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  • Apple the Leader in AI Acquisitions

    Apple the Leader in AI Acquisitions

    A new report sheds light on the AI industry, with Apple the top company for acquiring AI startups.

    According to GlobalData, Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft bought 60 AI companies between 2016 and 2020, 25 of those purchases by Apple. Improving Siri is likely a driving motivator behind the purchases.

    “The US is the leader in AI, and the dominance of US tech giants in the list of top acquirers also indicate that these companies have some defined AI objectives,” said Nicklas Nilsson, Senior Analyst on the Thematic Research Team at GlobalData. “For instance, Apple has been ramping up its acquisition of AI companies, with several deals aimed at improving Siri or creating new features on its iPhones. Machine learning start-up Inductiv was acquired to improve Siri’s data, Irish voice tech start-up Voysis was bought to improve Siri’s understanding of natural language, and PullString should make Siri easier for iOS developers to use.

    “Apple has gone on a shopping spree in efforts to catch up with Google (Google Assistant) and Amazon (Alexa). Siri was first on the market, but it consistently ranks below the two in terms of ‘smartness’, which is partly why Apple is far behind in smart speaker sales. Apple also want to make sure to keep its strong position within wearables. It is the dominant player in smartwatches. The acquisition of Xnor.ai last year was made to improve its on-edge processing capabilities, which has become important as it eliminates the need for data to be sent to the cloud, thereby improving data privacy.”

    Apple has rolled Siri out across its lineup of devices, making it more important than ever for the virtual assistant to be as good, or better, than its rivals.

    The rumored Apple Car is likely another reason why the company is investing so heavily in AI. With self-driving cars viewed as the next evolution of the automobile, Apple needs to ensure its AI technology is up to whatever plans it has.

  • Microsoft Teams Now Features Live Transcription

    Microsoft Teams Now Features Live Transcription

    Microsoft Teams has added live transcription, along with speaker attribution, as the battle over corporate communication heats up.

    Microsoft Teams has quickly emerged as one of leading corporate messaging platforms, and a part of Microsoft’s business that could one day rival and surpass the web browser in importance.

    An important new feature is live transcription in Teams meetings. The feature uses artificial intelligence to analyze the participants and meeting details to accurately transcribe the contents.

    Live transcription in Teams uses a meeting’s invitation, participant names, attachments, etc. to improve the accuracy and recognize meeting-specific jargon for each transcript automatically, without any human involvement. This means no one at Microsoft ever sees the meeting’s content, and the models are automatically deleted immediately after each meeting. In addition, Microsoft doesn’t use or store this data for improving its own AI.

    Webex, Google Chrome and Zoom all have closed captioning or transcription. Microsoft including the feature in Teams is an important step in maintaining its position in the market.

  • Google Has a Credibility Problem As Researchers Shun Its Funding

    Google Has a Credibility Problem As Researchers Shun Its Funding

    In the wake of Google’s high-profile missteps with its ethical AI team, the company has suffered a loss of credibility as researchers decline its funding.

    Google made headlines when it fired Dr. Timnit Gebru, its ethical AI team co-lead. Despite the company trying to portray the situation as a “resignation,” Dr. Gebru and her co-workers say she was fired. Given her stature as one of the world’s leading AI ethics researchers, Google’s actions resulted in tremendous scrutiny.

    At the heart of the issue was academic integrity, with Google objecting to a paper Dr. Gebru had co-authored, critical of certain types of AI technology, including some that Google uses. Margaret Mitchell, the other ethical AI team co-lead, was fired shortly thereafter.

    Google’s actions have drawn widespread condemnation, from both inside and outside the organization. Some engineers have quit in protest, and the firings were directly cited by workers when forming the Alphabet Workers Union. The company has also seen its sponsorship of at least one high-profile conference suspended.

    The company’s behavior is further impacting its standing in the AI community, as some researchers are turning down funding offers.

    CNN Business cites the example of Luke Stark, an assistant professor at Western University in Ontario, Canada. He originally applied for a Google Research Scholar award, because of his “sense at the time that Google was building a really strong, potentially industry-leading ethical AI team.”

    Despite being awarded a $60,000, no-strings-attached grant, Stark ultimately ended up turning it down because of the company’s actions.

