers' and clinicians' decision-making.&nbsp;

DRIAD works by measuring what happens to human brain neural cells when treated with a drug.&nbsp;

The method then determines whether the changes induced by a drug correlate with molecular markers of disease severity.&nbsp;

The approach also allowed the researchers to identify drugs that had protective as well as damaging effects on brain cells.&nbsp;

The team applied the screening method to 80 FDA-approved and clinically tested drugs for a wide range of conditions. The analysis yielded a ranked list of candidates, with several anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and blood cancers emerging as top contenders.&nbsp;

These drugs belong to a class of medications known as Janus kinase inhibitors. The drugs work by blocking the action of inflammation-fueling Janus kinase proteins, suspected to play a role in Alzheimer's disease and known for their role in autoimmune conditions. The team's analyses also pointed to other potential treatment targets for further investigation.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Researchers have developed a method based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that rapidly identifies currently available medications that may treat Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers have developed a method based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that rapidly identifies currently available medications that may treat Alzheimer's disease. The method could represent a rapid and inexpensive way to repurpose existing therapies into new treatments for this progressive, debilitating neurodegenerative condition. Importantly, it could also help reveal new, unexplored targets for therapy by pointing to mechanisms of drug action. "Repurposing FDA-approved drugs for Alzheimer's disease is an attractive idea that can help accelerate the arrival of effective treatment -- but unfortunately, even for previously approved drugs, clinical trials require substantial resources, making it impossible to evaluate every drug in patients with Alzheimer's disease," said researcher Artem Sokolov from Harvard Medical School. "We therefore built a framework for prioritising drugs, helping clinical studies to focus on the most promising ones," Sokolov added. For the study, published in Nature Communications, the team described their framework, called Drug Repurposing in Alzheimer's Disease (DRIAD), which relies on machine learning -- a branch of artificial intelligence in which systems are 'trained' on vast amounts of data, 'learn' to identify telltale patterns and augment researchers' and clinicians' decision-making. DRIAD works by measuring what happens to human brain neural cells when treated with a drug. The method then determines whether the changes induced by a drug correlate with molecular markers of disease severity. The approach also allowed the researchers to identify drugs that had protective as well as damaging effects on brain cells. The team applied the screening method to 80 FDA-approved and clinically tested drugs for a wide range of conditions. The analysis yielded a ranked list of candidates, with several anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and blood cancers emerging as top contenders. These drugs belong to a class of medications known as Janus kinase inhibitors. The drugs work by blocking the action of inflammation-fueling Janus kinase proteins, suspected to play a role in Alzheimer's disease and known for their role in autoimmune conditions. The team's analyses also pointed to other potential treatment targets for further investigation. (With inputs from agencies)

Artificial Intelligence reveals current drugs may help combat Alzheimer's

Following the controversy around the 'unjust' dismissal of a prominent Black researcher, the tech giant <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/google">Google</a> has fired yet another member of the company's AI ethics team.

Margaret Mitchell, a lead artificial intelligence ethics researcher, took to Twitter to announce the termination of her employment with Google.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-australia-hold-talks-following-news-ban-364938">Facebook, Australia hold talks following news ban</a>

"I'm fired.," she wrote on Twitter, which followed several messages against Google's decision.&nbsp;

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I'm fired.
— MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) <a href="https://twitter.com/mmitchell_ai/status/1362885356127801345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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"This manager's conduct, we confirmed that there were multiple violations of our code of conduct, as well as of our security policies, which included the exfiltration of confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees," Google was quoted by the news agency AFP.

