For its updated news application, Google is doubling down on the use of artificial intelligence as part of an effort to weed our disinformation and help users get viewpoints beyond their own "filter bubble."

Google chief Sundar Pichai, who unveiled the updated Google News earlier this month, said the app now "surfaces the news you care about from trusted sources while still giving you a full range of perspectives on events."

It marks Google's latest effort to be at the center of online news and includes a new push to help publishers get paid subscribers through the tech giant's platform.

According to product chief Trystan Upstill, the news app "uses the best of artificial intelligence to find the best of human intelligence -- the great reporting done by journalists around the globe."

While the app will enable users to get "personalized" news, it will also include top stories for all readers, aiming to break the so-called filter bubble of information designed to reinforce people's biases.

"Having a productive conversation or debate requires everyone to have access to the same information," Upstill said.

He said the "full coverage" feed would be the same for everyone -- "an unpersonalized view of events from a range of trusted news sources."

Some journalism industry veterans were skeptical about the effort to replace human editors with machine curators.

"There's been a fantasy of (algorithmic) personalized news for a log time," said New York University journalism professor Meredith Broussard.

"Nobody has ever gotten it right. I think that news designers and home page editors do a good job of curating already."

Google and Facebook have also been criticized for scooping up most online ad revenues and for enabling false information to spread.

Recently, News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson called for an "algorithm review board" that would "oversee these historically influential digital platforms and ensure that there is no algorithmic abuse or censorship."

- Changing news ecosystem - 
In the new app, Google's "newsstand" addresses some concerns by allowing users to sign up for subscriptions using their Google accounts, and will enable publishers to connect with readers directly.

Dan Kennedy, a Northeastern University journalism professor, said the revamped news app appears to be positive for the news ecosystem.

"For many years, Google refused to share ad revenues with news organizations on the grounds that Google was driving traffic to them, and that it was up to those organizations to figure out how to monetize that traffic," Kennedy said.

"Now, with more than 90 percent of all new digital ad revenues going to Google and Facebook, Google is finally acknowledging that it's time to try something else."

Nicholas Diakopoulos, a Northwestern University professor specializing in computational and data journalism, said the impact of Google's changes remain to be seen.

Diakopoulos said algorithmic and personalized news can be positive for "engagement" but may only benefit a handful of news organizations.

His research found that "Google concentrates its attention on a relatively small number of publishers, it's quite concentrated."

Google's effort to identify and prioritize "trusted" news sources may also be problematic, according to Diakopoulos.

"Maybe it's good for the big guys, or the (publishers) who have figured out how to game the algorithm," he said. "But what about the local news sites, what about the new news sites that don't have a long track record?"

Diakopoulos said that while AI can offer some advantages in news curation, "you still need people involved in many different ways. you need to reflect human values, editorial values... you can't quantify every aspect that might be important to an editorial decision."

The growing importance of the platforms raise the questions of whether Google and Facebook are "media" companies and not simply technology firms, a moniker both have resisted.

Diakopoulos said Google "is becoming more and more like a media company," although that is sometimes difficult to define.

"Yahoo started as a tech company and became a media company, and maybe Google is headed in that direction," he said.

According to product chief Trystan Upstill, the news app 'uses the best of artificial intelligence to find the best of human intelligence — the great reporting done by journalists around the globe'

For its updated news application, Google is doubling down on the use of artificial intelligence as part of an effort to weed our disinformation and help users get viewpoints beyond their own "filter bubble." Google chief Sundar Pichai, who unveiled the updated Google News earlier this month, said the app now "surfaces the news you care about from trusted sources while still giving you a full range of perspectives on events." It marks Google's latest effort to be at the center of online news and includes a new push to help publishers get paid subscribers through the tech giant's platform. According to product chief Trystan Upstill, the news app "uses the best of artificial intelligence to find the best of human intelligence -- the great reporting done by journalists around the globe." While the app will enable users to get "personalized" news, it will also include top stories for all readers, aiming to break the so-called filter bubble of information designed to reinforce people's biases. "Having a productive conversation or debate requires everyone to have access to the same information," Upstill said. He said the "full coverage" feed would be the same for everyone -- "an unpersonalized view of events from a range of trusted news sources." Some journalism industry veterans were skeptical about the effort to replace human editors with machine curators. "There's been a fantasy of (algorithmic) personalized news for a log time," said New York University journalism professor Meredith Broussard. "Nobody has ever gotten it right. I think that news designers and home page editors do a good job of curating already." Google and Facebook have also been criticized for scooping up most online ad revenues and for enabling false information to spread. Recently, News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson called for an "algorithm review board" that would "oversee these historically influential digital platforms and ensure that there is no algorithmic abuse or censorship." - Changing news ecosystem - In the new app, Google's "newsstand" addresses some concerns by allowing users to sign up for subscriptions using their Google accounts, and will enable publishers to connect with readers directly. Dan Kennedy, a Northeastern University journalism professor, said the revamped news app appears to be positive for the news ecosystem. "For many years, Google refused to share ad revenues with news organizations on the grounds that Google was driving traffic to them, and that it was up to those organizations to figure out how to monetize that traffic," Kennedy said. "Now, with more than 90 percent of all new digital ad revenues going to Google and Facebook, Google is finally acknowledging that it's time to try something else." Nicholas Diakopoulos, a Northwestern University professor specializing in computational and data journalism, said the impact of Google's changes remain to be seen. Diakopoulos said algorithmic and personalized news can be positive for "engagement" but may only benefit a handful of news organizations. His research found that "Google concentrates its attention on a relatively small number of publishers, it's quite concentrated." Google's effort to identify and prioritize "trusted" news sources may also be problematic, according to Diakopoulos. "Maybe it's good for the big guys, or the (publishers) who have figured out how to game the algorithm," he said. "But what about the local news sites, what about the new news sites that don't have a long track record?" Diakopoulos said that while AI can offer some advantages in news curation, "you still need people involved in many different ways. you need to reflect human values, editorial values... you can't quantify every aspect that might be important to an editorial decision." The growing importance of the platforms raise the questions of whether Google and Facebook are "media" companies and not simply technology firms, a moniker both have resisted. Diakopoulos said Google "is becoming more and more like a media company," although that is sometimes difficult to define. "Yahoo started as a tech company and became a media company, and maybe Google is headed in that direction," he said.

To filter out fake news, Google's news app is using AI

Google's Artificial Intelligence programme for the Pentagon has met with severe opposition from its employees. Nearly 4000 Google employees have signed a petition to roll back the project more than dozens have already quit.

Google's ambitious AI programme, Project Maven, aims to work with the US military and facilitate easy and faster analysis of footage captured by military drones.

Through machine learning, Google's AI assistance would help the military distinguish people, object and spot targets easily. However, employees at Google have questioned the project on ethical grounds.&nbsp;

The internal petition, that seeks Google to rollback the project, involves nearly 4000 employees who want Google to stay out of the "business of war". Some petitioners have called for a treaty against autonomous weapons systems.&nbsp;

Google, for now, continues with the project explaining that the technology used in Maven is open source and that the US military can access it with or without Google's direct involvement.

