WebProNews

Category: AITrends

ArtificialIntelligenceTrends

  • GM CEO Wants Personal Autonomous Vehicles by 2030

    GM CEO Wants Personal Autonomous Vehicles by 2030

    General Motors CEO Mary Barra is has expressed her desire to have personal autonomous vehicles by 2030.

    Autonomous and self-driving vehicles are the next major evolution of the automotive industry. Early studies have shown autonomous vehicles can significantly reduce accidents and fatalities. Autonomous vehicles also promise to revolutionize the entire driving experience, freeing individuals from the tedium of actually driving. Instead, the daily commute could eventually be used to relax, watch TV or engage in any number of other activities.

    Many companies are focusing their self-driving efforts primarily on fleet vehicles, ride-sharing and other commercial applications. GM CEO Mary Barra, however, wants to see autonomous personal vehicles from GM by 2030.

    “There’s a lot to still unfold, but I believe we’ll have personal autonomous vehicles and then that will leverage the capability we have at Cruise with the capability that we have at the car company to really be well positioned to delight the customers from that perspective,” Barra said, according to TechCrunch. “So both paths are very important because the technology we put on vehicles today I think makes them safer and delights the customers and is going to give us an opportunity for subscription revenue, and then the ultimate work that we’re doing at Cruise, that is full autonomous, really opens up, you know, more possibilities then I think we can outline today.”

    GM has taken a measured approach to autonomous driving. Given that, Barra’s statement will likely put pressure on any slower-moving companies to pick up the pace.

  • IBM Acquiring Turbonomic to Build Hybrid Cloud AIOps

    IBM Acquiring Turbonomic to Build Hybrid Cloud AIOps

    IBM is continuing its breakneck pace of acquiring companies, with Turbonomic the latest acquisition.

    IBM is working to reinvent itself as a hybrid cloud provider, with plans to spin off its legacy business. To aid in that endeavor, the company has been snapping up startups left and right to help it round out its portfolio of services and abilities.

    The latest acquisition is Turbonomic, “an Application Resource Management (ARM) and Network Performance Management (NPM) software provider.” The company specializes in using AI to help automate ARM.

    The acquisition of Turbonomic builds on the company’s purchase of Instanta and will position it to be the only company able to offer the entire range AI-powered automation capabilities.

    “IBM continues to reshape its future as a hybrid cloud and AI company,” said Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President, IBM Cloud and Data Platform. “The Turbonomic acquisition is yet another example of our commitment to making the most impactful investments to advance this strategy and ensure customers find the most innovative ways to fuel their digital transformations.”

    “We believe that AI-powered automation has become inevitable, helping to make all information-centric jobs more productive,” said Dinesh Nirmal, General Manager, IBM Automation. “That’s why IBM continues to invest in providing our customers with a one-stop shop of AI-powered automation capabilities that spans business processes and IT. The addition of Turbonomic now takes our portfolio another major step forward by ensuring customers will have full visibility into what is going on throughout their hybrid cloud infrastructure, and across their entire enterprise.”

  • Apple Snaps Up Google AI Scientist Who Resigned Over Handling of AI Team

    Apple Snaps Up Google AI Scientist Who Resigned Over Handling of AI Team

    Apple has scored a big win, hiring Samy Bengio after he resigned from Google following the firing of Google’s AI ethics team leaders.

    Google landed in hot water after the controversial firings of Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell. Google was accused of interfering with academic integrity and criticized for its treatment of women and Black employees.

    In the wake of the incidents, some engineers departed the company, citing its handling of the entire situation. Sammy Bengio, however, was the most high-profile departure. As a 14-year veteran of the company, and one of the earliest involved in Google Brain, his departure was seen as a real blow to the company, according to Reuters.

    Google’s loss is Apple gain, as the Cupertino company has hired Bengio. Reuters reports Bengio will be leading a new AI research unit under John Giannandrea, senior vice president of machine learning and AI strategy.

