Davos 2016: As technology absorbs our mundane and routine tasks, we must realise our own higher calling January 14, 2016 Today, bits are reshaping the atoms around us. Emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, deep neural networking, and machine learning enable us to reimagine the possibilities of human creativity, innovation and productivity. Research institutions, businesses and governments explore the great new frontiers of human possibility. So many of our systems have evolved beyond what we thought [...]
Apple just bought emotion-detecting startup Emotient as rivals Facebook and Google continue Silicon Valley’s push into artificial intelligence January 7, 2016 Apple just bought emotion-detecting startup Emotient, taking a deeper plunge into artificial intelligence. Emotient, founded in 2012, uses AI software to analyse facial expressions and detect people’s emotions. The firm’s primary audience has been advertisers hoping to evaluate viewers’ reactions to adverts. Exactly what Apple plans to do with it is unclear, but Apple has [...]
Facebook Messenger app passes 800m users and David Marcus predicts decline of SMS and text messaging January 7, 2016 Facebook is predicting the decline of SMS in 2016 as it revealed its Messenger app has passed the 800m user milestone. David Marcus, the vice president of Facebook messaging products said there is still "much more opportunity ahead" and the app, which launched in March 2014, was still in its early days. The figures mean Messenger [...]
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is going to build an AI butler to help around at home and work January 4, 2016 Mark Zuckerberg has announced one ambitious new year's resolution for 2016: he wants to build a butler robot. The Facebook founder announced late last night his plan for the year was to create "a simple AI to run my home and help me with my work", comparing it to the AI butler character Jarvis from Iron Man. "I'm [...]
The best games of 2015: The year’s Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC video games rated December 9, 2015 Game of the Year: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Under normal circumstances a game with as many glaring problems as Metal Gear Solid V wouldn’t get anywhere near our year-end list. There’s its hastily tied-up storyline, dubious representation of female characters (boobs!), underwhelming multiplayer element. But this isn’t an ordinary game. Its beautifully [...]
Countdown to Christmas, Syria vote and Star Wars economics: Here’s what got us talking this week December 4, 2015 A ray of sunshine after the gloomiest November in 86 years: this was the week in which the Bank of England declared the end of the financial crisis. Even banks aren’t stressed any more… What got us talking this week 1. Festive fun Only 20 more sleeps until the big day, and don’t we know [...]
Need for Speed review: A bleakly uninteresting racer in an abandoned ghost town November 20, 2015 ★★☆☆☆ | PS4, XBO, PC Need For Speed, a tepid reboot of the sprawling, 20-year-old franchise, tries to cherry-pick the best elements of the series but fails on almost every conceivable level. It's ostensibly an open-world racer, but as you only see that world from freeways and slip-roads, the details quickly become little more than a repeating urban [...]
Hardly any of us actually believe artificial intelligence will take our jobs November 10, 2015 When it comes to robots stealing jobs, it seems we consider ourselves immune – we have the "it couldn't possibly happen to me" mentality. Research from Rocket Fuel shows that just nine per cent of Britons believe artificial intelligence will negatively impact their job, with the majority expecting it to either have no impact. 10 per cent [...]
Severe delays on Northern Line services disrupt morning commuters travelling from Kennington to Edgware via Bank November 10, 2015 Morning commuters were disrupted by severe delays on the Northern Line, following a signal failure at Clapham South. There were severe delays between Kennington and Edgware via Bank during the early morning rush hour. Although Transport for London said a good service had resumed on the line, there was confusion as to whether this was actually [...]
If you want to make money out of robots, these are the top sectors to invest in November 5, 2015 We've been told robots are coming to steal our jobs about a million times, but the truth is that if you invest your money wisely, you could benefit from the evolution of robotic technologies. Global robot sales grew for the third year running last year, up 29 per cent from 2013, and according to a [...]