Mitchell has been fired, as per Google, due to her illegal activities which were causing danger for the security of the tech giant's data. She was suspended last month after she was caught downloading and sharing company documents related to the discriminatory treatment of Timnit Gebru.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/google-to-turn-company-spaces-into-vaccination-centres-sundar-pichai-359290" hreflang="en">Google to turn company spaces into vaccination centres: Sundar Pichai</a>

Her termination has come a few days after she penned down a letter to Google raising questions about the 'unjust' firing of her colleague.&nbsp;

"The firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru is not okay, and the way it was done is not okay. &nbsp;It appears to stem from the same lack of foresight that is at the core of modern technology, and so itself serves as an example of the problem," she wrote in the letter.&nbsp;

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I am concerned about <a href="https://twitter.com/timnitGebru?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@timnitGebru</a> 's firing from Google and its relationship to sexism and discrimination. I wanted to share the email I wrote to Google press the day my access was cut off.<a href="https://t.co/O7JPlqJW8L">https://t.co/O7JPlqJW8L</a>
— MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) <a href="https://twitter.com/mmitchell_ai/status/1357819673455202304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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"The firing seems to have been fueled by the same underpinnings of racism and sexism that our AI systems, when in the wrong hands, tend to soak up," she added.

Gebru was apparently fired by Google but the company portrayed it as a resignation. The researcher claimed that she was told her resignation has been accepted even though she had not served one to the company.

The controversy regarding her treatment has raised many questions regarding the work environment of big tech companies, especially for minority groups and women.

Following the controversy around the 'unjust' dismissal of a prominent Black researcher, the tech giant Google has fired yet another member of the company's AI ethics team.

Following the controversy around the 'unjust' dismissal of a prominent Black researcher, the tech giant Google has fired yet another member of the company's AI ethics team. Margaret Mitchell, a lead artificial intelligence ethics researcher, took to Twitter to announce the termination of her employment with Google. Also read| Facebook, Australia hold talks following news ban "I'm fired.," she wrote on Twitter, which followed several messages against Google's decision. I'm fired. — MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) February 19, 2021 × "This manager's conduct, we confirmed that there were multiple violations of our code of conduct, as well as of our security policies, which included the exfiltration of confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees," Google was quoted by the news agency AFP. Mitchell has been fired, as per Google, due to her illegal activities which were causing danger for the security of the tech giant's data. She was suspended last month after she was caught downloading and sharing company documents related to the discriminatory treatment of Timnit Gebru. Also read| Google to turn company spaces into vaccination centres: Sundar Pichai Her termination has come a few days after she penned down a letter to Google raising questions about the 'unjust' firing of her colleague. "The firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru is not okay, and the way it was done is not okay. It appears to stem from the same lack of foresight that is at the core of modern technology, and so itself serves as an example of the problem," she wrote in the letter. I am concerned about @timnitGebru 's firing from Google and its relationship to sexism and discrimination. I wanted to share the email I wrote to Google press the day my access was cut off.https://t.co/O7JPlqJW8L — MMitchell (@mmitchell_ai) February 5, 2021 × "The firing seems to have been fueled by the same underpinnings of racism and sexism that our AI systems, when in the wrong hands, tend to soak up," she added. Gebru was apparently fired by Google but the company portrayed it as a resignation. The researcher claimed that she was told her resignation has been accepted even though she had not served one to the company. The controversy regarding her treatment has raised many questions regarding the work environment of big tech companies, especially for minority groups and women.

'I pity you': After Timnit Gebru, Google fires top AI researcher Margaret Mitchell

A South Korean startup has developed an AI-powered dog collar that can detect five emotions in canines by monitoring their barks using voice recognition technology.

South Korean smart dog collar tells owner what's in a bark

Japan is already struggling to control the increasing suicide rate, COVID-19 cases and a decrease in the economy post-pandemic, and now another problem has cropped up for the country — lowering birth rate.

For the first time ever, Japan's birth rate fell down to an alarming number of&nbsp;865,000, which is also one of the lowest number in the world. This has raised concerns for the Japanese government.'

With the new numbers, the Japanese government has decided to rectify this problem and turn the wave around with the help of artificial intelligence.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-people-died-by-suicide-in-october-than-from-covid-19-in-2020-in-japan-346347">More people died by suicide in October than from COVID-19 in 2020 in Japan</a>

Japan has decided to start funding AI projects that will act as matchmakers and help people meet their 'soulmates' which will then help couples conceive and increase the staggering birth rate of the country.&nbsp;

The government will be investing&nbsp;2bn yen ($19m, £14m) in such AI-run projects&nbsp;to boost the birth rate. While man-made and human-run matchmaking websites and organisations are quite famous in Japan, this will be the first time the government will be supporting an AI-run matchmaking programme.