    Despite being first to the market with its Siri virtual assistant, Apple has fallen behind Google and Amazon. It’s a safe bet Bengio’s new role will lead to significant, and much-needed, improvements for Siri. His work may also contribute to Apple’s other projects, including the AI component in the upcoming Apple Car.

  • Google Cloud and Vodofone Partner to Create ‘Industry-First Global Data Platform’

    Google Cloud and Vodofone Partner to Create ‘Industry-First Global Data Platform’

    Google Cloud and Vodofone have partnered to create an “industry-first global data platform.”

    Vodofone is one of the leading telecom companies in Europe and Africa. The company is also a leading IoT connectivity provider. Vodofone wants to leverage Google Cloud to deliver “reliable and secure data analytics, insights, and learnings to support the introduction of new digital products and services for Vodafone customers simultaneously worldwide.”

    The two companies will be working together to build a data platform, called ‘Nucleus,’ which will house the ‘Dynamo’ system. The new system will be able to process roughly 50 TB of data per day. Vodofone has identified 700 use-cases for delivering new products and services, as well as using data to provide better insights and intelligence.

    In particular, Vodofone sees benefits for its TV content and connectivity services; using AI to make a digital replica of its internal support functions; helping data scientists collaborating on environmental and health issues, including COVID-19; and increasing the number of smart network services to better meet customers’ needs.

    “Vodafone is building a powerful foundation for a digital future,” said Johan Wibergh, Chief Technology Officer for Vodafone. “We have vast amounts of data which, when securely processed and made available across our footprint using the collective power of Vodafone and Google Cloud’s engineering expertise, will transform our services, to our customers and governments, and the societies where they live and serve.”

    “Telecommunications firms are increasingly differentiating their customer experiences through the use of data and analytics, and this has never been more important than during the current pandemic,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO at Google Cloud. “We are thrilled to be selected as Vodafone’s global strategic cloud partner for analytics and SAP, and to co-innovate on new products that will accelerate the industry’s digital transformation.”

  • Microsoft Deepening its Commitment to Python

    Microsoft Deepening its Commitment to Python

    Microsoft is deepening its support for the Python programming language and its ecosystem, making a significant investment.

    Python is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. Its extensible nature makes it a powerful language that is widely used across industry and academia. The language is also thepreferred language for machine learning applications, increasing its popularity even more.

    Microsoft has invested $150,000 in the Python Software Foundation, boosting support that goes back to 2006. The company’s increased commitment make it a Visionary Sponsor. In addition, Python’s creator has joined Microsoft as a Distinguished Engineer.

    Microsoft has been a long-time supporter of the Python Software Foundation, starting in 2006. Today, Microsoft employs several core developers working part-time on CPython and the Python Steering Council, making significant contributions as PEP authors. We are also excited that Guido van Rossum has recently joined Microsoft as a Distinguished Engineer and is exploring performance improvements to CPython.

    Aside from helping advance the Python tooling and ecosystem, Microsoft has shown strong involvement with the Python community and has been a long-time sponsor of PyCon US, including four years at the top tier Keystone level. Microsoft’s support for the community extends to sponsorships of regional and international Python events including in emerging regions.

  • Toyota Acquiring Lyft’s Self-Driving Division

    Toyota Acquiring Lyft’s Self-Driving Division

    Lyft has announced Toyota subsidiary Woven Planet is acquiring its self-driving division, Level 5.

    Autonomous driving is widely considered to be the next major evolution of the auto industry. Unfortunately, autonomous driving has been a difficult technology to crack for companies of all sizes. Tesla recently was called out by Consumer Reports for self-driving tech that’s easily fooled.

    Meanwhile, Level 5 was launched in 2017, with the goal being to have a majority of rides happen in self-driving vehicles by 2021. Instead, Lyft is now selling off its self-driving division after failing to meet those goals. Woven Planet, Toyota’s autonomous driving division, is buying Level 5 for $550 million.

