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There was a lot of news related to artificial intelligence, or AI, and machine learning. Among the stories were two dealing with direct competitions between humans and machines. In one competition, machines that used AI performed better than human beings in a high-level reading test. Two natural language processing tools beat human results in the experiment. One of the tools was built by the American technology company Microsoft. The other was created by Chinese online seller Alibaba Group. In another competition, a computer took on humans in live, public debates. The event demonstrated how AI-powered computers are increasingly being developed to think and sound like humans. Noa Ovadia, left, and Dan Zafrir, right, prepare for their debate against the IBM Project Debater, Monday, June 18, 2018, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) The organizer of the debates, U.S. technology company IBM, announced split results. It said a majority of those watching said they felt the machine had done more to improve their knowledge of the subject. But, the human got more praise for communicating her ideas. This year, we also explored the many ways AI and machine learning are now being used. For example, some U.S. judges use machine learning systems to help them decide when, and for how long, criminals should be jailed. The system uses computers to examine data from thousands of court cases. The computer then predicts whether a defendant will commit a new crime or fail to return to court. In this Aug. 30, 2017, photo, Stephanie Pope-Earley, right, sorts through defendant files scored with risk-assessment software for Jimmy Jackson Jr., a municipal court judge, on the first day of the software’s use in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Dake Kang) One fast-growing area of AI is facial recognition, which is increasingly being used for security purposes. Recently, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport became the first in the U.S. to permit passengers to use facial recognition technology to get on flights. A Chinese company showed off an AI system it developed to recognize individuals by body shape and walking movements. The system is already being used by Chinese police in Beijing and Shanghai. In addition, machine learning was used during 2018 to predict results of the World Cup soccer competition. The technology also created artwork that sold for a large amount of money. And it is being used to help farmer save time and money, while reducing environment-harming chemicals. Other technology systems are being used to follow farm animals and wildlife to collect information on their activities.