These projects will use the help of AI which will bring in more sophisticated analysis of the standardised forms in which the recipients will fill out details such as names, birth date, requirements and more. These forms will then be statistically studied by the AI technology and on the basis of compatibility, partners will be found for the form-fillers.

The government hopes this will also bring in as the current systems match up people only if there is an exact match, which is usually hindered due to income, location and other such factors. This system, however, will also look at smaller but important aspects such as hobbies, likes and dislikes.

"We are especially planning to offer subsidies to local governments operating or starting up matchmaking projects that use AI," a cabinet official told AFP. "We hope this support will help reverse the decline in the nation's birthrate."

The government is hoping this will solve the issue of the falling population of the country and bring in more happiness.

Japan is already struggling to control the increasing suicide rate, COVID-19 cases and a decrease in the economy post-pandemic, and now another problem has cropped up for the country — lowering birth rate.

Japan is already struggling to control the increasing suicide rate, COVID-19 cases and a decrease in the economy post-pandemic, and now another problem has cropped up for the country — lowering birth rate. For the first time ever, Japan's birth rate fell down to an alarming number of 865,000, which is also one of the lowest number in the world. This has raised concerns for the Japanese government.' With the new numbers, the Japanese government has decided to rectify this problem and turn the wave around with the help of artificial intelligence. Also read| More people died by suicide in October than from COVID-19 in 2020 in Japan Japan has decided to start funding AI projects that will act as matchmakers and help people meet their 'soulmates' which will then help couples conceive and increase the staggering birth rate of the country. The government will be investing 2bn yen ($19m, £14m) in such AI-run projects to boost the birth rate. While man-made and human-run matchmaking websites and organisations are quite famous in Japan, this will be the first time the government will be supporting an AI-run matchmaking programme. These projects will use the help of AI which will bring in more sophisticated analysis of the standardised forms in which the recipients will fill out details such as names, birth date, requirements and more. These forms will then be statistically studied by the AI technology and on the basis of compatibility, partners will be found for the form-fillers. The government hopes this will also bring in as the current systems match up people only if there is an exact match, which is usually hindered due to income, location and other such factors. This system, however, will also look at smaller but important aspects such as hobbies, likes and dislikes. "We are especially planning to offer subsidies to local governments operating or starting up matchmaking projects that use AI," a cabinet official told AFP. "We hope this support will help reverse the decline in the nation's birthrate." The government is hoping this will solve the issue of the falling population of the country and bring in more happiness.

Technically perfect: Japan to fund AI matchmaker to increase birth rate

When the Chula Vista police receive a 911 call, they can dispatch a flying drone with the press of button.

On a recent afternoon, from a launchpad on the roof of the Chula Vista Police Department, they sent a drone across the city to a crowded parking lot where a young man was asleep in the front seat of a stolen car with drug paraphernalia on his lap.

When the man left the car, carrying a gun and a bag of heroin, a nearby police car had trouble following as he sprinted across the street and ducked behind a wall. But as he threw the gun into a dumpster and hid the bag of heroin, the drone, hovering above him, caught everything on camera. When he slipped through the back door of a strip mall, exited through the front door and ran down the sidewalk, it caught that, too.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/more-than-1400-google-employees-protest-against-firing-of-black-researcher-347688" hreflang="en">More than 1,400 Google employees protest against firing of Black researcher</a>

Watching the live video feed, an officer back at headquarters relayed the details to the police on the scene, who soon caught the man and took him into custody. Later, they retrieved the gun and the heroin. And after another press of the button, the drone returned, on its own, to the roof.

Each day, the Chula Vista police respond to as many as 15 emergency calls with a drone, launching more than 4,100 flights since the program began two years ago. Chula Vista, a Southern California city with a population of 270,000, is the first in the country to adopt such a program, called Drone as First Responder.