    He’s not alone. Vijay Chidambaram, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, had previously received $30,000 from Google in 2018. The company’s recent actions, however, have ruled out his taking any additional funding.

    “In good conscience, I can no longer accept funding from a company that treats its employees in this manner,” Chidambaram told CNN Business.

    Google has made attempts to mitigate the damage to its reputation, including an apology from CEO Sundar Pichai and appointing Dr. Marian Croak, a Black woman, to head the ethical AI team. These measures, however, have been criticized as being tone-deaf, shifting blame or an attempt to gloss over the company’s real issues with token measures.

    One thing is clear: Google has a major creditability problem that will continue to cost it until it takes concrete measures to address the real problem.

  • Ford Executive Calls Tesla’s Self-Driving Software ‘Vaporware’

    Ford Executive Calls Tesla’s Self-Driving Software ‘Vaporware’

    A Ford executive has upped the rivalry with Tesla, calling Tesla’s self-driving software “vaporware.”

    Ford is widely seen as Tesla’s biggest competition, with the company’s Mustang Mach-E eating into Tesla sales. Edmunds recently did a head-to-head comparison of the Mach-E and the Model Y, giving a slight edge to the newcomer.

    There are a lot of great things about the Tesla Model Y including vast amounts of interior space, exciting driving performance and access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. These two EVs are closely matched, but the Ford Mustang Mach-E wins this comparison thanks to its superior comfort and user-friendly technology.

    Tesla has helped pioneer self-driving vehicles, but a Ford executive is calling out the company’s software.

    https://twitter.com/mrlevine/status/1373646122548301833?s=20

    Between Tesla pitting the Cybertruck against the F-150, and now Ford dissing Tesla’s software, it appears the rivalry between the two automakers is just getting started. That’s probably a good thing for consumers.

  • Adobe Photoshop Uses AI to Increase Image Pixels by Four Times

    Adobe Photoshop Uses AI to Increase Image Pixels by Four Times

    Adobe is bringing Super Resolution to Photoshop, using artificial intelligence to increase an image’s pixels by four times.

    Everyone has seen a TV show where the character says those two infamous words: “Zoom in.” As anyone who’s actually worked with digital photos can attest, any photo magnifying is limited by the size and quality of the image. If a picture doesn’t have the necessary pixel density, it can only be enlarged so much before it becomes pixilated and loses its clarity.

    Beyond being an inaccurate staple of virtually every police procedural, there are a number of practical situations where this can be a limitation. Printing a photo taken with a low-resolution camera is a perfect example, as it takes a higher resolution photo to look good when printed.

    “Super Resolution is also a pixels project, but of a different kind,” writes Adobe’s Eric Chan. “Imagine turning a 10-megapixel photo into a 40-megapixel photo. Imagine upsizing an old photo taken with a low-res camera for a large print. Imagine having an advanced ‘digital zoom’ feature to enlarge your subject. There’s more goodness to imagine, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. To understand Super Resolution properly, we must first talk about Enhance Details.”

    Super Resolution uses AI to intelligently expand a photo, keeping it crisp with minimal artifacts.

    “The term ‘Super Resolution’ refers to the process of improving the quality of a photo by boosting its apparent resolution,” continues Chan. “Enlarging a photo often produces blurry details, but Super Resolution has an ace up its sleeve — an advanced machine learning model trained on millions of photos. Backed by this vast training set, Super Resolution can intelligently enlarge photos while maintaining clean edges and preserving important details.”

    Super Resolution is now available in Camera Raw 13.2 and will soon be included in Lightroom and Lightroom Classic.

  • Goodbye Nasal Swab: AI Can Diagnose COVID-19 by Listening to Coughs

    Goodbye Nasal Swab: AI Can Diagnose COVID-19 by Listening to Coughs

    Brain-poking nasal swabs may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a team of scientists that have trained AI to recognize COVID by listening to coughs.

    The most reliable way to detect the coronavirus is by using an invasive, eye-watering nasal swab test. Scientists have found that artificial intelligence can detect the virus simply by listening to an individual’s cough.

    According to the University of Essex, the researchers used 8,380 clinically-validated samples from Spain and Mexico — including both positive and negative results — to test the DeepCough3D screening tool. The AI was found to be 98% accurate in identifying both positive and negative samples.

