Just what i find

Further demonstrating that just having the technology isn't enough – you have to keep innovating to stay relevant – Stitch Fix first started using AI and machine learning back in 2011, and it's given them a significant "first mover advantage" – but the commoditisation of these capabilities means that the things they once held as their own are now readily available to anyone who can code and who can collect the data. Trunk Club, Amazon Wardrobe and The Chapar are all hot on their tail. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/05/25/stitch-fix-the-amazing-use-case-of-using-artificial-intelligence-in-fashion-retail Online styling subscription service Stitch Fix uses AI in many aspects of its operation.… Continue reading →

While "replacing 300 CPU-only servers on deep learning training" is hardly a benchmark, 15,500 images per second on ResNet-50 is – just a couple of years ago, training throughput would be 1-2 orders of magnitude slower. Also of interest is the approach that Nvidia is taking here – a single compute "node" will be capable of delivering both AI and HPC workloads with extreme performance (the reference implementation claims two petaflops). https://www.zdnet.com/article/nvidia-unveils-the-hgx-2-a-server-platform-for-hpc-and-ai-workloads/ The platform’s unique high-precision computing capabilities are designed for the growing number of applications that combine high-performance computing with AI. Continue reading →

While not the first to develop a virtual world to provide suitable simulations to accelerate reinforcement learning, this world certainly seems to be one of the most complex. It'll be interesting to see how effective these simulations actually are in the real world; so far though, there are no robots complex enough to actually fully enact what they've "learnt". https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/virtual-home-robot-chores/ The goal of VirtualHome is to help robots learn tasks by first experiencing them in a virtual system. In the current system, an avatar can perform 1,000 separate actions, broken down as subtasks, in… Continue reading →

The ethical questions raised by Google's (small) contract with the US military to develop AI are difficult and controversial, but they have to be asked, and i'd much rather they're asked in a form open to public debate than behind closed doors. https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/30/17408446/google-ai-guidelines-weaponry-military-pentagon-maven-contract Where will Google draw the line on weaponized AI? Continue reading →

In further evidence of the "automation increases jobs" argument, Amazon has recently released footage showing how robots in their warehouses make it quicker and easier for "associates" (=people) to pick and pack your order. This increased productivity means that the warehouses with the most robots are the most profitable, and hence employ the most people. The article does not mention whether Amazon's staff are profiting from this increased productivity the way UPS' did (https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/04/17/303770907/to-increase-productivity-ups-monitors-drivers-every-move) when they massively increased instrumentation on their trucks to achieve a similar level of improved efficiency. https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/amazon-warehouse-tour/ If you’re like us, you probably spend a little… Continue reading →

In further evidence of the way the reducing cost of technology is saving lives, USGS posted a video showing unmaned drones sent to map and monitor lava flows following the eruption of Kīlauea in Hawaii. Analysis of the drone footage picked up a previously unknown but fast moving flow heading towards an as-yet unevacuated residential area. After notifying the Emergency Operations Centre, it became clear that a resident was stranded in the danger area, and he was instructed to "follow the drone" to safety. In addition to this sort of direct assistance, the drone allowed teams to track lava advancement… Continue reading →

In his (very, very long) book 'The Rise and Fall of American Growth' (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0691147728), Robert Gordon lays out an argument that not only is growth slower than than people think, but that the growth spurt from 1870 to 1970 was, by all accounts, a one-off, and growth today is reverting back to the long term mean. Xi Jinping doesn't buy that, arguing that IOT, blockchain, AI, quantum and mobile computing are poised to drive a new spurt of growth which will exceed even that triggered by the industrial revolution. Only time will tell who's right. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/chinese-president-xi-jinping-calls-blockchain-a-breakthrough-technology.html Chinese President Xi Jinping… Continue reading →

Using technology for good – in this case to reduce the amount of pesticide and the cost of seed-stock (you no longer need to buy the special seed which is only available, at a premium, from the manufacturer of the herbicide or pesticide you plan to use) – is what many of us enter the technology industry for. https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/611196/weed-killing-robots-are-threatening-giant-chemical-companies-business-models/ https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/611196/weed-killing-robots-are-threatening-giant-chemical-companies-business-models/ AI-powered weed hunters could soon reduce the need for herbicides and genetically modified crops. Continue reading →

What happens when the network for your IOT or connected devices suddenly announces it's going to make a change which affects millions of devices at your end customers? How do you convince them to upgrade to a product which is essentially the same as the one they currently have without seeming like you're trying to scam them? An interesting parallel will happen in 2025 as BT Openreach switches off the UK's analogue phone network, and millions of alarms, traffic lights, and social care devices suddenly lose connection. https://www.ft.com/content/cf0e5816-5a97-11e8-bdb7-f6677d2e1ce8?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8 Plan to retire voice network in 2025 has far-reaching consequences Continue reading →

Probabilistic models of natural language processing don’t seem that revolutionary – after all, humans implicitly work this way – but building a practical but generic framework has been a challenge for engineers and researchers for years (we only have to look at the Alexa Prize (https://developer.amazon.com/alexaprize) to see how hard this issue is). Gamalon’s new product claims to solve this issue. It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611078/how-uncertainty-could-help-a-machine-hold-a-more-eloquent-conversation/ AI startup Gamalon developed a clever new way for chatbots and virtual assistants to converse with us. Continue reading →