    “Today’s announcement launches Lyft into the next phase of an incredible journey to bring our mission to life,” Lyft Co-Founder and CEO Logan Green said. “Lyft has spent nine years building a transportation network that is uniquely capable of scaling AVs. This partnership between Woven Planet and Lyft represents a major step forward for autonomous vehicle technology.”

    “This acquisition assembles a dream team of world-class engineers and scientists to deliver safe mobility technology for the world,” James Kuffner, CEO of Woven Planet said. “The Woven Planet team, alongside the team of researchers at Toyota Research Institute, have already established a center of excellence for software development, automated driving, and advanced safety technology within the Toyota Group. I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Level 5’s world-class engineers and experts into our company, which will greatly strengthen our efforts.”

  • Consumer Reports: Tesla Autopilot ‘Easily Tricked’ Into Operating Without Driver

    Consumer Reports: Tesla Autopilot ‘Easily Tricked’ Into Operating Without Driver

    Consumer Reports (CR) has tested Tesla’s Autopilot software and it’s not good news for the electric vehicle company.

    In the wake of the fatal crash in Spring, Texas, in which it was reported that no one was behind the wheel, CR wanted to see if that scenario was possible. Tesla’s Autopilot software is only supposed to work in certain conditions, conditions which include a driver in the driver’s seat.

    Unfortunately, Jake Fisher, CR’s senior director of auto testing, was able to easily and repeatedly bypass Tesla’s safeguards. In multiple tests, Fisher engaged Autopilot, put a weighted chain on the steering wheel to simulate the weight of a hand, slid over into the passenger seat, and then accelerated the stopped Tesla using the steering wheel dial.

    “The car drove up and down the half-mile lane of our track, repeatedly, never noting that no one was in the driver’s seat, never noting that there was no one touching the steering wheel, never noting there was no weight on the seat,” Fisher says. “It was a bit frightening when we realized how easy it was to defeat the safeguards, which we proved were clearly insufficient.”

    Fisher’s overall evaluation of Tesla’s Autopilot was equally damning, especially compared to what’s available from its competitors.

    “In our evaluation, the system not only failed to make sure the driver was paying attention, but it also couldn’t tell if there was a driver there at all,” says Jake Fisher, CR’s senior director of auto testing, who conducted the experiment. “Tesla is falling behind other automakers like GM and Ford that, on models with advanced driver assist systems, use technology to make sure the driver is looking at the road.”

  • ’Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act’ Tackles Warrantless Surveillance

    ’Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act’ Tackles Warrantless Surveillance

    A proposed piece of legislation would tackle surveillance and the warrantless purchase of individual location data.

    The “Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act” is a bill that has wide bipartisan support and would address some of the biggest challenges in the realm of surveillance. Clearview AI made headlines in early 2020 as it built a business model on scraping images from social media networks and using them to build an AI-powered facial recognition database.

    Clearview AI sold access to its database to law enforcement agencies all over the country, transactions that were performed without a warrant. Other companies have been accused of doing the same thing, selling location data to law enforcement agencies without due process or authorized warrants.

    The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act would address that loophole, ensuring courts have a say in the process.

    “Doing business online doesn’t amount to giving the government permission to track your every movement or rifle through the most personal details of your life,” Senator Ron Wyden said. “There’s no reason information scavenged by data brokers should be treated differently than the same data held by your phone company or email provider. This bill closes that legal loophole and ensures that the government can’t use its credit card to end-run the Fourth Amendment.”

    “The Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure ensures that the liberty of every American cannot be violated on the whims, or financial transactions, of every government officer,” Senator Rand Paul said. “This critical legislation will put an end to the government’s practice of buying its way around the Bill of Rights by purchasing the personal and location data of everyday Americans. Enacting the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act will not only stop this gross abuse of privacy, but also stands for the fundamental principle that government exists to protect, not trade away, individual rights.”

  • FTC: Make Sure Your AI Algorithms Are Unbiased…Or Else

    FTC: Make Sure Your AI Algorithms Are Unbiased…Or Else

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent a stark warning for companies to ensure their AI algorithms are unbiased…or else.