Over the last several months, three other cities — two in California and one in Georgia — have followed suit. Police agencies from Hawaii to New York have used drones for years, but mostly in simple, manually flown ways. Officers would carry a drone in the trunk of a car on patrol or drive it to a crime scene before launching it over a park or flying it inside a building.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/apple-faces-lawsuits-in-europe-for-slowing-down-old-iphones-347253" hreflang="en">Apple faces lawsuits in Europe for slowing down old iPhones</a>

But the latest drone technology — mirroring technology that powers self-driving cars — has the power to transform everyday policing, just as it can transform package delivery, building inspections and military reconnaissance. Rather than spending tens of millions of dollars on large helicopters and pilots, even small police forces could operate tiny autonomous drones for a relative pittance.

That newfound automation, however, raises civil liberties concerns, especially as drones gain the power to track vehicles and people automatically. As the police use more drones, they could collect and store more video of life in the city, which could remove any expectation of privacy once you leave the home.

“Communities should ask hard questions about these programs. As the power and scope of this technology expands, so does the need for privacy protection,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Project on Speech, Privacy and Technology. “Drones can be used to investigate known crimes. But they are also sensors that can generate offenses.”

With the pandemic still worsening, drones are a way of policing at a distance, said Rahul Sidhu, an officer in Redondo Beach, near Los Angeles, which started a program similar to the one in Chula Vista just after the virus reached the United States.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-expands-hate-speech-rules-covering-race-ethnicity-and-nationality-347058" hreflang="en">Twitter expands hate speech rules covering race, ethnicity and nationality</a>

“We’re just trying to limit our exposure to other people,” he said. “Sometimes, you can send a drone without sending an officer.”

But down the road, he said, as these small unmanned helicopters become cheaper and more powerful, they will provide more efficient ways of policing urban areas. That could aid police departments at a time when the number of recruits is on the wane across the country and many voices are calling for funding cuts after months of protests against police violence.

In Chula Vista, drones are already an integral part of the way the police respond to emergencies. After an emergency call comes in, officers give the drone a location, and it flies to that point on its own — before returning on its own, too.

FAA regulations aimed at protecting the flights of commercial planes and other aircraft prevent drones from being flown beyond the line of sight of their operators. But Chula Vista obtained a waiver from the FAA, so the pilot and officer can fly the drone as much as 3 miles from its launch site.

Each drone — including long-distance cameras, other sensors and software — costs the department about $35,000. But the overriding cost of the program lies in the many officers needed to operate the drones.

On another recent afternoon, when the Chula Vista police were alerted to a car turned upside down in an empty riverbed, they sent a new kind of drone into the ravine. Built by Skydio, a Silicon Valley company, it could avoid obstacles on its own thanks to many of the same technologies used by self-driving cars.

“An ordinary drone would have crashed by now, guaranteed,” Sgt. James Horst said as he watched a video of the drone swooping down into the riverbed and inspecting the inside of the car at close quarters.

The Chula Vista department treats drone video much as it does video from police bodycams, storing footage as evidence and publicly releasing it only with approval, Capt. Don Redmond said. The department does not use drones for routine patrols.

For privacy advocates like Stanley of the ACLU, the concern is that increasingly powerful technology will be used to target parts of the community — or strictly enforce laws that are out of step with social norms.

“It could allow law enforcement to enforce any area of the law against anyone they want,” Stanley said.

Drones, for instance, could easily be used to identify people and restrict activity during protests like those that have been so prevalent across the country in recent months. Redmond said the Chula Vista department did not deploy drones over Black Lives Matters protests because its policies forbade it.

The Chula Vista police do not require the approval of city officials to expand drone use, but, according to Redmond, they have publicly notified the community about the continued progress of the program.

Drone as first responder programs in places like Redondo Beach and Clovis, California, are seeking waivers that would allow them to fly beyond the operators’ line of sight.

