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Artificial intelligence and machine learning, with an eye toward task automation.

For Senior Data Scientist James Buban at iHerb, those are just a couple of the tech trends hell be watching in 2020.

As companies enter a new decade, its important for their leaders to anticipate how the latest tech trends will evolve in order to determine how they can benefit their businesses and their customers. CEO of 20spokes Ryan Fischer said his company uses machine learning data to provide a better user experience for our clientscustomers by leveraging data on individual user behavior.

We asked Buban, Fischer and other local tech execs which trends theyre watching this year and how theyll be utilizing them to enhance their businesses. From natural language processing to computer vision, these are the trends that will be shaping tech in 2020.

As a development agency, 20spokes specializes in helping startups plan, build and scale innovative products. CEO Ryan Fischer said he is looking to AI and machine learning to design better chatbots and wrangle large data sets.

What are the top tech trends you're watching in 2020? What impact do you think these trends will have on your industry in particular?

In 2020, we expect AI to play an even bigger role for our clients. When we talk about AI, we are really discussing machine learning and using data to train a model to use patterns and inference.

Working with machine learning continues to get easier with many large providers working on simpler implementations, and we expect the barrier to entry to continue to lower in 2020. We also have more user data which allows us to use machine learning to design more tailored and intelligent experiences for users.

We areusing machine learning to improve chatbots to create more dynamic dialogue.

How are you applying these trends in your work in the year ahead?

At 20spokes, we use machine learning to provide a better user experience for our clients' customers by leveraging data on individual user behavior to make more accurate recommendations and suggestions. We're continuing to look at how we can apply it to different sets of data, from providing better insights of reports for large data sets to sending us real-time updates based on trained patterns. We are also using machine learning to improve chatbots to create more dynamic dialogue.

In order to deliver trusted insights on consumer packaged goods, Label Insights Senior Data Scientist James Buban said they have to first process large amounts of data. Using machine learning and automation, data collection processes can be finished quickly and more accurately for customers.

What are the top tech trends you're watching in 2020?

The top tech trends that well be watching in 2020 are artificial intelligence and machine learning, with an eye toward task automation. In particular, we are interested in advancements in computer vision, such as object detection and recognition. We are also interested in natural language processing, such as entity tagging and text classification. In general, we believe that machine learning automation will play a big role in both the data collection industry and in e-commerce, particularly in the relatively new addition of the food industry in the retail space.

We plan to use computer vision and natural language processing toautomate tasksthroughout 2020.

How are you applying these trends in your work in the year ahead?

At Label Insight, we are building up a large database of attributes for consumables based on package information. To do so, we first need to collect all package data, which has traditionally been accomplished through a team of dedicated data entry clerks. Due to the huge volume of products that need to be added to our database, this data entry process is expensive, tedious and time-consuming.

Therefore, we plan to use computer vision and natural language processing to begin automating these tasks throughout 2020. We are also planning to use this technology to make our e-commerce solutions more scalable.

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Technology Trends to Keep an Eye on in 2020 - Built In Chicago

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has become the Tripoli governments last major patron, providing armed drones, armored vehicles and, in the past week, Turkish troops.

Turkish officials say their troops will act mostly in an advisory role and avoid front-line combat. But there are indications, from American officials and from videos posted on the internet, that Ankara has deployed Syrian irregulars to Libya, drawn from units that fought the Kurds in northeastern Syria last year.

The increasingly prominent foreign role drew an angry rebuke from the United Nations envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salam, who told reporters on Monday that probably thousands of foreign mercenaries had arrived in Libya to participate in the fight.

The battle has displaced 300,000 people and caused over 2,200 deaths.

Mr. Salam blamed one of Mr. Hifters foreign backers he didnt specify which one for a drone strike on a government military facility near Tripoli on Saturday that killed 30 unarmed military recruits. His message to every foreign power mired in the conflict, he said: Get out of Libya.

In Brussels on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France and Italy, as well as Josep Borrell, the foreign policy chief of the European Union, issued a joint statement condemning the continuing outside interference in the conflict.

Mr. Borrell singled out Turkey for criticism.

We asked for a cease-fire and we asked also to stop escalation and external interference, which has been increasing in the past days, he told reporters. It is obvious that this makes a reference to the Turkish decision to intervene with their troops in Libya.

Located about halfway along Libyas Mediterranean coastline, Surt has long straddled the geographic and political fault lines that divide eastern and western Libya, said Frederic Wehrey, a Libya specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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Libya Rebels Capture Key Coastal City in Threat to U.N.-Backed Government - The New York Times

GhassamSalam, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL),was speaking to reportersin New Yorkon Monday, following a closed-door meeting of the Security Council.