    AI is being adopted across a wide spectrum of industries. Unfortunately, studies repeatedly demonstrate the propensity for AI algorithms to be biased. In many cases, this is the result of the datasets used to train AIs not reflecting the necessary diversity.

    In a blog post, the FTC addresses this issue:

    Watch out for discriminatory outcomes. Every year, the FTC holds PrivacyCon, a showcase for cutting-edge developments in privacy, data security, and artificial intelligence. During PrivacyCon 2020, researchers presented work showing that algorithms developed for benign purposes like healthcare resource allocation and advertising actually resulted in racial bias. How can you reduce the risk of your company becoming the example of a business whose well-intentioned algorithm perpetuates racial inequity? It’s essential to test your algorithm – both before you use it and periodically after that – to make sure that it doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, gender, or other protected class.

    The FTC also warns companies to be careful not to overpromise what their AI can do, such as advertising a product that delivers “100% unbiased hiring decisions,” yet was created with data that wasn’t truly diverse. The FTC advises companies to be transparent, use independent standards and be truthful about how they will use customer data.

    The FTC warns that companies failing to follow its advice will deal with the consequences:

    Hold yourself accountable – or be ready for the FTC to do it for you. As we’ve noted, it’s important to hold yourself accountable for your algorithm’s performance. Our recommendations for transparency and independence can help you do just that. But keep in mind that if you don’t hold yourself accountable, the FTC may do it for you. For example, if your algorithm results in credit discrimination against a protected class, you could find yourself facing a complaint alleging violations of the FTC Act and ECOA. Whether caused by a biased algorithm or by human misconduct of the more prosaic variety, the FTC takes allegations of credit discrimination very seriously, as its recent action against Bronx Honda demonstrates.

  • An AI-Powered Robot May be the Next Coffee Critic

    An AI-Powered Robot May be the Next Coffee Critic

    AI-powered robots may soon be responsible for critiquing coffee, replacing human experts.

    Coffee grading is an important part of the industry, and helps determine the quality and value of coffee. According to Bloomberg, however, the days of humans conducting that task may be numbered.

    Demetria is a Colombian-Israeli startup that created an AI to evaluate coffee beans. Data is collected with a handheld scanner, parameters are input and then the AI takes over. The company already has a pilot program with Carcafe, Volcafe’s Colombian division.

    “It’s the human that establishes the sensorial part,” said Oswaldo Aranha Neto, a coffee industry veteran and Demetria board member. “You need to teach the robot what to do.”

    Demetria’s technology will help speed up the process of evaluating coffee, and may even help farmers better grow varieties with characteristics that are in demand.

  • Ford Tests Self-Driving Software on ‘Mother of All Road Trips’

    Ford Tests Self-Driving Software on ‘Mother of All Road Trips’

    Ford is laying down the gauntlet in the self-driving arena, declaring its BlueCruise software has completed the “Mother of All Road Trips.”

    Self-driving vehicles are the next great frontier for the automotive industry. Virtually all of the major players are working on self-driving and autonomous driving systems. Ford is working on its self-driving software, BlueCruise, and has even gone so far as to call Tesla’s competing system vaporware.

    BlueCruise is a Level 2 technology. Autonomous driving is rated on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being fully manual and 5 requiring no human control whatsoever.

    BlueCruise is an SAE Level 2 driver-assist technology, similar to Tesla Autopilot but with the advantage of offering a true hands-free driving experience while in Hands-Free Mode that does not require a driver’s hands to stay in contact with the steering wheel, unless prompted by vehicle alerts.

    And unlike other approaches – such as GM’s Super Cruise, which uses red and green lighting, or Tesla’s Autopilot, which requires a driver keep their hands on the steering wheel – BlueCruise communicates with drivers in different ways. The instrument cluster transitions to communicate that the feature is in Hands-Free mode through text and blue lighting cues, effective even for those with color blindness.