Time and again, Google has maintained that it will not apply AI for combat operations.&nbsp;

Time and again, Google has maintained that it will not apply AI for combat operations

Google's Artificial Intelligence programme for the Pentagon has met with severe opposition from its employees. Nearly 4000 Google employees have signed a petition to roll back the project more than dozens have already quit. Google's ambitious AI programme, Project Maven, aims to work with the US military and facilitate easy and faster analysis of footage captured by military drones. Through machine learning, Google's AI assistance would help the military distinguish people, object and spot targets easily. However, employees at Google have questioned the project on ethical grounds. The internal petition, that seeks Google to rollback the project, involves nearly 4000 employees who want Google to stay out of the "business of war". Some petitioners have called for a treaty against autonomous weapons systems. Google, for now, continues with the project explaining that the technology used in Maven is open source and that the US military can access it with or without Google's direct involvement. Time and again, Google has maintained that it will not apply AI for combat operations.

Watch: Row over Google's US military AI project 'Maven', several employees quit

Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed an artificial intelligence system that can help soldiers learn 13 times faster than conventional methods.

Scientists at the US Army Research Laboratory are working on improving the intensity and rate of learning even with a few resources in hand. It is possible to help soliders come up with quick solutions to threats like vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or potential danger zones from aerial warzone images.

They&nbsp;relied on low-cost, lightweight hardware and implemented collaborative filtering, a well-known machine learning technique on a state-of-the-art, low-power Field Programmable Gate Array platform to achieve a 13.3 times speedup of training compared to a state-of-the-art optimised multi-core system and 12.7 times speedup for optimized GPU systems.

The new technique consumed far less power too. Consumption charted 13.8 watts, compared to 130 watts for the multi-core and 235 watts for GPU platforms, making this a potentially useful component of adaptive, lightweight tactical computing systems.

Rajgopal Kannan, an ARL researcher, said this technique could eventually become part of a suite of tools embedded on the next generation combat vehicle, offering cognitive services and devices for warfighters in distributed coalition environments.

Developing technology for the next generation combat vehicle is one of the six Army Modernisation Priorities the laboratory is pursuing.

Kannan said he is working on developing several techniques to speed up AI/ML algorithms through innovative designs on state-of-the-art inexpensive hardware.

This work is part of Army's larger focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning research initiatives pursued to help to gain a strategic advantage and ensure warfighter superiority with applications such as on-field adaptive processing and tactical computing.

&nbsp;

It is possible to help soldiers come up with quick solutions to threats like vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or potential danger zones from aerial warzone images

Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed an artificial intelligence system that can help soldiers learn 13 times faster than conventional methods. Scientists at the US Army Research Laboratory are working on improving the intensity and rate of learning even with a few resources in hand. It is possible to help soliders come up with quick solutions to threats like vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or potential danger zones from aerial warzone images. They relied on low-cost, lightweight hardware and implemented collaborative filtering, a well-known machine learning technique on a state-of-the-art, low-power Field Programmable Gate Array platform to achieve a 13.3 times speedup of training compared to a state-of-the-art optimised multi-core system and 12.7 times speedup for optimized GPU systems. The new technique consumed far less power too. Consumption charted 13.8 watts, compared to 130 watts for the multi-core and 235 watts for GPU platforms, making this a potentially useful component of adaptive, lightweight tactical computing systems. Rajgopal Kannan, an ARL researcher, said this technique could eventually become part of a suite of tools embedded on the next generation combat vehicle, offering cognitive services and devices for warfighters in distributed coalition environments. Developing technology for the next generation combat vehicle is one of the six Army Modernisation Priorities the laboratory is pursuing. Kannan said he is working on developing several techniques to speed up AI/ML algorithms through innovative designs on state-of-the-art inexpensive hardware. This work is part of Army's larger focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning research initiatives pursued to help to gain a strategic advantage and ensure warfighter superiority with applications such as on-field adaptive processing and tactical computing.

Artificial Intelligence could help soldiers come up with quick solutions to threats

Alphabet Inc President Sergey Brin said on Friday that technology companies must take greater responsibility for the social impact of their work, his first comments following a year of heightened global awareness about misuse of digital services.

Brin delivered the message through Alphabet`s annual shareholder letter, which he signed for the first time since 2014 instead of Chief Executive Larry Page.

"We’re in an era of great inspiration and possibility, but with this opportunity comes the need for tremendous thoughtfulness and responsibility as technology is deeply and irrevocably interwoven into our societies," Brin wrote after quoting from Charles Dickens’ novel "A Tale of Two Cities" about the "the best of times" and "the worst of times."

Alphabet's primary unit, Google, has become a top target in Silicon Valley for regulators, authorities and critics in advertising and media. It has drawn global scrutiny for its dominance in online search advertising, its policies around user privacy and its role in helping politically consequential misinformation spread online.&nbsp

Brin did not touch on those issues, nor did he specify any actions the company would take to recognise new responsibilities.&nbsp

But Brin focused on artificial intelligence, computer systems that are able to learn without humans hard-coding them. Artificial intelligence enables self-driving cars and software that can identify diseases.

Brin said that Alphabet would tread with "serious thought and research" about societal consequences such as eliminating jobs and advancing biases as the company expands use of artificial intelligence.&nbsp

"While I am optimistic about the potential to bring technology to bear on the greatest problems in the world, we are on a path that we must tread with deep responsibility, care and humility," he said.

Alphabet separately announced Friday details regarding its annual shareholder meeting, which it scheduled for June 6. The company recommended shareholders reject each of the seven proposals brought by investors that call for it to provide more information around gender pay disparity, environmental impact policies, content moderation and other issues.

Brin focused on artificial intelligence, computer systems that are able to learn without humans hard-coding them

Alphabet Inc President Sergey Brin said on Friday that technology companies must take greater responsibility for the social impact of their work, his first comments following a year of heightened global awareness about misuse of digital services. Brin delivered the message through Alphabet`s annual shareholder letter, which he signed for the first time since 2014 instead of Chief Executive Larry Page. "We’re in an era of great inspiration and possibility, but with this opportunity comes the need for tremendous thoughtfulness and responsibility as technology is deeply and irrevocably interwoven into our societies," Brin wrote after quoting from Charles Dickens’ novel "A Tale of Two Cities" about the "the best of times" and "the worst of times." Alphabet's primary unit, Google, has become a top target in Silicon Valley for regulators, authorities and critics in advertising and media. It has drawn global scrutiny for its dominance in online search advertising, its policies around user privacy and its role in helping politically consequential misinformation spread online. Brin did not touch on those issues, nor did he specify any actions the company would take to recognise new responsibilities. But Brin focused on artificial intelligence, computer systems that are able to learn without humans hard-coding them. Artificial intelligence enables self-driving cars and software that can identify diseases. Brin said that Alphabet would tread with "serious thought and research" about societal consequences such as eliminating jobs and advancing biases as the company expands use of artificial intelligence. "While I am optimistic about the potential to bring technology to bear on the greatest problems in the world, we are on a path that we must tread with deep responsibility, care and humility," he said. Alphabet separately announced Friday details regarding its annual shareholder meeting, which it scheduled for June 6. The company recommended shareholders reject each of the seven proposals brought by investors that call for it to provide more information around gender pay disparity, environmental impact policies, content moderation and other issues.