    Most importantly, DeepCough3D was effective at recognizing both symptomatic and asymptomatic coughs. The algorithm could even detect different levels of infection, allowing the researchers to categorize the coughs into three levels of severity.

    ”We are delighted with the promising results of this novel screening tool, which could prove a real game-changer and essential addition to our arsenal of tools to combat the pandemic as it is far less invasive than most other COVID-19 tests and also offers rapid results, paving the way to point-of-need pre-screening testing solutions,” said lead researcher Dr Javier Andreu-Perez, of the Smart Health Technologies Group at the Centre for Computational Intelligence.

    The researchers will look for health collaborations to test the AI in the field, as well as begin pursuing the necessary certifications to make it available for wider release.

  • Gartner: AI Will Replace ‘Gut Feel’ in Venture Capitalist Decisions by 2025

    Gartner: AI Will Replace ‘Gut Feel’ in Venture Capitalist Decisions by 2025

    Gartner predicts that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace “gut feel” in influencing investment decisions by venture capitalists and early-stage investors.

    Venture capitalists have long relied on a mysterious combination of data, KPIs and gut feeling to select which companies to invest in. According to Gartner, however, AI is poised to replace the ever-elusive gut feeling some 75% of investors.

    “Successful investors are purported to have a good ‘gut feel’ — the ability to make sound financial decisions from mostly qualitative information alongside the quantitative data provided by the technology company,” said Patrick Stakenas, senior research director at Gartner. “However, this ‘impossible to quantify inner voice’ grown from personal experience is decreasingly playing a role in investment decision making. The traditional pitch experience will significantly shift by 2025 and tech CEOs will need to face investors with AI-enabled models and simulations as traditional pitch decks and financials will be insufficient.”

    By 2025, AI will help investors transition to a quantitative process based on advanced analytics. Information will be gathered from a variety of sources, including Crunchbase, LinkedIn, Owler, PitchBook and others. This data can then be used by AI to assess a company’s viability.

    “This data is increasingly being used to build sophisticated models that can better determine the viability, strategy and potential outcome of an investment in a short amount of time. Questions such as when to invest, where to invest and how much to invest are becoming almost automated,” said Mr. Stakenas.

  • Waymo Autonomous Driving Would Eliminate Almost All Vehicle Fatalities

    Waymo Autonomous Driving Would Eliminate Almost All Vehicle Fatalities

    Waymo has released a detailed report of its autonomous driving test scenarios, providing evidence of the technology’s ability to prevent fatalities.

    Waymo is an Alphabet company focused on autonomous driving. In fact, the company recently announced it would only use the term “autonomous driving,” as opposed to “self-driving.” Autonomous driving is widely seen as the next major evolution for the automotive industry, with the promise of safer driving.

    Quantifying just how much safer autonomous driving is can be difficult, as few companies have been willing to release their testing numbers. Waymo has now taken that step, and the results are very encouraging. Waymo’s simulated driving data provides a decade-long look at how its platform performs.

    In total, the simulated Waymo Driver completely avoided or mitigated 100% of crashes aside from the crashes in which it was struck from behind, including every instance that involved a pedestrian or cyclist (20 simulations in total). This is the first time an autonomous technology company has shared its evaluation for how the system might perform in real-world fatal crash scenarios.

    Significantly, drivers were 1.3 to 1.5x less likely to be injured in accidents that Waymo’s vehicles mitigated.

    Waymo specifically tested 72 scenarios from public records of accidents that had involved a fatality. When the Waymo Driver was in primary control of the vehicle, those accidents were avoided 100% of the time.

    Waymo then ran test scenarios where Waymo Driver was in responder mode, only taking action once the human driver had made a mistake. In those scenarios, 82% of accidents were avoided, while another 10% were mitigated. This gives Waymo a 92% success rate at avoiding or mitigating fatal accidents, even when the human driver has done something that would have caused an accident.

    In other words, even when a human driver did something to initiate a crash, such as running a red light, the simulated Waymo Driver avoided or mitigated the vast majority of these fatal crashes.

    This is good news for the auto industry and drivers alike, and will hopefully help remove barriers to autonomous driving adoption.

  • Honda the First to Release Level 3 Autonomous Vehicle

    Honda the First to Release Level 3 Autonomous Vehicle

    Honda has announced a major first for the auto industry, being the first to release a Level 3 autonomous vehicle, as part of the Honda Legend Hybrid EX.