In Clovis, near the middle of the state, the Police Department has found that its drones tend to overheat at the height of summer. “We were flying them four days a week until it got too hot,” Lt. James Munro said. “Then we had to ground them.”

But he thinks these and other technical obstacles will soon be overcome. “Drones are like iPhones,” he said. “As soon as you get one, a new one arrives with new technology.”

When the Chula Vista police receive a 911 call, they can dispatch a flying drone with the press of button. On a recent afternoon, from a launchpad on the roof of the Chula Vista Police Department, they sent a drone across the city to a crowded parking lot where a young man was asleep in the front seat of a stolen car with drug paraphernalia on his lap.

When the Chula Vista police receive a 911 call, they can dispatch a flying drone with the press of button. On a recent afternoon, from a launchpad on the roof of the Chula Vista Police Department, they sent a drone across the city to a crowded parking lot where a young man was asleep in the front seat of a stolen car with drug paraphernalia on his lap. When the man left the car, carrying a gun and a bag of heroin, a nearby police car had trouble following as he sprinted across the street and ducked behind a wall. But as he threw the gun into a dumpster and hid the bag of heroin, the drone, hovering above him, caught everything on camera. When he slipped through the back door of a strip mall, exited through the front door and ran down the sidewalk, it caught that, too. Also read| More than 1,400 Google employees protest against firing of Black researcher Watching the live video feed, an officer back at headquarters relayed the details to the police on the scene, who soon caught the man and took him into custody. Later, they retrieved the gun and the heroin. And after another press of the button, the drone returned, on its own, to the roof. Each day, the Chula Vista police respond to as many as 15 emergency calls with a drone, launching more than 4,100 flights since the program began two years ago. Chula Vista, a Southern California city with a population of 270,000, is the first in the country to adopt such a program, called Drone as First Responder. Over the last several months, three other cities — two in California and one in Georgia — have followed suit. Police agencies from Hawaii to New York have used drones for years, but mostly in simple, manually flown ways. Officers would carry a drone in the trunk of a car on patrol or drive it to a crime scene before launching it over a park or flying it inside a building. Also read| Apple faces lawsuits in Europe for slowing down old iPhones But the latest drone technology — mirroring technology that powers self-driving cars — has the power to transform everyday policing, just as it can transform package delivery, building inspections and military reconnaissance. Rather than spending tens of millions of dollars on large helicopters and pilots, even small police forces could operate tiny autonomous drones for a relative pittance. That newfound automation, however, raises civil liberties concerns, especially as drones gain the power to track vehicles and people automatically. As the police use more drones, they could collect and store more video of life in the city, which could remove any expectation of privacy once you leave the home. “Communities should ask hard questions about these programs. As the power and scope of this technology expands, so does the need for privacy protection,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Project on Speech, Privacy and Technology. “Drones can be used to investigate known crimes. But they are also sensors that can generate offenses.” With the pandemic still worsening, drones are a way of policing at a distance, said Rahul Sidhu, an officer in Redondo Beach, near Los Angeles, which started a program similar to the one in Chula Vista just after the virus reached the United States. Also read| Twitter expands hate speech rules covering race, ethnicity and nationality “We’re just trying to limit our exposure to other people,” he said. “Sometimes, you can send a drone without sending an officer.” But down the road, he said, as these small unmanned helicopters become cheaper and more powerful, they will provide more efficient ways of policing urban areas. That could aid police departments at a time when the number of recruits is on the wane across the country and many voices are calling for funding cuts after months of protests against police violence. In Chula Vista, drones are already an integral part of the way the police respond to emergencies. After an emergency call comes in, officers give the drone a location, and it flies to that point on its own — before returning on its own, too. FAA regulations aimed at protecting the flights of commercial planes and other aircraft prevent drones from being flown beyond the line of sight of their operators. But Chula Vista obtained a waiver from the FAA, so the pilot and officer can fly the drone as much as 3 miles from its launch site. Each drone — including long-distance cameras, other sensors and software — costs the department about $35,000. But the overriding cost of the program lies in the many officers needed to operate the drones. On another recent afternoon, when the Chula Vista police were alerted to a car turned upside down in an empty riverbed, they sent a new kind of drone into the ravine. Built by Skydio, a Silicon Valley company, it could avoid obstacles on its own thanks to many of the same technologies used by self-driving cars. “An ordinary drone would have crashed by now, guaranteed,” Sgt. James Horst said as he watched a video of the drone swooping down into the riverbed and inspecting the inside of the car at close quarters. The Chula Vista department treats drone video much as it does video from police bodycams, storing footage as evidence and publicly releasing it only with approval, Capt. Don Redmond said. The department does not use drones for routine patrols. For privacy advocates like Stanley of the ACLU, the concern is that increasingly powerful technology will be used to target parts of the community — or strictly enforce laws that are out of step with social norms. “It could allow law enforcement to enforce any area of the law against anyone they want,” Stanley said. Drones, for instance, could easily be used to identify people and restrict activity during protests like those that have been so prevalent across the country in recent months. Redmond said the Chula Vista department did not deploy drones over Black Lives Matters protests because its policies forbade it. The Chula Vista police do not require the approval of city officials to expand drone use, but, according to Redmond, they have publicly notified the community about the continued progress of the program. Drone as first responder programs in places like Redondo Beach and Clovis, California, are seeking waivers that would allow them to fly beyond the operators’ line of sight. In Clovis, near the middle of the state, the Police Department has found that its drones tend to overheat at the height of summer. “We were flying them four days a week until it got too hot,” Lt. James Munro said. “Then we had to ground them.” But he thinks these and other technical obstacles will soon be overcome. “Drones are like iPhones,” he said. “As soon as you get one, a new one arrives with new technology.”