Alphabet's Sergey Brin says company must assume greater responsibility

SpaceX CEO &nbsp;Elon Musk is in talks with an Israel-based Artificial Intelligence vision firm over prospective investment or acquisition project. Musk, on his visit to Israel, discussed a collaboration between Tesla Inc and Tel Aviv-based AI firm Cortica.

According to reports, Cortica&#39;s technology equips self-driving cars with an ability to identify moving parts in its environment and make informed decisions.

This is not the first time when Musk-led Tesla has collaborated with an Israeli company. The company joined hands with Mobileye and parted ways in 2016 owing to a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S.

Mobileye was acquired by Intel last year for $15.3 billion.

Musk, on his visit to Israel, discussed a collaboration between Tesla Inc and Tel Aviv-based AI firm Cortica

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is in talks with an Israel-based Artificial Intelligence vision firm over prospective investment or acquisition project. Musk, on his visit to Israel, discussed a collaboration between Tesla Inc and Tel Aviv-based AI firm Cortica. According to reports, Cortica's technology equips self-driving cars with an ability to identify moving parts in its environment and make informed decisions. This is not the first time when Musk-led Tesla has collaborated with an Israeli company. The company joined hands with Mobileye and parted ways in 2016 owing to a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S. Mobileye was acquired by Intel last year for $15.3 billion.

Elon Musk to collaborate with Israeli Artificial Intelligence firm

A San Francisco-bound Air India flight from Delhi was diverted to Sapporo in Japan after a medical emergency onboard, the airline said Monday.

An airline spokesperson said a passenger on the flight had suffered a heart problem and that an update on the passenger&#39;s health status would be available once the plane landed in the Japanese city.

&quot;Air India Flt AI 173 Delhi to San Francisco diverted to SPK due to a medical emergency,&quot; the airline posted on Twitter.

The plane took off from New Delhi&#39;s Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at 4.30 am and was scheduled to land at the San Francisco International Airport at 6 am local time. It had to turn back towards Sapporo, after it had flown past Japan.&nbsp;

The plane took off from New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at 4.30 am and was scheduled to land at the San Francisco International Airport at 6 am local time. It had to turn back towards Sapporo, after it had flown past Japan

A San Francisco-bound Air India flight from Delhi was diverted to Sapporo in Japan after a medical emergency onboard, the airline said Monday. An airline spokesperson said a passenger on the flight had suffered a heart problem and that an update on the passenger's health status would be available once the plane landed in the Japanese city. "Air India Flt AI 173 Delhi to San Francisco diverted to SPK due to a medical emergency," the airline posted on Twitter. The plane took off from New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at 4.30 am and was scheduled to land at the San Francisco International Airport at 6 am local time. It had to turn back towards Sapporo, after it had flown past Japan.

Air India's flight diverted after medical emergency

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere now. From phones, Tv&#39;s to retail, e-commerce and even toilets!&nbsp; We are now in an era where anything that uses an algorithm can be called AI.&nbsp;

Facts say that with the upcoming use of AI, millions of people will be out of jobs in few years.&nbsp;

Web Summit, the massive technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal, polled 224 investors in one of the sub-conferences within the Web Summit framework where 93% of them said that AI will &#39;destroy&#39; jobs. Tesla CEO Elton Musk claimed that the race to development of AI will lead to World War III, founder of venture capital firm &#39;Sinovation&#39;, Kai-Fu Lee has said that AI will replace 50% off all jobs in the next decade.&nbsp;

A survey conducted by Quartz - with 1,600 respondents from 84 countries, mostly in the US&nbsp; - stated that 90% respondents thought&nbsp;that up to half of the jobs would be lost to automation within five years.&nbsp;

However, AI may only be able to do about 50 to 60 per cent of the work, one will need humans to fill up the 50-40 per cent. Only using AI algorithms won&#39;t work. That&#39;s when skilled humans come into play. Its all about balance!&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/33661762980_6662c1840a_b-20180121065614.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
Jobs related to AI will increase up to 2 million by 2025 (Others)
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Therefore, the myth that AI will lead to more job losses can be soundly debunked - that&#39;s what history tells us.&nbsp;

The Industrial revolution spanned a technological revolution in the 19th century. It sparked major changes in virtually every sphere of human existence in Britain where it began. The British economy boomed as a result with new innovations in textile with the mechanised spinning, the advent of steam power to power engines and several other breakthrough designs.

The people adapted too, it did not mean employment fell, in fact, more and more people were added to the workforce as a result of &quot;mechanisation&quot;.&nbsp; It meant upgradation of skills which helped the British economy to expand and seize new markets in Asia and Africa.

The advent of computers in the workplace is another example of &quot;humans adapting to machines&quot;.&nbsp;

During the 60s and 70s in the US, computers increasingly began to enter offices which allowed small business to compete with large corporations. The rise of Apple in the 70s and Microsoft in the 80s can be attributed to the introduction of PCs in that era, despite this today after over 40 years since Apple it has employed more and more people into its company and spawned a culture of start-ups.

In the 80s and 90s, PCs aka &quot;machines&quot; helped &quot;humans&quot; to do away several tedious jobs and eliminated manual labour helping small companies not only to become more efficient but also helped the workforce to become sharper. Today in the era of startups and apps, technology has helped to take humans into a new frontier which promises a new era of growth and prosperity.

In contrary to remarks that robots will replace human workers, research firms predicts that AI may actually create more jobs than expected.&nbsp;

By 2020, AI will generate about 2.3 million jobs - exceeding the 1.8 million that will be ticked off. Moreover, jobs related to AI will increase up to 2 million by 2025.&nbsp;

Humans throughout history have adapted and &quot;re-skilled&quot; themselves as new technologies have entered the cycle, despite rumblings and disruptions it has only meant the &quot;comfort level&quot; has increased for us humans. Artificial Intelligence, in this respect, should not be &quot;feared&quot; rather it should be &quot;adapted&quot;.