    Autonomous vehicles are rated from 0 to 5, with each level representing a higher degree of AI involvement. A 0 rating means there is no assistance, and the driver is 100% responsible. At the other end of the scale, a 5 means the vehicle is fully driverless. A Level 3 means the vehicle controls steering, acceleration and braking, but the driver should still be ready to take over if needed. This is a big step up from the Level 2 Tesla Autopilot.

    The Legend Hybrid EX is equipped with Honda SENSING® Elite, the automated driving system that Honda extensively tested. In simulations, the system was tested using 10 million possible real-world scenarios. Physical, real-world testing involved 800,000 miles of tests. The end result is a vehicle that surpasses anything currently on the road.

    For vehicle control, the system determines the position of the vehicle and road conditions using data from 3-dimensional high-definition maps and the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), while detecting the vehicle’s surroundings using several external sensors that provide 360-degree input. At the same time, the system tracks the condition of the driver using a monitoring camera mounted inside the vehicle. Based on this wide range of information, the main electronic control unit (ECU) recognizes current conditions, anticipates future conditions and applies a high-level of control to acceleration, braking and steering inputs to assist the driver and achieve high-quality and smooth driving.

    Even with all the testing, Honda is taking a decidedly cautious approach, only making 100 of the autonomous Legends. The vehicles will only be available for lease in Japan, beginning March 5. Nonetheless, if the Legend with Honda SENSING® Elite is a success, customers around the world may soon have access to next-generation autonomous driving.

  • Prominent AI Ethics Conference Suspends Google’s Sponsorship

    Prominent AI Ethics Conference Suspends Google’s Sponsorship

    The fallout over Google’s handling of its AI ethics research team continues as the ACM Conference for Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT) has suspended the company’s sponsorship.

    Google made headlines when it fired the co-leads of its Ethical AI team, Dr. Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell. Gebru’s firing, which Google called a “resignation,” was the result of what was labeled as research censorship of a paper Gebru had co-authored. Mitchell was allegedly fired for trying to find examples of the mistreatment Gebru experienced.

    The company has been widely criticized, by both employees and outsiders alike. Engineers have quit in protest, and Google’s handling of its AI ethics team was one of the issues specifically highlighted by employees when forming the Alphabet Workers Union. The company’s attempts to smooth the situation over have been seen as tone-deaf and generally falling far short of what’s necessary to repair the damage.

    The ACM FAccT Conference has now suspended Google as a sponsor, with the news first appearing via a tweet by FAccT program committee member Suresh Venkatasubramanian.

    In an email to VentureBeat, Michael Ekstrand, conference sponsorship co-chair and Boise State University assistant professor, went into more detail:

    FAccT is guided by a Strategic Plan, and the conference by-laws charge the Sponsorship Chairs, in collaboration with the Executive Committee, with developing a sponsorship portfolio that aligns with that plan. The Executive Committee made the decision that having Google as a sponsor for the 2021 conference would not be in the best interests of the community and impede the Strategic Plan. We will be revising the sponsorship policy for next year’s conference.

    Google has only itself to blame for its loss of standing within the AI community. Unfortunately for the company, leadership seems to have little interest in doing what’s necessary to fix the situation, make amends to the individuals impacted and regain the respect it’s lost.

  • Google Updates Workspace and Google Assistant for Remote Work

    Google Updates Workspace and Google Assistant for Remote Work

    Google has made significant updates to Workspace and Google Assistant to better facilitate remote and hybrid work models.

    Google is the latest company to bet on the permanent digital transformation the pandemic has brought on. Citing Gartner’sresearch that 90% of companies plan to allow at least some remote work post-pandemic, Google clearly wants Workspace (formerly G Suite) to play a significant role in that new reality.

    Google Workspace is at the nexus of Google’s own transformation. After all, Google Workspace was built in the cloud to power flexible, real-time, anywhere creation and equitable collaboration.

    To aid in the digital transformation, Google will be launching Google Workspace Frontline to help frontline workers have access to the same kind of collaborative tools that knowledge workers enjoy. The new solution will include Gmail, Chat, Docs, Drive and more in a custom solution designed to meet the needs of frontline workers.