It was heldafter dozens of cadets were killedthis past weekend in adroneattack on a military academyin thecapital, Tripoli, located in western Libyaand seat of theUN-recognized government.

Since April, the cityhas been undersiegeby the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is aligned with a rival administration in the east.

Theattackonthe military academyis the latest in a recent spike in aerial bombings andprobablywas carried out by a country supporting the LNA, according to Mr.Salam.

He called forothercountries to take your hands out of Libya,which is suffering fromincreasingforeign interferencein thelong-running factional conflict which hasleft the country in crisis sincethefall offormer dictatorMuammarGadaffiin 2011.

What I asked the Security Council,andwhat I askedthese countries,isvery clear: keep out of Libya. There are enough weapons in Libya; they do not need extra weapons. There are enough mercenaries in Libya,so stop sendingmercenaries as is the case right now with hundreds, probably thousands, coming into the country of late,he said.

There is a resolution calling foranarms embargoin Libya.Those who voted for this resolution are necessarily in need to implement it.If everybodyviolatesthe arms embargo, its a problem. But if those whovoted for it areviolating it,its an even bigger problem.

The UN envoydescribed the current situation in Libya as particularly difficult and bleak.

Ordinary people are paying dearly, with dozens of schools closed, health facilities attacked, and thousands displaced.

Mr.Salamstressed that there is no military solution to the conflict, which couldpotentially have animpactonfragileneighbouringcountries.

He stated:Libya is not only an oil story. Libya is not only a gas story. Libya is not only a geopolitical story: it is also a human story. And people are suffering, and for no other reason but for the fact that there is no international, clear message that enough is enough.

The United Nations is determined to find a way out of the current bleak situation, he said.

UNSMILhaslaunched a three-track process to bring thetwosides together to address the economic and financial situation, military and security matters, and political dialogue.

The firsttrackbegan on Monday, with representatives from the parties meeting in Tunis to discusseconomic and financial concerns, he reported.

I hope that in the next two weeksIwill be able to launchthe second track, concerningmilitary and securityissues: that is the ceasefire,thearms embargo, DDR(disarmament, demobilizationand reintegration)process,terrorism and counter terrorism, and these kindsof issues,he added.

And I am hopeful that before the end of this month we will be able to launch the political dialogue, probablyin Geneva.

Mr.Salamalsoexpressed hope thataconference will be heldinBerlinin the coming weeks togive an international "push to efforts underway on the ground.

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UN envoy appeals for other nations to 'keep out of Libya' - UN News

Hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libyan detention centres to a transit camp in Rwanda are to be resettled this year in Norway, according to Rwandas foreign minister.

Speaking at a news conference in Kigali on Wednesday, Rwandas foreign minister Vincent Biruta said the African nation was currently hosting more than 300 refugees and asylum seekers at the Gashora transit centre south of Kigali, most of whom hail from Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea, according to CGTN Africa.

Only Norway and Sweden had so far agreed to resettle people from the camp, Biruta added. Norway agreed to resettle 600 people, while Sweden had so far accepted seven, according to Biruta.

Rwanda signed a deal with the UN and African Union in September aimed at resettling people who had been detained in Libya while trying to reach Europe. More than 4,000 people are believed to still be living in Libyan detention centres, according to the latest figures.

In a statement to Reuters, Norwegian justice minister Jran Kallmyr said the plan to resettle 600 people proved that we dont support cynical people smugglers, and instead bring in people who need protection in an organised manner.

Kallmyr added: A transit camp like the one in Rwanda will contribute to that effort.

Norways four-party government coalition agreed last year to accept a total of 3,000 refugees from UN camps in 2020.

The UN in Libya has come under intense criticism for complying with EU migration policy, which entails funding the Libyan coastguard to intercept boats with refugees and migrants destined for Europe. Many people end up detained in militia-run centres and subjected to grave human rights abuses, including sexual abuse, denial of food and water, and forced recruitment into the on-going Libyan conflict.

Elisabeth Haslund, Nordic spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, said that of the 4,000-plus people estimated to still be detained in Libyan centres, roughly 2,500 people are refugees and asylum-seekers.

As the violence and unrest have been intensifying in Libya and thousands of refugees are still at risk in the country, the evacuations of the most vulnerable refugees are more urgent than ever, said Haslund.

UNHCR very much welcomes Norways decision to resettle refugees who have been evacuated to Rwanda and also notes the important and valuable financial contributions from Norway to help support the operation of the transit centre in Gashora.