For instance, as chatbots, robots, automated kiosks come into existence - more people imagine that it will capture jobs, but all this technology is only creating a better user interface. Look at automated kiosks for instance. Now, Mcdonald&#39;s in New York welcomes customers with a &ldquo;Create Your Taste&rdquo; kiosk - an automated touch-screen system that allows customers to create their own burgers without interacting with another human being. Does this mean cashiers and waiters will go out of jobs? NO. This is just innovation in technology which will, in turn, lead to a shift in skill - not jobs.&nbsp;

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Mcdonalds&#39; &ldquo;Create Your Taste&rdquo; kiosk (Others)
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Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple have invested millions in this field (smartbots, chatbots, AI algorithms etc) - why? because this will eventually generate better customer interaction, seamless user journeys, reduce search time, create quick and efficient responses. AI&#39;s role as a mediator between humans and technology has become the greatest triumph.&nbsp;

The jobs will be affected - yes - but that does not infer that jobs will be &quot;destroyed&quot;. The number of jobs that will be affected will vary for different industries, with public sector, education, healthcare booming. AI will &quot;replace&quot; jobs of low-skilled workers in IT sectors in India alone with more medium and high skilled jobs - which are expected to rise to about 1 million in the next five years.&nbsp;

Let&#39;s take driverless cars, for example, though driver won&rsquo;t be entirely displaced by self-driving cars, the nature of their work will fundamentally change. While the percentage of human drivers giving trips may go down, the absolute number of humans may actually go up. The rise of autonomous cars will open new jobs like maintaining the car fleets, jobs that don&#39;t exist today because there has never been a need. Part of advancing technology has always meant that some professions become extinct in the process.&nbsp;

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The rise of autonomous cars will open new jobs (Others)
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The fact is humans need to power the machines, it is a fantasy built by bloggers and science fiction enthusiasts who have, increasingly, through social media played the game of calling AI a barrier for mankind, but history teaches us that man has always &quot;upgraded&quot; himself since time in memorial.

So, once again, AI will eliminate a number of middle and low levels positions but it will give rise to more highly-skilled management and also entry-level and low-skilled jobs, it will accelerate innovation to a new level and fundamentally change the way businesses will run across the board. Focus should be more on augmenting people with AI, transforming culture to make it adaptable to AI-related job opportunities and threats.&nbsp;

AI may only be able to do about 50 to 60 per cent of the work, one will need humans to fill up at 50-40 per cent. Only using AI algorithms won't work. That's when skilled humans come into play. Its all about balance!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere now. From phones, Tv's to retail, e-commerce and even toilets! We are now in an era where anything that uses an algorithm can be called AI. Facts say that with the upcoming use of AI, millions of people will be out of jobs in few years. Web Summit, the massive technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal, polled 224 investors in one of the sub-conferences within the Web Summit framework where 93% of them said that AI will 'destroy' jobs. Tesla CEO Elton Musk claimed that the race to development of AI will lead to World War III, founder of venture capital firm 'Sinovation', Kai-Fu Lee has said that AI will replace 50% off all jobs in the next decade. A survey conducted by Quartz - with 1,600 respondents from 84 countries, mostly in the US - stated that 90% respondents thought that up to half of the jobs would be lost to automation within five years. However, AI may only be able to do about 50 to 60 per cent of the work, one will need humans to fill up the 50-40 per cent. Only using AI algorithms won't work. That's when skilled humans come into play. Its all about balance! Jobs related to AI will increase up to 2 million by 2025 (Others) × Therefore, the myth that AI will lead to more job losses can be soundly debunked - that's what history tells us. The Industrial revolution spanned a technological revolution in the 19th century. It sparked major changes in virtually every sphere of human existence in Britain where it began. The British economy boomed as a result with new innovations in textile with the mechanised spinning, the advent of steam power to power engines and several other breakthrough designs. The people adapted too, it did not mean employment fell, in fact, more and more people were added to the workforce as a result of "mechanisation". It meant upgradation of skills which helped the British economy to expand and seize new markets in Asia and Africa. The advent of computers in the workplace is another example of "humans adapting to machines". During the 60s and 70s in the US, computers increasingly began to enter offices which allowed small business to compete with large corporations. The rise of Apple in the 70s and Microsoft in the 80s can be attributed to the introduction of PCs in that era, despite this today after over 40 years since Apple it has employed more and more people into its company and spawned a culture of start-ups. In the 80s and 90s, PCs aka "machines" helped "humans" to do away several tedious jobs and eliminated manual labour helping small companies not only to become more efficient but also helped the workforce to become sharper. Today in the era of startups and apps, technology has helped to take humans into a new frontier which promises a new era of growth and prosperity. In contrary to remarks that robots will replace human workers, research firms predicts that AI may actually create more jobs than expected. By 2020, AI will generate about 2.3 million jobs - exceeding the 1.8 million that will be ticked off. Moreover, jobs related to AI will increase up to 2 million by 2025. Humans throughout history have adapted and "re-skilled" themselves as new technologies have entered the cycle, despite rumblings and disruptions it has only meant the "comfort level" has increased for us humans. Artificial Intelligence, in this respect, should not be "feared" rather it should be "adapted". For instance, as chatbots, robots, automated kiosks come into existence - more people imagine that it will capture jobs, but all this technology is only creating a better user interface. Look at automated kiosks for instance. Now, Mcdonald's in New York welcomes customers with a “Create Your Taste” kiosk - an automated touch-screen system that allows customers to create their own burgers without interacting with another human being. Does this mean cashiers and waiters will go out of jobs? NO. This is just innovation in technology which will, in turn, lead to a shift in skill - not jobs. Mcdonalds' “Create Your Taste” kiosk (Others) × Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple have invested millions in this field (smartbots, chatbots, AI algorithms etc) - why? because this will eventually generate better customer interaction, seamless user journeys, reduce search time, create quick and efficient responses. AI's role as a mediator between humans and technology has become the greatest triumph. The jobs will be affected - yes - but that does not infer that jobs will be "destroyed". The number of jobs that will be affected will vary for different industries, with public sector, education, healthcare booming. AI will "replace" jobs of low-skilled workers in IT sectors in India alone with more medium and high skilled jobs - which are expected to rise to about 1 million in the next five years. Let's take driverless cars, for example, though driver won’t be entirely displaced by self-driving cars, the nature of their work will fundamentally change. While the percentage of human drivers giving trips may go down, the absolute number of humans may actually go up. The rise of autonomous cars will open new jobs like maintaining the car fleets, jobs that don't exist today because there has never been a need. Part of advancing technology has always meant that some professions become extinct in the process. The rise of autonomous cars will open new jobs (Others) × The fact is humans need to power the machines, it is a fantasy built by bloggers and science fiction enthusiasts who have, increasingly, through social media played the game of calling AI a barrier for mankind, but history teaches us that man has always "upgraded" himself since time in memorial. So, once again, AI will eliminate a number of middle and low levels positions but it will give rise to more highly-skilled management and also entry-level and low-skilled jobs, it will accelerate innovation to a new level and fundamentally change the way businesses will run across the board. Focus should be more on augmenting people with AI, transforming culture to make it adaptable to AI-related job opportunities and threats.

