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Researchers at the MIT Media Lab, think that facial recognition software has problems recognizing black faces because its algorithms are usually written by white engineers who dominate the technology sector. These engineers build on pre-existing code libraries, typically written by other white engineers.

"Today we announce Google Duplex, a new technology for conducting natural conversations to carry out "real world" tasks over the phone. The technology is directed towards completing specific tasks, such as scheduling certain types of appointments."

Google DeepMind claims to have significantly improved computer-generated speech with its AI technology, paving the way forward for sophisticated talking machines like those seen in sci-fi films like "Her" and "Ex-Machina."

'Chatbots are the new apps," said Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella earlier this year. "Threads are the new apps," suggested Facebook's head of messaging products David Marcus in January, referring to the threads of conversation in apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

During the past few years, the terms artificial intelligence and machine learning have begun showing up frequently in technology news and websites. Often the two are used as synonyms, but many experts argue that they have subtle but real differences.

The implications of advancing technology to a point where its applications can mimic, assume or replace the role of people, to a point where humankind is no longer needed to guide such developments, leads to a multitude of questions about what this means for the future of society.

A future in which human workers are replaced by machines is about to become a reality at an insurance firm in Japan, where more than 30 employees are being laid off and replaced with an artificial intelligence system that can calculate payouts to policyholders.

The TERMINUTER app is an automated cognitive meeting minutes tool, mainly based on speech-to-text technology. The app automatically writes and structures meeting minutes with decisions and to-dos and even alerts you if owners or deadlines are not defined.

Despite improvements in cognitive technologies, that dream managerial scenario is still far from reality. Decisions that executives face don't necessarily fit into defined problems well suited for automation.

The image of a robot stepping into the shoes of a human worker couldn't be more wrong. When it comes to technology's most significant applications, we are neither usurped or seduced - because the systems involved are nothing like us in either their function or faculties. As a species, we are not in competition with information technology at all: we are, rather, busily adapting the fabric of our world into something machines can comprehend.

"How Can Web Technologies Help Enterprises with Innovation Management?"

" Tim O'Reilly mashes it up... In the first segment of a two-part interview, technology guru Tim O'Reilly outlines his views on open source in an interview with the BBC World Service programme Go Digital. "

"Innovation is not just luck. Nor is it a simple, replicable process. Three management techniques have withstood the test of time: Define the areas you need to innovate, Measure and give people time to innovate without constraint. This article suggests technology can help."

Organisations that ban social networking sites and other Web 2.0 technologies at work will not be able to attract future talent, delegates at the CIPD's HRD conference were told.

Businesses are learning that social networking, used properly, can be an effective business tool. Having your employees involved in the community can enhance the company's reputation and bring in more business - so long as it's done right. Thus many large firms, especially in the technology industry, are actually encouraging their employees to blog, tweet, and participate in forums and social sites on company time.\n\nEven so, you still need to exert some control over how these sites are used. You can't just give employees free rein and hope they'll all exercise common sense. And you can't, in all fairness, blame them for violating rules that don't officially exist. You need a social networking policy that explicitly lays out what is and isn't permissible, both on the company's network and outside of it if they're presenting themselves as representatives of the company.

Businesses are learning that social networking, used properly, can be an effective business tool. Having your employees involved in the community can enhance the company's reputation and bring in more business - so long as it's done right. Thus many large firms, especially in the technology industry, are actually encouraging their employees to blog, tweet, and participate in forums and social sites on company time. Even so, you still need to exert some control over how these sites are used. You can't just give employees free rein and hope they'll all exercise common sense. And you can't, in all fairness, blame them for violating rules that don't officially exist. You need a social networking policy that explicitly lays out what is and isn't permissible, both on the company's network and outside of it if they're presenting themselves as representatives of the company.

Not sure what a Workspace is? Cisco employee Mark Spencer faces his technology fears and learns how to work more effectively in the Web 2.0 world.

Though US-centric, this Pew Report "Public Predictions for the Future of Workforce Automation" gives some insight to workforce attitudes to automation. Despite their expectations that technology will encroach on human employment in general, most workers think that their own jobs or professions will still exist in 50 years. Heads in the sand, or justifiable pessimism?

The most capable technologies-namely, deep neural networks-are notoriously opaque, offering few clues as to how they arrive at their conclusions.

"In 2011, Apple became the first company to place artificial intelligence in the pockets of millions of consumers when it launched the voice assistant Siri on the iPhone. Six years later, the technology giant is struggling to find its voice in AI."

Workers in wholesale and retail sectors at highest risk from breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence, PwC report finds.