    In addition, Workspace with Google Assistant is now generally available to all users. The service brings the power of Google Assistant to Workspace, allowing users to join meetings, check their schedule, send messages and more, all by using their voice. The feature is currently available on mobile devices, and is in beta for smart speakers and Smart Displays.

    If there’s a mantra that captures the last year of work, it might be “flexibility in the face of change.” It’s how our customers and our own employees have bridged the physical distances to continue making an impact in a rapidly changing world. As work continues to evolve for all of us, Google Workspace is committed to providing a solution that’s flexible, helpful, and that fuels innovation. We’re also committed to enabling collaboration equity wherever and however we can. At its core, this has been our mission for more than a decade and we’re excited to partner with our customers and users to continue bringing it to life.

  • Google Fires Second AI Ethics Lead

    Google Fires Second AI Ethics Lead

    Google has fired Margaret Mitchell, just a couple of months after its controversial firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru.

    Margaret Mitchell is a leading AI ethics researcher and co-led Google’s team for responsible AI development, along with Gebru. When Gebru was fired, something Google tried to pass off as a resignation, Mitchell was among the most vocal in her condemnation of the company’s actions.

    Mitchell was locked out of her company access in January, but not before she sent an email to Google condemning Gebru’s treatment.

    The firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru is not okay, and the way it was done is not okay. It appears to stem from the same lack of foresight that is at the core of modern technology, and so itself serves as an example of the problem. The firing seems to have been fueled by the same underpinnings of racism and sexism that our AI systems, when in the wrong hands, tend to soak up.

    Mitchell confirmed in a tweet Friday that she too has been fired.

    Google has blamed Mitchell for her firing in a statement sent to various outlets: “After conducting a review of this manager’s conduct, we confirmed that there were multiple violations of our code of conduct, as well as of our security policies, which included the exfiltration of confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees.”

    The violations in question reportedly had to do with Mitchell using automated scripts to find examples of Gebru’s mistreatment.

    Interestingly, around the same time as Mitchell’s firing, Google’s AI head, Jeff Dean, issued an apology to Google staff upset by Gebru’s firing. Axios obtained a copy of the memo:

    I heard and acknowledge what Dr. Gebru’s exit signified to female technologists, to those in the Black community and other underrepresented groups who are pursuing careers in tech, and to many who care deeply about Google’s responsible use of AI. It led some to question their place here, which I regret.

    Many, including Dr. Gebru and other Googlers are not buying the apology, calling it a non-apology, and calling out the timing as an intentional effort to divert attention away from Mitchell’s firing.

    https://twitter.com/robruenes/status/1362891169907281922?s=20

    Similarly, Google appointed Dr. Marian Croak to lead the company’s responsible AI development efforts Thursday, just one day before Mitchell’s firing. Critics viewed Croak’s appointment as another thinly veiled attempt to draw attention away from accusations of racism and misogyny.

    Given Google’s decisions — or more accurately, their inability to make a good one in this situation — many find it more than a little concerning that one of the biggest AI developers seems to have utterly lost its way in the ethics department.

  • IBM May Want to Sell IBM Watson Health

    IBM May Want to Sell IBM Watson Health

    IBM is investigating the possibility of selling IBM Watson Health, its attempt to use artificial intelligence (AI) in the medical field.

    IBM is moving swiftly toward its goal of splitting the company and focusing the core business on cloud computing. As a result, IBM has purchased a number of smaller startups aligned with that goal. Its latest move, however, appears to be an effort to trim dead weight, or a portion of the business that doesn’t line up with its long-term plans.

    IBM had high hopes for IBM Watson Health and the promise of AI revolutionizing the medical profession. The company invested billions building out the solution, but it has ultimately proved a cautionary tale for companies investing in AI. Despite all of IBM’s efforts, the company had difficulty getting doctors and medical professionals to adopt it.

    According to insiders who spoke with The Wall Street Journal, IBM is looking to sell the business to an industry player, private-equity firm or merge it with a blank-check company. The common theme is deep pockets.

    IBM Watson Health clearly has potential, but it may have been a good idea before its time. It may take deep pockets to keep it going until the medical community warms to the idea of AI managing its data.

  • Volkswagen Chooses Microsoft Azure to Accelerate Autonomous Driving

    Volkswagen Chooses Microsoft Azure to Accelerate Autonomous Driving

    Volkswagen has announced it is partnering with Microsoft to use Azure to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles.

