Global growth is stalling. Trade wars are hammering manufacturers, from Shanghai to Stuttgart to Seattle. But, awful as today’s economic outlook appears, Industry 4.0 is alive and well, its most ardent backers say.

Canada’s busiest airport will soon be using artificial intelligence-powered technology to detect weapons. The operator of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport says it has agreed to test the new system developed at an Ivy League American university and marketed by a B.C. company. Vancouver-based Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. says the technology, known as Hexwave, can detect both metallic and non-metallic weapons ranging from guns and knives to explosives.

Patients’ stories — what doctors call patient histories — are the bedrock of medicine. “Listen to your patient; they are telling you the diagnosis,” an aphorism attributed to Dr. William Osler, the founder of modern medicine, still holds true today. The disappearance of patients’ stories from electronic health records could be one reason that artificial intelligence and machine learning have so far failed to deliver their promised revolution of health care.

A groundbreaking project, the Voice Interoperability Initiative, led by a host of major technology companies – including Amazon, Baidu, Intel, Microsoft, Orange, Salesforce, Sony and many others – aims to let customers access multiple different AI voice assistants on any device, just by saying its wake word.

The Mount Sinai Health System in New York City announced Monday, Sept. 23, the creation of its new BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII). The center, expected to be fully operational by early 2020, will focus on using Mount Sinai’s data for the development of new solutions related to medical imaging, nanomedicine, AI, robotics, sensors and more. At least nine researchers and their teams will be invited to work within the BMEII.