Homeland Security warns of critical flaws in Medtronic defibrillators

Homeland Security has issued a warning for a set of critical-rated vulnerabilities in Medtronic defibrillators which put the devices at risk of manipulation. These small implantable cardio-defibrillators are implanted in a patient’s chest to deliver small electrical shocks to prevent irregular or dangerously fast heartbeats, which can prove fatal. Most modern devices come with wireless […]

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4 days left to save on tickets to TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2019

When you love anything and everything related to robots and artificial intelligence, the only thing better than going to TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics + AI is saving $100 on the price of admission. But our $249 early-bird price flies the proverbial coop in just four days, on March 15, so buy your ticket now and keep […]

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What critics get wrong about the “American AI Initiative”

Sujai Hajela Contributor Share on Twitter Sujai Hajela is co-founder, president and CEO of Mist, which develops self-learning wireless networks using artificial intelligence. There’s been a bit of hysteria – AIsteria, if you will – over the Trump administration’s recently issued American AI Initiative, formally known as ‘Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial […]

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What an American artificial intelligence initiative really needs

The American AI Initiative as it stands does little to blunt the fears that America will fall behind in its technological edge. In fact, its lack of particulars sends exactly the opposite message.

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China’s Infervision is helping 280 hospitals worldwide detect cancers from images

Until recently, humans have relied on the trained eyes of doctors to diagnose diseases from medical images. Beijing-based Infervision is among a handful of artificial intelligence startups around the world racing to improve medical imaging analysis through deep learning, the same technology that powers face recognition and autonomous driving. The startup, which has to date raised $70 […]

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Privacy group calls on US government to adopt universal AI guidelines to protect safety, security and civil liberties

After months of work, a set of guidelines designed to protect humanity from a range of threats posed by artificial intelligence have been proposed. Now, a privacy group wants the U.S. government to adopt them too. The set of 12 universal guidelines revealed at a meeting in Brussels last week are designed to “inform and […]

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Free societies face emerging, existential threats from technology

Bilal Zuberi Contributor Share on Twitter Bilal Zuberi is a partner at Lux Capital, and is on the boards of Evolv Technology, CyPhy Technologies, and Nozomi Networks, among others. Silicon Valley is currently, and correctly, under fire for the failure of leading platforms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter to protect against the spread of […]

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Medical device maker Medtronic finally fixes its hackable pacemaker

Medtronic, a maker of medical devices and implants, has pulled the plug on its internet-based software update system, which security researchers had found had a dangerous security vulnerability The company said in a notice this week that it’s switching off the software distribution network after researchers found that a hacker could update the pacemaker’s software […]

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A new way to explain neural networks

Also known as deep learning, neural networks are the algorithmic constructs that enable machines to get better at everything from facial recognition and car collision avoidance to medical diagnoses and natural-language processing.

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Keeping artificial intelligence accountable to humans

As a teenager in Nigeria, I tried to build an artificial intelligence system. I was inspired by the same dream that motivated the pioneers in the field: That we could create an intelligence of pure logic and objectivity that would free humanity from human error and human foibles.

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Navigating the risks of artificial intelligence and machine learning in low-income countries

Aubra Anthony Contributor Aubra Anthony is the strategy and research lead for the Center for Digital Development within the US Agency for International Development. On a recent work trip, I found myself in a swanky-but-still-hip office of a private tech firm. I was drinking a freshly frothed cappuccino, eyeing a mini-fridge stocked with local beer, […]

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