As the 600 people who are expected to be resettled this year in Norway had not yet been chosen, Haslund added, it was impossible to give details on their age, gender or country of origin.

Reuters contributed to this report

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Norway opens its doors to 600 people evacuated from Libya to Rwanda - The Guardian

Civilians killed or injured in Libya by explosive weapons rose by 131% last year, with the number of incidents at its highest since 2011, the year of the Benghazi uprising, according to new data seen by the Guardian.

Most of the 900 people who died or were hurt in explosions in the country in 2019 up from 392 in 2018 were victims of airstrikes, according to statistics from Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a charity based in London.

Libya was one of several countries to buck the downward global trend in civilian casualties from explosive weapons.

The worst places for civilian killings and maimings were Libya, Afghanistan and Somalia, but increases were also recorded in Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, Turkey, Gaza, Egypt, Colombia, and Myanmar.

While Syria remained the country worst impacted by explosive weaponry in 2019, casualties decreased by about a quarter: 7,268 compared to the previous year, at 9,587.

AOAV recorded 29,499 deaths and injuries by explosive weapons in 2019, 66% of which (19,407) were innocent civilians. When explosive weapons were used in populated areas, 91% of those killed were civilians, compared to 15% of civilians in other areas.

The groups executive director Iain Overton said: While the general shift is towards a reduction in explosive harm globally, some countries are seeing concerning increases in violence. As 2020 shows a real potential for renewed war in the Middle East, 2019 reminds us how fragile peace can be.

At least 28 people died in an attack on a military academy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli in the first weekend of 2020 and there are fears fighting will escalate further in Libya with Turkeys parliament voting to send in troops in support of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord, which is facing an offensive by Khalifa Haftars Libyan National Army.

Overton, author of The Price of Paradise: how the suicide bomber shaped the modern age, predicted an uptick in Shia suicide bombings this year. There were 133 suicide attacks last year, one every three days, he said, largely by Salafist groups. Overall, IEDs account for 49% of civilian harm.

There is a constant and this constant shows us that our data is pretty robust, said Overton. Thats why we are asking for a political commitment through the UN member states to sign up to a declaration to prevent the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

In October, Amnesty International reported scores of civilian casualties in Libya as both sides use everything from Gaddafi-era unguided rockets to modern drone-launched guided missiles in attacks that could amount to war crimes.

Airstrikes accounted for 72% of civilian casualties in Libya in 2019 and shelling, 19%, AOAV said. Despite the rising number of incidents, 125 in 2019, compared to 134 in 2011, the death toll in 2019 is far lower than in 2011, when 2,108 civilians died.

Donatella Rovera, crisis response adviser at Amnesty International who worked on the report, said: We are seeing fewer casualties compared to other conflicts in the region, of course every one civilian casualty is one too many.

She said, however, in Libya, it was difficult to accurately interrogate data. For instance, one of the biggest attacks reported on civilians was on the migrant detention centre in July, when between 40 and 50 people were reportedly killed.

The reality is we have not found evidence to substantiate the numbers. The only thing we saw was a handful of body bags in an image, she said.

Somalia also saw a 14% rise in civilian harm from explosives, mostly improvised explosive devices, from 832 in 2018 to 945 in 2019, while Afghanistan, which has seen record numbers of civilian casualties over the last four years, continued on its violent trajectory upwards.

Unlike in 2018, when the surge in Afghan violence was attributed to an increasing Isis presence, last year saw a notable increase in Taliban violence. There was a 9% rise in the killing and maiming of civilians from explosives, from 4,268 to 4,638 in 2019. AOAV recorded a 187% increase in civilian casualties from Taliban use of explosive weapons, to 1,896 this year.

UN member states are currently taking part in a political process run by the Irish government to adopt stronger rules in urban areas, including halting the use of certain weapons.

Laura Boillot, co-ordinator of the International Network of Explosive Weapons (Inew), said: We have been looking at the data AOAV has been producing for 10 years. Weve seen a consistent pattern of harm, because conflict is increasingly in populated areas.

Aircraft bombs are inaccurate. Even precision weapons can be problematic as they have a level of explosives in them. Rocket systems are problematic because they can be inaccurate. Even if you are aiming for a military target, you might hit a block of flats or a hospital. These weapon systems have no place in towns and cities.

Inew is calling on member states to sign up to a political declaration to reduce the use of heavy explosive weapons such as long range artillery and barrel bombs in towns and cities.

The AOAV report was compiled using data from sources including Airwars, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and reliable media sources.

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Steep rise in civilians killed or injured in Libya by explosive weaponry - The Guardian