Police drones are starting to think for themselves

For about 50 years, researchers have strived to predict how proteins achieve their three-dimensional structure, and it's not an easy problem to solve.

Google’s Deepmind claims to have created an artificially intelligent program called “AlphaFold” that is able to solve those problems in a matter of days.

The latest version of DeepMind’s AlphaFold, a deep-learning system that can accurately predict the structure of proteins to within the width of an atom, has cracked one of biology’s grand challenges.&nbsp;

According to John Moult, Professor at the University of Maryland, "It's the first use of AI to solve a serious problem,”.

In the experiment, DeepMind used a new deep learning architecture for AlphaFold that was able to interpret and compute the 'spatial graph' of 3D proteins, predicting the molecular structure underpinning their folded configuration.

If all goes according to plan, experts suggest the solution has come “decades” earlier than expected, potentially leading to revolutionary ways diseases are treated.

Google DeepMind worked on the AI project with 14th Community Wide Experiment on the Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction (CASP14), scientists investigating the matter since 1994.

(With inputs from agencies)

For about 50 years, researchers have strived to predict how proteins achieve their three-dimensional structure, and it's not an easy problem to solve. Google’s Deepmind claims to have created an artificially intelligent program called “AlphaFold” that is able to solve those problems in a matter of days.

For about 50 years, researchers have strived to predict how proteins achieve their three-dimensional structure, and it's not an easy problem to solve. Google’s Deepmind claims to have created an artificially intelligent program called “AlphaFold” that is able to solve those problems in a matter of days. The latest version of DeepMind’s AlphaFold, a deep-learning system that can accurately predict the structure of proteins to within the width of an atom, has cracked one of biology’s grand challenges. According to John Moult, Professor at the University of Maryland, "It's the first use of AI to solve a serious problem,”. In the experiment, DeepMind used a new deep learning architecture for AlphaFold that was able to interpret and compute the 'spatial graph' of 3D proteins, predicting the molecular structure underpinning their folded configuration. If all goes according to plan, experts suggest the solution has come “decades” earlier than expected, potentially leading to revolutionary ways diseases are treated. Google DeepMind worked on the AI project with 14th Community Wide Experiment on the Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction (CASP14), scientists investigating the matter since 1994. (With inputs from agencies)

Artificial intelligence solves 50-year-old science problem

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