    The majority of automakers are working on autonomous driving as the next major evolution of the auto industry. Various automakers are taking different approaches, with Volkswagen indicating it wants to develop its autonomous software in-house.

    To aid in that goal, Volkswagen’s software company, Car.Software Organisation, will work with Microsoft to use Azure to help build a cloud-based Automated Driving Platform (ADP). Running ADP on Azure will allow Volkswagen to develop the platform faster and scale it globally.

    “As we transform Volkswagen Group into a digital mobility provider, we are looking to continuously increase the efficiency of our software development. We are building the Automated Driving Platform with Microsoft to simplify our developers’ work through one scalable and data-based engineering environment. By combining our comprehensive expertise in the development of connected driving solutions with Microsoft’s cloud and software engineering know-how, we will accelerate the delivery of safe and comfortable mobility services,” said Dirk Hilgenberg, CEO of the Car.Software Organisation.

    “This is the next evolution of our foundational work with the Volkswagen Group to enhance their transformation as a software-driven mobility provider,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud + AI at Microsoft. “The power of Microsoft Azure and its compute, data and AI capabilities will enable Volkswagen to deliver secure and reliable automated driving solutions to their customers faster.”

    Snagging the world’s largest automaker, the Volkswagen Group, is a big win for Microsoft, especially in the wake of Ford’s decision to use Google Cloud for its connected vehicle efforts. Ford had long been a Microsoft partner, relying on the tech company’s software for its vehicles’ navigation and entertainment systems.

  • Microsoft and HPE Partner to Deliver AI and Edge Computing to Space

    Microsoft and HPE Partner to Deliver AI and Edge Computing to Space

    Microsoft and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) have partnered to bring AI and edge computing to the International Space Station (ISS).

    HPE has been working with NASA to create a commercial, off-the-shelf supercomputer for use on the ISS. The Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2) is specifically built on the HPE Edgeline Converged Edge system, designed for the harshest edge environments — which space certainly qualifies as.

    Microsoft and HPE are working to connect the SBC-2 to Azure, to enable cloud computing, along with AI and machine learning development in the ultimate edge environment.

    “HPE and Microsoft are collaborating to further accelerate space exploration by delivering state-of-the art technologies to tackle a range of data processing needs while in orbit. By bringing together HPE’s Spaceborne Computer-2, which is based on the HPE Edgeline Converged Edge system for advanced edge computing and AI capabilities, with Microsoft Azure to connect to the cloud, we are enabling space explorers to seamlessly transmit large data sets to and from Earth and benefit from an edge-to-cloud experience. We look forward to collaborating with Microsoft on their Azure Space efforts, which share our vision to accelerate discovery and help make breakthroughs to support life and sustainability in future, extended human missions to space.” —Dr. Mark Fernandez, Solutions Architect of Converged Edge Systems at HPE and Principal Investigator for Spaceborne Computer-2

    Microsoft first announced its Azure Space program in October, as a concerted effort to bring cloud computing to space.

    “Today’s announcement advances Azure Space in bringing Azure AI and machine learning to new space missions and emphasizes the true power of hyperscale computing in support of edge scenarios—connecting anyone, anywhere to the cloud,” writesTom Keane Corporate Vice President, Azure Global, Microsoft Azure. “Our collaboration with HPE is just the first step in an incredible journey and will provide researchers and students access to these insights and technologies, inspiring the next generation of those who wish to invent with purpose, on and off the planet.”

  • IBM and Palantir Partner On Low-Code AI Development

    IBM and Palantir Partner On Low-Code AI Development

    IBM and Palantir are partnering to make it easier to develop and deploy low-code AI applications to IBM’s hybrid cloud.

    IBM is all-in on hybrid cloud, with plans to split the company and spin off its legacy business into an independent company, while the core company focuses on the cloud. As it moves toward that goal, IBM has been shoring up its cloud business, buying up startups and inking deals with complimentary companies.

    The latest deal involves partnering with Palantir, with the two companies announcing a new product, Palantir for IBM Cloud Pak for Data. The new application is designed to address the disparity between those companies that want to deploy AI and companies that have the necessary experience. According to IBM, 75% of business are exploring AI implementation. Unfortunately, 37% have limited AI experience, while 31% cite data silos and data complexity as major challenges.