Don't believe the naysayers, Artificial Intelligence will create 2.3 million jobs by 2020

Amazon launched an AI-powered checkout-free supermarket in its Seattle headquarters on Sunday.&nbsp;

The &quot;Amazon Go&quot; supermarket does not have any checkout counters, cashiers or machines - instead it functions by tracking what customers buy using its AI-powered cameras and weight sensors.&nbsp;

The grocery store allows shoppers to scan their desired products using their smartphones on the Amazon Go app and leave without the hassle of standing in lines for checkout. The customers are not charged if the put the product back in the shelf.&nbsp;

By combining computer vision, machine learning algorithms, and sensors, the online retail giant can tell what people have purchased and charges their Amazon account.

However, this does not mean the shop has no employees - Amazon informed that people are present in the store for stocking shelves, making food, helping customers etc. The store also offers on-the-go breakfast, dinners, lunches, meal kits and snacks other than the usual groceries.&nbsp;

The hope is that increasing the convenience factor of the typical convenience store model by making it quicker and easier to &quot;enter, buy, and go&quot; will draw in new customers.

Amazon Go is not the first checkout-free store in the world - grocery firm BingoBox has several unmanned supermarkets across China, which are little less advanced as Amazon Go.&nbsp;

The "Amazon Go" supermarket does not have any checkout counters, cashier or machines - instead it functions by tracking what customers buy using its AI-powered cameras and weight sensors

Amazon launched an AI-powered checkout-free supermarket in its Seattle headquarters on Sunday. The "Amazon Go" supermarket does not have any checkout counters, cashiers or machines - instead it functions by tracking what customers buy using its AI-powered cameras and weight sensors. The grocery store allows shoppers to scan their desired products using their smartphones on the Amazon Go app and leave without the hassle of standing in lines for checkout. The customers are not charged if the put the product back in the shelf. By combining computer vision, machine learning algorithms, and sensors, the online retail giant can tell what people have purchased and charges their Amazon account. However, this does not mean the shop has no employees - Amazon informed that people are present in the store for stocking shelves, making food, helping customers etc. The store also offers on-the-go breakfast, dinners, lunches, meal kits and snacks other than the usual groceries. The hope is that increasing the convenience factor of the typical convenience store model by making it quicker and easier to "enter, buy, and go" will draw in new customers. Amazon Go is not the first checkout-free store in the world - grocery firm BingoBox has several unmanned supermarkets across China, which are little less advanced as Amazon Go.

Amazon opens snazzy checkout-free supermarket to eliminate waiting lines

Alibaba&rsquo;s Institute of Data Science of Technologies (iDST), the fundamental research arm on artificial intelligence under Alibaba Group, developed a deep learning model which outperformed humans on Stanford&rsquo;s reading comprehension test.&nbsp;

They said on Monday that its deep neural network model scored 82.44 on the Stanford Question Answering Dataset (SQuAD) on January 11, beating the human score of 82.304.&nbsp;

This is the first time ever that a machine has surpassed human intelligence in a global reading list.&nbsp;

The SQuAD is a large-scale reading comprehension dataset comprised of over 100,000 question-answer pairs based on over 500 Wikipedia articles.

The model, with its ability to infer meaning, narrowing down, reads from paragraphs to sentences to words to find the right phrases with the right answers - and is now being seen with lucrative commercial values.&nbsp;

In a process known as natural language processing (NLP), machines mimic human comprehension of words and sentences.&nbsp;

The underlying technology has been applied in Alibaba&rsquo;s Global Shopping Festival over the years, with machines answering huge inbound inquiries during the big sales period.

Luo Si, Chief Scientist of Natural Language Processing (NLP) at Alibaba iDST commented: &ldquo;It is our great honor to witness the milestone where machines surpass humans in reading comprehension. That means objective questions such as &lsquo;what causes rain&rsquo; can now be answered with high accuracy by machines. To our excitement, we believe the technology underneath can be gradually applied to numerous applications such as customer services, museum tutorial, and online response to inquiry from patients, freeing up human efforts in an unpresented way.&rdquo;

&ldquo;We are thrilled to see NLP research has achieved significant progress over the year. We look forward to sharing our model building methodology to the wider community and exporting the technology to our clients in the short future.&rdquo; Si added.&nbsp;

The iDST is Alibaba&rsquo;s primary research arm focusing on artificial intelligence. It&rsquo;s heavily into Natural Language Processing and solving problems that lead to real-world applications.

Alibaba’s deep neural network model scored 82.44 on the Stanford Question Answering Dataset (SQuAD), beating the human score of 82.304

Alibaba’s Institute of Data Science of Technologies (iDST), the fundamental research arm on artificial intelligence under Alibaba Group, developed a deep learning model which outperformed humans on Stanford’s reading comprehension test. They said on Monday that its deep neural network model scored 82.44 on the Stanford Question Answering Dataset (SQuAD) on January 11, beating the human score of 82.304. This is the first time ever that a machine has surpassed human intelligence in a global reading list. The SQuAD is a large-scale reading comprehension dataset comprised of over 100,000 question-answer pairs based on over 500 Wikipedia articles. The model, with its ability to infer meaning, narrowing down, reads from paragraphs to sentences to words to find the right phrases with the right answers - and is now being seen with lucrative commercial values. In a process known as natural language processing (NLP), machines mimic human comprehension of words and sentences. The underlying technology has been applied in Alibaba’s Global Shopping Festival over the years, with machines answering huge inbound inquiries during the big sales period. Luo Si, Chief Scientist of Natural Language Processing (NLP) at Alibaba iDST commented: “It is our great honor to witness the milestone where machines surpass humans in reading comprehension. That means objective questions such as ‘what causes rain’ can now be answered with high accuracy by machines. To our excitement, we believe the technology underneath can be gradually applied to numerous applications such as customer services, museum tutorial, and online response to inquiry from patients, freeing up human efforts in an unpresented way.” “We are thrilled to see NLP research has achieved significant progress over the year. We look forward to sharing our model building methodology to the wider community and exporting the technology to our clients in the short future.” Si added. The iDST is Alibaba’s primary research arm focusing on artificial intelligence. It’s heavily into Natural Language Processing and solving problems that lead to real-world applications.

For first time, AI model beats humans at reading comprehension test

Organisations across the world concur the need to have processes that are technology enabled. While advancements in various functions are planned, Human Resources are not excluded. In fact, it&rsquo;s one of the functions that has got transformed the most, also more recently with the assistance of Chatbots.

The world is not new to Chatbots but have been prevalent for over a decade now. With an expansion on its applications, chatbots currently are designed to execute daunting tasks easily. From screening job applications to hiring, Chatbots are facilitating Human Resources Management. The artificial intelligence-powered with Chatbots are revolutionising work performance in new and smarter ways. Known for automating processes, Chatbots are undoubtedly transforming talent management rapidly.

The Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence together have been providing, a simple yet intuitive approach for interacting with people. Being an aid in assisting employees&rsquo; queries, requests, and other communications, Chatbots are embracing HR innovation for organisations to contend in a candidate-driven market.

The Revolution of bots in HR Sphere

Bots were first introduced to the world some 15 years back as Internet Bots by today&rsquo;s IT giant - Google. Quite popular with the epigraph &lsquo;spider&rsquo;, they were used by Google to crawl the websites.

This was the beginning of the global dominance of the web giant. Popular as chatbots, they are now utilised by a multitude of organisations for varied purposes. However, it is the use of chatbots in the Talent Management space which is thriving at a brisk pace. Once integrated into the HR division, both artificial intelligence and Chatbots speed up all its essential processes, thereby, empowering the organisation in edging out the competitors on the talent management front. With the help of technology in this department, acquiring new talent is a breeze.

Chatbots can interview the candidates and undertake their assessment on various parameters. The insights that the Chatbots yield can be leveraged completely to reduce the attrition rate, as well as, the disconnection between the management and employees. These insights can be further utilised to monitor the well-being of the organisation&rsquo;s people and develop a robust feedback system.

Apart from lending a hand to the organisation, Chatbots make the life easier for employees too. From furnishing them with the answers to their HR queries to bestowing them with a personalised learning and development experience, Chatbots can provide an unmatched experience to the employees.

The advent of AI-powered Chatbots in the HR function has helped it make vital decisions based on insights. Right from the acquisition of a new talent to the reduction of the biases (if any), Chatbots aid in every facet of HR. Also, it&rsquo;s done more logically and transparently in one go, as against real resources.

Thus, branding Chatbots as the invaluable source of data won&rsquo;t be untrue. In fact, with the concrete insights and analytics, HR personnel can address the interests and concerns of the employees and can be used in designing appropriate policies, as well as, developing orientation &amp; training programs.

Chatbots: The Future of HR

With a plethora of Millennial dominating the workplace, it is likely that AI&rsquo;s impact on the HR will exponentially increase in near future. As the competition to acquire cream talent grows, organisations will leverage, AI-powered Chatbots to their full potential, towards talent management becoming seamless and more efficient.

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

With a plethora of Millennial dominating the workplace, it is likely that AI?s impact on the HR will exponentially increase in near future.

Organisations across the world concur the need to have processes that are technology enabled. While advancements in various functions are planned, Human Resources are not excluded. In fact, it’s one of the functions that has got transformed the most, also more recently with the assistance of Chatbots. The world is not new to Chatbots but have been prevalent for over a decade now. With an expansion on its applications, chatbots currently are designed to execute daunting tasks easily. From screening job applications to hiring, Chatbots are facilitating Human Resources Management. The artificial intelligence-powered with Chatbots are revolutionising work performance in new and smarter ways. Known for automating processes, Chatbots are undoubtedly transforming talent management rapidly. The Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence together have been providing, a simple yet intuitive approach for interacting with people. Being an aid in assisting employees’ queries, requests, and other communications, Chatbots are embracing HR innovation for organisations to contend in a candidate-driven market. The Revolution of bots in HR Sphere Bots were first introduced to the world some 15 years back as Internet Bots by today’s IT giant - Google. Quite popular with the epigraph ‘spider’, they were used by Google to crawl the websites. This was the beginning of the global dominance of the web giant. Popular as chatbots, they are now utilised by a multitude of organisations for varied purposes. However, it is the use of chatbots in the Talent Management space which is thriving at a brisk pace. Once integrated into the HR division, both artificial intelligence and Chatbots speed up all its essential processes, thereby, empowering the organisation in edging out the competitors on the talent management front. With the help of technology in this department, acquiring new talent is a breeze. Chatbots can interview the candidates and undertake their assessment on various parameters. The insights that the Chatbots yield can be leveraged completely to reduce the attrition rate, as well as, the disconnection between the management and employees. These insights can be further utilised to monitor the well-being of the organisation’s people and develop a robust feedback system. Apart from lending a hand to the organisation, Chatbots make the life easier for employees too. From furnishing them with the answers to their HR queries to bestowing them with a personalised learning and development experience, Chatbots can provide an unmatched experience to the employees. The advent of AI-powered Chatbots in the HR function has helped it make vital decisions based on insights. Right from the acquisition of a new talent to the reduction of the biases (if any), Chatbots aid in every facet of HR. Also, it’s done more logically and transparently in one go, as against real resources. Thus, branding Chatbots as the invaluable source of data won’t be untrue. In fact, with the concrete insights and analytics, HR personnel can address the interests and concerns of the employees and can be used in designing appropriate policies, as well as, developing orientation & training programs. Chatbots: The Future of HR With a plethora of Millennial dominating the workplace, it is likely that AI’s impact on the HR will exponentially increase in near future. As the competition to acquire cream talent grows, organisations will leverage, AI-powered Chatbots to their full potential, towards talent management becoming seamless and more efficient. (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: Chatbots & AI to revolutionise talent management

Facebook on Monday said it was stepping up the use of artificial intelligence to identify members of the leading social network who may be thinking of suicide.

Software will look for clues in posts or even in videos being streamed at Facebook Live, then fire off reports to human reviewers and speed up alerts to responders trained to help, according to the social network.

&quot;This approach uses pattern recognition technology to help identify posts and live streams as likely to be expressing thoughts of suicide,&quot; Facebook vice president of product management Guy Rosen said in a blog post.

Signs watched for were said to include texts by people or comments to them, such as someone asking if they are troubled.

Facebook already has tools in place for people to report concerns about friend&#39;s who may be considering self-harm, but the software can speed the process and even detect signs people may overlook.

&quot;There have been terribly tragic events -- like suicides, some live-streamed -- that perhaps could have been prevented if someone had realized what was happening and reported them sooner,&quot; Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said early this year in a post at the social network focused on building global community.

&quot;Artificial intelligence can help provide a better approach.&quot;

Facebook is rolling out the artificial intelligence tool outside the US and planned to make it eventually available everywhere except the European Union, where data usage is restricted by privacy regulations.

Facebook has been collaborating with mental health organizations for about a decade on ways to spot signs users may be suicidal and get them help.

Software will look for clues in posts or even in videos being streamed at Facebook Live, then fire off reports to human reviewers and speed up alerts to responders trained to help

Facebook on Monday said it was stepping up the use of artificial intelligence to identify members of the leading social network who may be thinking of suicide. Software will look for clues in posts or even in videos being streamed at Facebook Live, then fire off reports to human reviewers and speed up alerts to responders trained to help, according to the social network. "This approach uses pattern recognition technology to help identify posts and live streams as likely to be expressing thoughts of suicide," Facebook vice president of product management Guy Rosen said in a blog post. Signs watched for were said to include texts by people or comments to them, such as someone asking if they are troubled. Facebook already has tools in place for people to report concerns about friend's who may be considering self-harm, but the software can speed the process and even detect signs people may overlook. "There have been terribly tragic events -- like suicides, some live-streamed -- that perhaps could have been prevented if someone had realized what was happening and reported them sooner," Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said early this year in a post at the social network focused on building global community. "Artificial intelligence can help provide a better approach." Facebook is rolling out the artificial intelligence tool outside the US and planned to make it eventually available everywhere except the European Union, where data usage is restricted by privacy regulations. Facebook has been collaborating with mental health organizations for about a decade on ways to spot signs users may be suicidal and get them help.

