CallMiner raises $75 million from Goldman Sachs. CallMiner Inc., a developer of speech-analytics software powered by artificial intelligence, said Monday that it raised $75 million in new venture funding from GS Growth, an investment unit of Goldman Sachs, reports WSJ Pro’s Jared Council. The Waltham, Mass.-based company, which has about 250 employees, has raised a total of $142 million since it was founded in 2002.

What CallMiner does. CallMiner’s software platform, called Eureka, uses AI to analyze conversations between customers and a company’s representatives. Among other things, the platform can recommend what an agent should say and determine whether employees’ answers comply with company protocols. Eureka uses natural language processing and other techniques to understand words and sentiment in calls, web chats, emails, surveys and texts. CallMiner has about 400 customers, including Equifax, Banco Santander, Sirius XM Holdings and Dell Technologies.

Gecko raises $40 million for robotic infrastructure inspection. Gecko Robotics Inc., a startup providing robots to help industrial companies inspect infrastructure and prevent accidents, raised $40 million in venture funding, reports WSJ Pro’s Marc Vartabedian. Gecko’s robots and AI-based software help customers predict when and where infrastructure could fail. The robots can climb tanks, boilers, pipes and other equipment and use lasers, cameras, electromagnetics and ultrasonics to capture data to assess the infrastructure’s health. Customers include Duke Energy, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron.

Facial recognition adopted by pair of major airports. Los Angeles International Airport is embracing facial recognition technology, reports the Los Angeles Times. LAX has worked with several airlines and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to bring biometric technology into its terminals, with officials saying the technology makes boarding easier, faster and more secure, according to the report. Those are some of the same advantages cited by a Chinese official for deploying facial scanning throughout Beijing’s new Daxing International Airport, according to Bloomberg. However, not all airports are sold on the technology. Both the L.A. Times and the Seattle Times reported the commission overseeing Seattle-Tacoma International Airport put a moratorium on some uses of the technology at Sea-Tac.

City bans of facial scanning continue. Brookline has become the second Massachusetts municipality to prohibit government use of facial recognition technology, reports Boston.com. And San Diego on January 1 will suspend use of a facial recognition platform used by more than 30 city agencies, according to ZDNet.

Group calls for emotion AI restrictions. The AI Now Institute, a research center, is calling for restrictions on the use of emotion AI, the BBC reports. The emotion-reading technology has wide application, and is being used in employers’ hiring process, in the criminal justice system and for insurance decision-making. However, according to the BBC, the researchers say the field is “built on markedly shaky foundations.” 

Accenture acquiring AI firm. Accenture is buying artificial-intelligence consulting firm Clarity, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. Clarity, which has a staff of more than 350 people focused on AI and big data, works mainly in the health-care and financial services sectors, according to the report. Terms of the deal weren’t announced.

The downside of application robots. Applicant-screening and tracking systems are increasingly powerful job-market gatekeepers, reports WSJ’s Sue Shellenbarger. These machine-learning systems save time and money for employers swamped by online applicants, and they could potentially reduce bias in hiring. However, the tools also risk magnifying employers’ existing prejudices and rejecting worthy applicants. Most vulnerable are the most-active job seekers, such as recent college grads looking for entry-level positions or older workers idled by layoffs. 

Facebook, along with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and academics from universities including MIT, Oxford, and Berkeley, launched the Deepfake Detection Challenge to generate ideas on how to stop the spread of AI-manipulated content.  (VentureBeat)

Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have developed a deep learning model that could help radiologists predict attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. (Becker's Hospital Review)

Robots in the U.K’s National Health Service are performing major surgery. (BBC)

Artificial-intelligence company Kneron used masks and photographs to trick facial recognition technology into permitting payments and granting access into transportation hubs. (Fortune)

Oracle this month added to its board Vishal Sikka, founder and chief executive of artificial-intelligence company Vianai Systems and a SAP and Infosys veteran. (WSJ)

Bluespace.ai, an autonomous driving startup focused on mass transit, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding. (TechCrunch) 

Write to Enterprise Technology Editor Steven Rosenbush and Pro AI Deputy Editor John McCormick.

Follow us on Twitter: @wsjproai, @jaymac59, @steve_rosenbush, JaredCouncil.