    Palantir for IBM Cloud Pak for Data is designed to address these challenges by bringing a no-code/low-code approach to AI application development.

    The new product will leverage Palantir Foundry and will integrate with IBM Cloud Pak for Data services, such as Watson, providing an information architecture that includes data and AI with built-in governance. It is designed to provide an easy to use “no-code/low-code” environment for building applications that use AI to inform data-driven decision making and automate tasks and processes. Built on Red Hat OpenShift, Palantir for IBM Cloud Pak for Data is intended to help businesses reduce data silos, integrate data sources across hybrid cloud environments, and govern data throughout the AI lifecycle. The product is being designed to help users securely build and deploy AI applications with that data quickly, to rapidly complement and extend existing enterprise systems and accelerate their digital transformation.

    The new application will be available in March 2021 and may very well help speed the adoption of AI.

  • Nevada Looks to Let Companies Form Their Own Governments

    Nevada Looks to Let Companies Form Their Own Governments

    Nevada is preparing to consider a bill that would allow companies to form their own local government, in a bid to attract top tech companies.

    Tech companies are increasingly looking for alternatives to Silicon Valley, thanks to increased expenses and a pandemic-driven move to remote work. States all over the country are looking to attract such companies, although Nevada’s solution may be the most innovative.

    According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Innovation Zones, first proposed by Gov. Steve Sisolak, would give companies the ability to form a separate local government. The new government would have the same authority as a county, be able to impose taxes, create school districts, justice courts and provide the kind of government services a county normally would.

    The measure is designed to address what is seen as the inability of local governments to meet the needs of companies. A draft of the legislation, seen by the Review-Journal, says local governments are “inadequate alone to provide the flexibility and resources conducive to making the State a leader in attracting and retaining new forms and types of businesses and fostering economic development in emerging technologies and innovative industries.”

    In order to qualify, companies would have to own at least 50,000 acres of uninhabited, undeveloped land, not part of any existing town, city or tax increment, but within a single county. The company would also need at least $250 million, with plans to invest an additional $1 billion over 10 years in the Innovation Zone.

    The Innovation Zones are specifically for companies on the cutting edge of technology, such as artificial intelligence, autonomous technology, biometrics, blockchain, internet of things, renewable resource technology, robotics and wireless technology.

    Initially the Innovation Zones would operate under the authority of the local county government, but eventually take over that authority and become independent.

  • Live Forever…As a Microsoft Chatbot

    Live Forever…As a Microsoft Chatbot

    Microsoft is developing technology that will allow it to recreate someone, dead or alive, as a chatbot.

    Straight out of science fiction, Microsoft filed for a patent covering the creation of a customized chatbot, designed to mimic the personality of a specific person. In the patent application, Microsoft describes a process where a person’s social media and communications could be used to train the chatbot.

    In aspects, social data (e.g., images, voice data, social media posts, electronic messages, written letters, etc.) about the specific person may be accessed. The social data may be used to create or modify a special index in the theme of the specific person’s personality. The special index may be used to train a chat bot to converse in the personality of the specific person.

    To make the experience even more real, Microsoft says images could be used to make a 2D or 3D likeness of the person.

    This is one of those inventions that could be supremely creepy, or supremely awesome. The chatbot could provide companionship to someone grieving a loss, as well as be a valuable tool in therapy applications and similar situations. Obviously, it could also be huge source of entertainment. Whether it succeeds or fails will depend largely on how well Microsoft executes.

  • Volkswagen Developing Autonomous Driving Software In-House

    Volkswagen Developing Autonomous Driving Software In-House

    As automakers around the world partner up with leading tech companies, Volkswagen is taking a different approach, developing its autonomous software in-house.

    Autonomous driving and connected vehicles are one of the next big steps for the automotive industry. Many automakers are paring up with leading tech companies, such as Ford partnering with Google.

    Volkswagen, on the other hand, is planning to develop its software in-house, according to U.S. News & World Report. The company is not ruling out collaboration with outside companies on some aspects, but clearly wants to develop the bulk on its its own.

    “We have a size that makes us want to cooperate with ourselves initially,” said Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi (Volkswagen’s luxury brand). Duesmann also indicated his confidence that Volkswagen is in a position to create new standards for automotive software development, and is open to other companies joining those efforts.