    Ford is putting its money where its mouth is, however, having recently put its BlueCruise through rigorous testing. According to the company, it sent a fleet of 10 test vehicles — five Mustang Mach-E SUVs and five F-150s — on the “Mother of All Road Trips.” The trip was more than 110,000 miles through 37 states and five Canadian provinces.

    “There are highway intricacies and driving conditions that you simply cannot replicate in a lab,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product platform and operations officer. “Sending these vehicles out for real-world driving experience is just one of many ways we ensured that BlueCruise technology offers confidence and convenience for drivers all across the continent.”

    The company is planning on providing BlueCruise via over-the-air software updates later this year on 2021 F-150 and Mustang Mach-E models equipped with Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 Prep Package.

  • IBM Acquiring myInvenio to Provide AI-Powered Automation

    IBM Acquiring myInvenio to Provide AI-Powered Automation

    IBM’s spree of purchases continues, with a deal to acquire myInvenio to help provide AI-powered automation.

    IBM is moving aggressively with its plans to reinvent itself as a hybrid cloud provider. The company is preparing to split into two companies, spinning off its legacy business. To better position the core business as a cloud provider, IBM has been on a slew of acquisitions in an effort to shore up its portfolio of products and services.

    myInvenio is a company based in Reggio Emilia, Italy, that specializes in helping companies find inefficiencies in their business processes and make the necessary improvements.

    myInvenio capabilities reveal inefficiencies, bottlenecks and tasks that can benefit from automation, to help organizations significantly reduce their operating costs and improve customer service. Simulations can be run to assess automation opportunities to measure the benefits of applying automation at the outset of the automation journey. By analyzing historical process execution data and desktop behavior, myInvenio technology can help determine where to apply RPA bots, automated decisions, AI models, and other automations to have the most impact on a business.

    The acquisition underscores IBM’s determination to become a “one-stop shop of AI-powered automation capabilities.” Once the deal closes, myInvenio’s capabilities will be integrated into IBM’s Automation portfolio, including IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation.

    “Digital transformation is accelerating across industries as companies face increasing challenges with managing critical IT systems and complex business applications that span the hybrid cloud landscape,” said Dinesh Nirmal, General Manager, IBM Automation. “With IBM’s planned acquisition of myInvenio, we are continuing to invest in building the industry’s most comprehensive suite of AI-powered automation capabilities for business automation so that our customers can help employees re-claim their time to focus on more strategic work.”

    “Through IBM’s planned acquisition of myInvenio, we are revolutionizing the way companies manage their process operations,” said Massimiliano Delsante, CEO, myInvenio. “myInvenio’s unique capability to automatically analyze processes and create simulations — what we call a ‘Digital Twin of an Organization’ — is joining with IBM’s AI-powered automation capabilities to better manage process execution. Together we will offer a comprehensive solution for digital process transformation and automation to help enterprises continuously transform insights into action.”

    No price was disclosed, and IBM expects the deal to close by the end of the quarter.

  • Domino’s Testing Autonomous Pizza Delivery Robot

    Domino’s Testing Autonomous Pizza Delivery Robot

    Domino’s is testing Nuro’s R2, an autonomous delivery vehicle, in Houston.

    The Nuro R2 is a fully autonomous, on-road delivery vehicle that has regulatory approval by the US Department of Transportation. Domino’s will use R2 in a pilot program in Houston.

    Customers who place an online prepaid order from the Woodland Heights location may have their pizza delivered by R2. If so, the customer will receive a text message containing a PIN number and will be able to track R2’s progress via GPS. Once the robot rolls up, the customer will input the PIN and R2 will open its door to allow access to the pizza.

    “We’re excited to continue innovating the delivery experience for Domino’s customers by testing autonomous delivery with Nuro in Houston,” said Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer. “There is still so much for our brand to learn about the autonomous delivery space. This program will allow us to better understand how customers respond to the deliveries, how they interact with the robot and how it affects store operations. The growing demand for great-tasting pizza creates the need for more deliveries, and we look forward to seeing how autonomous delivery can work along with Domino’s existing delivery experts to better support the customers’ needs.”