Facebook using artificial intelligence to spot signs of suicide

A total of 34 artificial intelligence (AI) startups were acquired in the first quarter of this year, more than twice the amount of activity in the year-ago quarter, according to the research firm CB Insights.

Tech giants seeking to reinforce their leads in artificial intelligence or make up for lost ground have been the most aggressive buyers. Alphabet&#39;s Google has acquired 11 AI startups since 2012, the most of any firm, followed by Apple, Facebook and Intel, respectively, according to CB Insights.

The companies declined to comment on their acquisition strategies. A spokesman for Apple did confirm the company&#39;s recent purchase of Lattice Data, a startup that specialises in working with unstructured data.

The first quarter also saw one of the largest deals to date as Ford Motor invested $1 billion in Argo AI, founded by former executives on self-driving teams at Google and Uber.

Startups are looking to go deep on applications of artificial intelligence to specific fields, such as health and retail, industry observers say, rather than compete directly with established companies.

&ldquo;What you will see is very big players will build platform services, and startup communities will migrate more to applied intelligent apps,&rdquo; said Matt McIlwain, managing director of Madrona Venture Group.

Healthcare startup Forward, for example, is using artificial intelligence to crunch data that can inform doctors&rsquo; recommendations.

&ldquo;For people who really want to focus on core AI problems, it makes a lot of sense to be in bigger companies,&rdquo; said Forward Chief Executive Officer Adrian Aoun, who previously worked at Google. &ldquo;But for folks who really want to prove a new field, a new area, it makes more sense to be separate.&rdquo;

Artificial intelligence companies that do remain independent field a steady stream of suitors: Matthew Zeiler, chief executive of Clarifai, which specialises in image and video recognition, said he has been approached about a dozen times by prospective acquirers since starting the company in late 2013.

Clarifai&rsquo;s pitch to customers such as consumer goods company Unilever and hotel search firm Trivago is bolstered by its narrow focus on artificial intelligence.

&ldquo;(Google) literally competes with almost every company on the planet,&rdquo; Zeiler said. &ldquo;Are you going to trust them with being your partner for AI?&rdquo;

Tech giants have been locked in a bidding war for academics specialising in artificial intelligence. Startups rarely have the capital to compete, but a company with a specialized mission can win over recruits, said Vic Gundotra, chief executive of AliveCor, which makes an AI-driven portable heart monitor.

&ldquo;They say, &lsquo;I want to come here and work on a project that might save my mother&rsquo;s life,&rsquo;&rdquo; Gundotra said.

(Reuters)

Tech giants are seeking to reinforce their leads in artificial intelligence

A total of 34 artificial intelligence (AI) startups were acquired in the first quarter of this year, more than twice the amount of activity in the year-ago quarter, according to the research firm CB Insights. Tech giants seeking to reinforce their leads in artificial intelligence or make up for lost ground have been the most aggressive buyers. Alphabet's Google has acquired 11 AI startups since 2012, the most of any firm, followed by Apple, Facebook and Intel, respectively, according to CB Insights. The companies declined to comment on their acquisition strategies. A spokesman for Apple did confirm the company's recent purchase of Lattice Data, a startup that specialises in working with unstructured data. The first quarter also saw one of the largest deals to date as Ford Motor invested $1 billion in Argo AI, founded by former executives on self-driving teams at Google and Uber. Startups are looking to go deep on applications of artificial intelligence to specific fields, such as health and retail, industry observers say, rather than compete directly with established companies. “What you will see is very big players will build platform services, and startup communities will migrate more to applied intelligent apps,” said Matt McIlwain, managing director of Madrona Venture Group. Healthcare startup Forward, for example, is using artificial intelligence to crunch data that can inform doctors’ recommendations. “For people who really want to focus on core AI problems, it makes a lot of sense to be in bigger companies,” said Forward Chief Executive Officer Adrian Aoun, who previously worked at Google. “But for folks who really want to prove a new field, a new area, it makes more sense to be separate.” Artificial intelligence companies that do remain independent field a steady stream of suitors: Matthew Zeiler, chief executive of Clarifai, which specialises in image and video recognition, said he has been approached about a dozen times by prospective acquirers since starting the company in late 2013. Clarifai’s pitch to customers such as consumer goods company Unilever and hotel search firm Trivago is bolstered by its narrow focus on artificial intelligence. “(Google) literally competes with almost every company on the planet,” Zeiler said. “Are you going to trust them with being your partner for AI?” Tech giants have been locked in a bidding war for academics specialising in artificial intelligence. Startups rarely have the capital to compete, but a company with a specialized mission can win over recruits, said Vic Gundotra, chief executive of AliveCor, which makes an AI-driven portable heart monitor. “They say, ‘I want to come here and work on a project that might save my mother’s life,’” Gundotra said. (Reuters)

Acquisitions accelerate as tech giants seek to build AI smarts

This is the decade of automation, with machines making our work easier than before and in some cases, robots even replacing people at farms and manufacturing units. Pick any one industry and it is easy to imagine a world in which machines outrun humans. Martin Ford, author of the book &lsquo;Rise of the Robots&rsquo;, talks about a not-so-distant future when robots programmed using algorithms and advanced technology become more efficient than humans. Although data on job losses due to automation is still sketchy, the world that Ford foresees is still a possibility. It must also be noted that so far, most technology-driven agents are not fully autonomous and need human intervention.

<h3>The best examples of the kind are Roomba, which became famous for vacuuming the floor in no time, or Siri, which guides us through almost everything, even a heartache with its witty responses.</h3>

&nbsp;

Here are some jobs that robots can do, and for which, the world might not need humans:

<h2>Astronauts</h2>

NASA and General Motors have come together to make Robonaut 2. The machine will have an array of sensors and will be capable of handling small jobs like cleaning the space station and assisting humans in space. But there are talks of making it capable of venturing out in space to conduct scientific research.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pJVn7yLz4Lw" width="970"></iframe>

<h2>Babysitters</h2>

Recently, Aeon Co., a major Japanese retailer, introduced a four-foot-tall robot at a store to babysit children while the adults shop. There are, however, other models also, like the Hello Kitty robot which tells jokes, quizzes, and tracks kids using a radio-frequency identification chip.