    Volkswagen certainly has the size and scale to tackle a project of this size. It should be interesting to see how its software stacks up with those of its rivals.

  • Ford Partners With Google For Cloud, Data, AI and Machine Learning

    Ford Partners With Google For Cloud, Data, AI and Machine Learning

    Ford has named Google its preferred partner in its connected vehicle efforts, also naming Google Cloud as its preferred cloud platform.

    Like virtually every other traditional automaker, Ford is under increased pressure to focus on the next generation of data-driven, connected vehicles — an area where Tesla is seen as having a commanding lead. As a result, many automakers are turning to the world’s leading cloud platforms to help them make the transformation.

    Ford and Google are forming a new collaborate group, Team Upshift, “that will push the boundaries of Ford’s transformation, unlock personalized consumer experiences, and drive disruptive, data-driven opportunities.”

    As part of the partnership, Ford will rely on Google Cloud, and Google’s expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data. Millions of Ford and Lincoln vehicles across all price points will provide an Android-powered digital experience, along with Google apps and services. Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play will all be available, with Android making it possible for developers to build additional apps.

    “As Ford continues the most profound transformation in our history with electrification, connectivity and self-driving, Google and Ford coming together establishes an innovation powerhouse truly able to deliver a superior experience for our customers and modernize our business,” said Jim Farley, President and CEO of Ford.

    “From the first moving assembly line to the latest driver-assist technology, Ford has set the pace of innovation for the automotive industry for nearly 120 years,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “We’re proud to partner to apply the best of Google’s AI, data analytics, compute and cloud platforms to help transform Ford’s business and build automotive technologies that keep people safe and connected on the road.”

  • How Artificial Intelligence Can Improve the Hiring Process

    How Artificial Intelligence Can Improve the Hiring Process

    Recruiting software and AI have become increasingly popular, especially right now with remote work becoming the norm. However, this has not been without problems. To solve the problems with recruiting AI people must program their AI with unbiased data. With unbiased data, recruiting AI makes the hiring process a snap. It makes selecting the top applicants quick and easy and even increases the talent pool’s diversity. Learn more by reading the rest of this article and visual deep dive. 

    The past problems with recruiting AI are easily solvable, but do pose a threat. Recruiting AIs have been found to learn similar biases to human recruiters, intensifying the lack of diversity within the workforce. In 2018, Amazon scrapped its recruiting AI because the program developed a preference for male candidates, penalizing resumes that included the word “woman” or mentioned an all female college. This is of course in conflict with the effort to improve the hiring process. Excluding part of the talent pool based on factors that have no correlation to a candidate’s qualifications is detrimental to hiring successfully. 

    Having the AI pick up on certain keywords creates a large potential for bias to sneak into the system. It also shifts the value from an applicant’s qualifications to their resume building abilities. The ability to jam as many keywords into a resume or cover letter is not the most important skill for a person to have once they get hired for a job. With 90% of enterprises and 68% of small businesses using applicant tracking systems, this has to be tackled under control. And, it can be by using a recruiting AI programmed with unbiased data. 

    The biases that affect fair hiring exist in humans and are transferred to the AI through the use of flawed data when it is being programmed. Luckily, the software is able to completely avoid these biases, unlike humans. The AI just needs to be programmed with varied, unbiased data. It needs to be taught to value factors like a person’s interests and skills while disregarding their age, gender, or race. 

    An unbiased recruiting AI is easier and allows for more diversity in the talent pool, which leads to more success. In the S&P 500, the 20 most diverse companies achieve a greater long-term profitability than their less-diverse counterparts. Diversity fuels new ideas and innovation, allowing a company to take on problems to find better solutions. Creating a more diverse workforce begins with improving the recruiting process, which can easily be done with unbiased recruiting AI.

    Artificial intelligence in recruiting software is a great way to speed up the hiring process while also making it more effective. Recruiting AI can also be integrated into a company’s current applicant tracking system or other software. When unbiased data is used, recruiting AI is able to find the best applicants to any job regardless of a person’s socioeconomic background. It has the potential to improve hiring and improve the workforce overall. It can make companies more diverse and therefore more successful.

    Embracing Diversity: The How & The Why With Help From AI