    “Nuro’s mission is to better everyday life through robotics. Now, for the first time, we’re launching real world, autonomous deliveries with R2 and Domino’s,” said Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president. “We’re excited to introduce our autonomous delivery bots to a select set of Domino’s customers in Houston. We can’t wait to see what they think.”

    Autonomous delivery vehicles are an important step in the transformation of the restaurant industry, and could provide a safe way for restaurants to adapt and expand their operations in the midst of the pandemic.

  • Google’s AppSheet Automation Now Available

    Google’s AppSheet Automation Now Available

    Google has made its low-code automation tool, AppSheet Automation, generally available.

    Google bought AppSheet, one of the leading no-code development platforms, at the beginning of 2020. The company has been building on that acquisition by developing AI-based automation to help organizations automate their business processes.

    Automation is more important than ever as companies and industries try to return to normal. According to Forrester, “automation has been a major force reshaping work since long before the pandemic; now, it’s taking on a new urgency in the context of business risk and resiliency… As we emerge from the crisis, firms will look to automation as a way to mitigate the risks that future crises pose to the supply and productivity of human workers.”

    Google is clearly working to position AppSheet Automation as the platform of choice for companies looking to improve their automation.

    Last fall, we announced early access for AppSheet Automation, a significant addition to AppSheet, our no-code development platform, that leverages Google AI to make it easier to automate business processes. Today, as part of our mission to further support the future of work, we are making AppSheet Automation generally available (GA). AppSheet Automation empowers even those without coding skills to reshape their own work with powerful new features including smarter extraction of structured data from documents and compatibility with a wider range of data sources like Google Workspace Sheets and Drive.

    Google says companies around the world are already using AppSheet. AppSheet Automation should open up important new possibilities.

  • EU Set to Ban AI-Based Mass Surveillance

    EU Set to Ban AI-Based Mass Surveillance

    The European Union is preparing to pass rules that would ban AI-based mass surveillance, in the strongest repudiation of surveillance yet.

    According to Bloomberg, the EU is preparing to pass rules that would ban using AI for mass surveillance, as well as ranking social behavior. Companies that fail to abide by the new rules could face fines up to 4% of their global revenue.

    The rules are expected to tackle a number of major and controversial areas where privacy is concerned. AI systems that manipulate human behavior, or exploit information about individuals and groups, would be banned. The only exceptions would be some public security applications.

    Similarly, remote biometric ID systems in public places would require special authorization. Any AI applications considered ‘high-risk’ — such as ones that could discriminate or endanger people’s safety — would require inspections to ensure the training data sets are unbiased, and that the systems operate with the proper oversight.

    Most importantly, the rules will apply equally to companies based within the EU or abroad.

    The new rules could still change in the process of being passed into law but, as it stands now, the EU is clearly establishing itself as a protector of privacy where AI-based mass surveillance is concerned.

  • Microsoft Acquiring AI Firm Nuance

    Microsoft Acquiring AI Firm Nuance

    Microsoft is acquiring Nuance in a deal worth some $19.7 billion, Microsoft’s second-largest acquisition, in a bid for the healthcare cloud market.

    Microsoft has been working for some time to provide industry-specific cloud options. Healthcare is a one of the big industries the companies is focusing on, with its Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare that was introduced last year.

    Nuance is a company specializing in “conversational AI and cloud-based ambient clinical intelligence for healthcare providers.” The company’s PowerScribe One and Dragon line of software is used by a majority of US hospitals, doctors and radiologists.

    “Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise AI,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “AI is technology’s most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application. Together, with our partner ecosystem, we will put advanced AI solutions into the hands of professionals everywhere to drive better decision-making and create more meaningful connections, as we accelerate growth of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and Nuance.”

