News not Noise – 07/2018
This week’s topics focus on the race for AI in Europe and China, a new overview of the state of AI and the very important area of AI related hardware.
AI Strategy in Europe
Has Europe already lost the AI race | Ingo Hoffmann
There is no question in my mind that there’s a race for the lead in the AI competition. Maybe this should be called AI nationalism. More and more countries are defining their AI strategy, and more importantly their AI investments. China is the leader here. (See more updates below). Europe is lagging behind. It is not too late, but we cannot afford to wait much longer in Europe.
AI Startup Landscape | appliedai
A very interesting report from applied.de on the AI startup landscape in Germany.
AI for all: How Finland (and other countries) are delivering free, accessible digital skills training | NESTA
Good examples how some countries starting to address the need for more training and knowledge about AI and digital skills.
China
Shanghai aims to raise US$15 billion in funds to gain an upper hand in AI development | SCMP
Shanghai plans to set up investment funds worth at least a total of 100 billion yuan (US$15.1 billion) over the next two or three years to bolster the development of businesses related to artificial intelligence technologies.
Interesting to note that there seems to be a competition on city level. City leaders have envisioned the creation of Shanghai’s own internet behemoths on par with the so-called BAT firms – Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings.
Inside JD.com, the giant Chinese firm that could eat Amazon alive | wired
Fascinating view behind the scenes of JD.com as it pushes into Western markets, with drones, robots and luxury brands
Alibaba v. Tencent: The Battle for Supremacy in China | Fortune
In depth report by Adam Lashinsky on two of China’s AI giants. Great read to better understand the chinese AI leaders.
AI knowledge
State of AI
Great report with lots of details on the state of AI by Nathan Benaich and Ian Hogarth.
Unmasking A.I.’s Bias Problem | Fortune
Jonathan Vanian is looking at a key question for AI applications: Can Big Tech tackle A.I.’s discrimination problem?
AI Hardware
There is no question that hardware is playing a key role in the recent successes of AI. And it is just the beginning. Goldman Sachs published a report where they sized the market opportunity for hardware in the age of AI. They suggests that the overall AI hardware Total Addressable Market has potential to grow from $12bn in 2017 to $35bn/$100bn+ by 2020/2025
Can Microsoft get smarter? Inside the tech giant’s massive bet on AI | Geekwire
Microsoft has so far released its artificial intelligence technologies largely through its well-known software platforms, such as the Cortana voice assistant on Windows 10, automated language translation in Microsoft Office, and AI-powered speech, vision, search and language technologies for developers on Microsoft Azure.
Next up for an AI infusion: Microsoft’s first-party hardware.
Why the Future of Machine Learning is Tiny | petewarden.com
Pete Warden argues that there’s a massive untapped market waiting to be unlocked with the right technology. We need something that works on cheap microcontrollers, that uses very little energy, that relies on compute not radio, and that can turn all our wasted sensor data into something useful. This is the gap that machine learning, and specifically deep learning, fills. The future of ML on tiny devices
Facebook Is Forming a Team to Design Its Own Chips | Bloomberg
Facebook is building a team to design its own semiconductors, adding to a trend among technology companies to supply themselves and lower their dependence on chipmakers such as Intel Corp