<h2>Drivers</h2>

Several major technology companies have announced their interest in launching driverless cars that will be safe and effective at the same time. These are being developed with the aim of making driving easier and error free. Google has tested seven cars with human supervisors. The cars have driven 1,000 miles without human intervention and more than 140,000 miles with only occasional human control.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AeHtU6uOI1U" width="970"></iframe>

<h2>Lawyers and Paralegals</h2>

A lawyer would take much longer time than a robot to read through documents and review them. A machine can do all this in a fraction of that time and at a much lower cost. Most popular law firms feel that this is a boon for the industry as people have a tendency of tiring, while a machine can continue working for much, much longer.

<h2>Pharmacist</h2>

It is quite possible to imagine a robot as a pharmacist. Behind the counter, machines can analyse documents, fill out prescriptions and handle other such tasks. The UCSF Medical Center launched an automated, robotics-controlled pharmacy at two of its hospitals. Once they receive orders for medications, the robots pick, package and dispense pills without any error. So far, they have been successful in preparing 350,000 doses perfectly.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xr0vVc6JnW0" width="970"></iframe>

<h2>Reporters</h2>

Even reporters of today face a risk of losing their jobs to robots. There is a software developed by Northwestern University, which is being used by Fox Cable for baseball and softball coverage as it is cheaper and easier to have a machine multi-task rather than having several reporters at one event. After the game is over, the software collects all data, emails it to the data centre, which comes out with a story in minutes. There is also the story of Xiao Nan robot from China. The robot reporter recently wrote a 300-characters-long article in just one second. Also in comparison to staff writers, robots have stronger data analysis capacity and are quicker at writing stories.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xHRURWOiCQw" width="970"></iframe>

<h2>Rescuers</h2>

Robots can reach areas that are inaccessible to humans and provide crucial help in rescuing victims from natural disasters. There are currently various prototypes, out of which there is a snake-like robot that can enter tight spaces and use a camera to survey the surrounding area. There are also aerial drones that can conduct inspections or ROV&rsquo;s, which can help locate underwater objects and determine the condition of bridges and pipelines.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HxHufRiysYw" width="970"></iframe>

<h2>Soldiers</h2>

Security and surveillance systems are likely to be a major frontier for automation. While robots are not replacing soldiers altogether any time soon, we do have drones and surveillance systems that can monitor, track and direct security missions. One example is MAARS (Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System), which provides armed robots in Iraq. These robots have GPS monitors which can be programmed to differentiate between fire and no-fire zones, open doors, and even drag out injured bodies.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bczvYHcSu98" width="970"></iframe>

<h2>Store clerks</h2>

The easiest target for a robot would be the job of a store clerk. Companies are always working out ways of keeping less staff, so as to maximise profits, and robots might come handy in this. Robots can answer telephones, can communicate, can provide virtual assistance and ensure self-service, reducing the need for checkout clerks. According to Los Angeles Times, there has been a 9% increase in business through self-service machines since 2010.&nbsp;

Currently, robots are manned by humans however with technology upgradations, it is possible to imagine a world where robots run their own chores.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Contributed by: Zeba Khan)

Self-driving car, curated suggestions at e-com sites or life-like robots; the machine-world can do it all without us

This is the decade of automation, with machines making our work easier than before and in some cases, robots even replacing people at farms and manufacturing units. Pick any one industry and it is easy to imagine a world in which machines outrun humans. Martin Ford, author of the book ‘Rise of the Robots’, talks about a not-so-distant future when robots programmed using algorithms and advanced technology become more efficient than humans. Although data on job losses due to automation is still sketchy, the world that Ford foresees is still a possibility. It must also be noted that so far, most technology-driven agents are not fully autonomous and need human intervention. The best examples of the kind are Roomba, which became famous for vacuuming the floor in no time, or Siri, which guides us through almost everything, even a heartache with its witty responses. Here are some jobs that robots can do, and for which, the world might not need humans: Astronauts NASA and General Motors have come together to make Robonaut 2. The machine will have an array of sensors and will be capable of handling small jobs like cleaning the space station and assisting humans in space. But there are talks of making it capable of venturing out in space to conduct scientific research. Babysitters Recently, Aeon Co., a major Japanese retailer, introduced a four-foot-tall robot at a store to babysit children while the adults shop. There are, however, other models also, like the Hello Kitty robot which tells jokes, quizzes, and tracks kids using a radio-frequency identification chip. Drivers Several major technology companies have announced their interest in launching driverless cars that will be safe and effective at the same time. These are being developed with the aim of making driving easier and error free. Google has tested seven cars with human supervisors. The cars have driven 1,000 miles without human intervention and more than 140,000 miles with only occasional human control. Lawyers and Paralegals A lawyer would take much longer time than a robot to read through documents and review them. A machine can do all this in a fraction of that time and at a much lower cost. Most popular law firms feel that this is a boon for the industry as people have a tendency of tiring, while a machine can continue working for much, much longer. Pharmacist It is quite possible to imagine a robot as a pharmacist. Behind the counter, machines can analyse documents, fill out prescriptions and handle other such tasks. The UCSF Medical Center launched an automated, robotics-controlled pharmacy at two of its hospitals. Once they receive orders for medications, the robots pick, package and dispense pills without any error. So far, they have been successful in preparing 350,000 doses perfectly. Reporters Even reporters of today face a risk of losing their jobs to robots. There is a software developed by Northwestern University, which is being used by Fox Cable for baseball and softball coverage as it is cheaper and easier to have a machine multi-task rather than having several reporters at one event. After the game is over, the software collects all data, emails it to the data centre, which comes out with a story in minutes. There is also the story of Xiao Nan robot from China. The robot reporter recently wrote a 300-characters-long article in just one second. Also in comparison to staff writers, robots have stronger data analysis capacity and are quicker at writing stories. Rescuers Robots can reach areas that are inaccessible to humans and provide crucial help in rescuing victims from natural disasters. There are currently various prototypes, out of which there is a snake-like robot that can enter tight spaces and use a camera to survey the surrounding area. There are also aerial drones that can conduct inspections or ROV’s, which can help locate underwater objects and determine the condition of bridges and pipelines. Soldiers Security and surveillance systems are likely to be a major frontier for automation. While robots are not replacing soldiers altogether any time soon, we do have drones and surveillance systems that can monitor, track and direct security missions. One example is MAARS (Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System), which provides armed robots in Iraq. These robots have GPS monitors which can be programmed to differentiate between fire and no-fire zones, open doors, and even drag out injured bodies. Store clerks The easiest target for a robot would be the job of a store clerk. Companies are always working out ways of keeping less staff, so as to maximise profits, and robots might come handy in this. Robots can answer telephones, can communicate, can provide virtual assistance and ensure self-service, reducing the need for checkout clerks. According to Los Angeles Times, there has been a 9% increase in business through self-service machines since 2010. Currently, robots are manned by humans however with technology upgradations, it is possible to imagine a world where robots run their own chores. (Contributed by: Zeba Khan)

Are we going to lose our jobs to robots?

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