    “Over the past three years, Nuance has streamlined its portfolio to focus on the healthcare and enterprise AI segments, where there has been accelerated demand for advanced conversational AI and ambient solutions,” said Mark Benjamin, CEO, Nuance. “To seize this opportunity, we need the right platform to bring focus and global scale to our customers and partners to enable more personal, affordable and effective connections to people and care. The path forward is clearly with Microsoft — who brings intelligent cloud-based services at scale and who shares our passion for the ways technology can make a difference. At the same time, this combination offers a critical opportunity to deliver meaningful and certain value to our shareholders who have driven and supported us on this journey.”

    The acquisition is an all-cash deal, has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards and is expected to close by the end of the year.

  • AI Wars: 96% of Companies Using AI to Combat AI-Powered Cyberattacks

    AI Wars: 96% of Companies Using AI to Combat AI-Powered Cyberattacks

    A new report shows that AI is increasingly being used in a defensive capacity, to combat AI-powered cyberattacks.

    While AI promises to revolutionize many industries, it’s already creating significant problems in the realm of cybersecurity. A new report by MIT Technology Review Insights, in association with AI cybersecurity company Darktrace, shows just how much AI is impacting the field.

    Offensive AI risks and developments in the cyberthreat landscape are redefining enterprise security, as humans already struggle to keep pace with advanced attacks.

    In fact, 60% of respondents said that human response measures were already falling behind automated attacks. As a result, 96% of respondents are deploying AI to help defend against AI attacks.

    Of the various types of threats, email and phishing attacks were the most troubling. Some 40% found email and phishing attacks “very concerning,” with 34% viewing them as “somewhat concerning.” A staggering 94% of detected malware is spread via email. AI makes the problem even worse by creating emails that are almost indistinguishable from legitimate ones.

    Max Heinemeyer, director of threat hunting for Darktrace, saw email phishing attempts adapt as a result of the pandemic. “We saw a lot of emails saying things like, ‘Click here to see which people in your area are infected,’” he says.

    Based on MIT and Darktrace’s report, it appears the industry is entering an AI arms race, one that will have significant implications on the future of cybersecurity.

  • Honda and Verizon Working Together to Use 5G to Improve Road Safety

    Honda and Verizon Working Together to Use 5G to Improve Road Safety

    Verizon and Honda are working together, in cooperation with the University of Michigan’s Mcity, to improve road safety with the help of 5G.

    Honda has been on the forefront of autonomous vehicle research, recently releasing the world’s first Level 3 autonomous car. The company is working with Verizon to see if 5G and mobile edge computing (MEC) can improve road safety, while reducing the need for onboard AI processing.

    The goal is to use 5G and MEC to help vehicles better communicate with other vehicles, road infrastructure and pedestrians to better avoid collisions. For example, if a pedestrian is crossing the road, but obscured from view by a building or parked vehicle, smart intersection cameras could alert oncoming drivers of the danger.

    “Honda’s research collaboration with Verizon is an important step in our multi-year effort to develop connected vehicle safety technology to realize our vision for a collision-free society,” said Ehsan Moradi Pari, Ph.D, research group lead at Honda’s Advanced Technology Research Division. “While the research is preliminary and not intended as a product feature at this time, 5G-enabled vehicle communication and MEC have the potential to advance safety for everyone sharing the road.”

    “The ability to move computing power to the edge of our 5G network is an essential building block for autonomous and connected vehicles, helping cars to communicate with each other in near real-time and with sensors and cameras installed in streets and traffic lights,” said Sanyogita Shamsunder, vice president of Technology Development and 5G Labs at Verizon. “When you consider that roughly 42,000 people were killed in car accidents last year and 94% of accidents are caused by human error, our new technologies including 5G and MEC can help drivers ‘see’ things before the human eye can register and react helping to prevent collisions and save lives.”

    The collaboration is further evidence of the far-reaching impact 5G, AI and edge computing will have on a wide range of industries.

  • Siri May Soon Whisper and Shout

    Siri May Soon Whisper and Shout

    Apple may be on the verge of a significant improvement to Siri, giving the virtual assistant the ability to whisper or shout depending on circumstances.

    Amazon clearly demonstrates the benefits of an adaptable virtual assistant in a commercial where a father is trying to impress his daughter with his knowledge of history. The father relies on Alexa’s ability to whisper information to him, which he then passes on to his daughter.

    Despite being the first major virtual assistant on the market, Siri still lacks this ability, although it appears Apple is preparing to address that. According to a patent application, first noticed by AppleInsider, Siri will soon have the ability to change its volume based on background noise, room layout and the volume of the person speaking to it.

    The decision component may select one or more speech synthesis parameters corresponding to the speech output mode. The decision component may also, or alternatively, select a playback volume. The one or more speech-synthesis parameters, when incorporated in a speech-synthesis model, can cause a speech mode of the synthesized speech to match the speech mode of the utterance.

    In other cases, the one or more speech-synthesis parameters, when incorporated in a speech-synthesis model, can cause a speech mode of the synthesized speech to differ from the speech mode of the utterance. In some cases, the decision component may select a speech synthesis model from a plurality of speech synthesis models corresponding to the speech output mode.

    This will be a welcome improvement to Siri, and hopefully help it close the gap with its newer rivals.

  • Motional Taps Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 For Next-Gen Robotaxi

    Motional Taps Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 For Next-Gen Robotaxi

    Driverless tech company Motional has announced it will use Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 for its robotaxi deal with Lyft.

    Motional and Lyft signed “the world’s largest robotaxi deployment partnership.” Beginning in 2023, Lyft customers will be able to book a Motional robotaxi, instead of a traditional Lyft.

    The company, which was founded by Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, plans to use Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 midsize electric crossover.

    The futuristic IONIQ 5 is an all-electric, midsize crossover utility vehicle designed for the passenger experience. With a unique and luxurious living space and a sleek, modern exterior, Motional and Lyft riders will experience their fully autonomous rides in comfort and style. Built on Hyundai’s dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform, the IONIQ 5 delivers innovation in both mobility and sustainability.

    Motional emphasizes the vehicles it will use are not the consumer version of the IONIQ 5, but ones with its Level 4 autonomous software integrated in. Autonomous driving software is graded from Level 0 to 5, with 5 being completely autonomous vehicles that never require human involvement.

  • Arm Announces Next Generation Architecture, Armv9

    Arm Announces Next Generation Architecture, Armv9

    Arm Holding has announced its first major architectural upgrade in a decade, the Armv9, promising major performance gains.

    Arm designs semiconductors and licenses those designs to other companies. Apple, Qualcomm and others use the company’s designs as the basis of their chips, and Arm-based chips are used in everything from mobile devices to servers. In fact, 100 billion Arm devices have been shipped in the last five years.

    The company has now announced the next generation, Armv9. Arm says the new architecture will power the next 300 billion devices and offer performance increases of more than 30% over the next two generations of CPUs.

    Armv9 is also designed to improve security and provide more advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.

    “As we look toward a future that will be defined by AI, we must lay a foundation of leading-edge compute that will be ready to address the unique challenges to come,” said Simon Segars, chief executive officer, Arm. “Armv9 is the answer. It will be at the forefront of the next 300 billion Arm-based chips driven by the demand for pervasive specialized, secure and powerful processing built on the economics, design freedom and accessibility of general-purpose compute.”

    “Addressing the demand for more complex AI-based workloads is driving the need for more secure and specialized processing, which will be the key to unlocking new markets and opportunities,” said Richard Grisenthwaite, SVP, chief architect and fellow, Arm. “Armv9 will enable developers to build and program the trusted compute platforms of tomorrow by bridging critical gaps between hardware and software, while enabling the standardization to help our partners balance faster time-to-market and cost control alongside the ability to create their own unique solutions.”

    Arm is already the world’s leading semiconductor designer. If Armv9 lives up to the expectations, the company will continue to dominate the industry for years to come.