Dr. Fei-Fei Li, Stanford professor and co-director of Stanford HAI (Human-Centered AI), and Andrew Ng, venture capitalist and managing general partner at Palo Alto-based AI Fund discussed the current state and expected near-term developments in artificial intelligence. As a general purpose technology, AI development will both deepen, as private sector LLMs are developed for industry-specific needs, and broaden, as open source public sector LLMs emerge to address broad societal problems. Expect exciting advances in image models — what Li calls “pixel space.” When implementing AI, think about teams rather than individuals, and think about tasks rather than jobs. Continue reading CES: Session Details the Impact and Future of AI Technology

Based on the premise that it is impractical to deploy an all-purpose LLM for specific use cases, a group of researchers from Google, Baidu, DeepMind and Meta founded Reka AI in July 2022. A year later the company has emerged from stealth mode with news of $58 million in Series A funding led by DST Global and Radical Ventures. Strategic partner Snowflake Ventures also participated, along with angel investor Nat Friedman, former CEO of GitHub. The Sunnyvale, California-based startup says it is building “enterprise-grade state-of-the-art AI assistants for everyone, regardless of language and culture.” Continue reading Reka AI Raises $58 Million to Customize LLMs for Enterprise

Mobile Electronics Association president Chris Cook quizzed CES panelists on innovations in the smart car space. Accenture digital strategist Monika Minarcin noted that AI doesn’t just power autonomous driving but also voice recognition, digital assistants and precision marketing. At Humanising Autonomy, chief executive Maya Pindeus is using behavioral AI to build a global standard for interaction between people and machines. DarkStar Vision chief executive Joe Scalisi is working on a passive color night vision solution that he believes can “enhance the automotive sector” with rear view mirrors and motorcycle helmets. Continue reading CES: Digital Disruptors Focus on the Connected Car Industry

The Biden administration is acting to limit China’s rapid military progress by banning shipments of advanced chips and the production tools needed to make them. This is in response to signs that China is using AI and supercomputing to develop hypersonic weapons and systems that may be able to crack highly encrypted messaging. The new rules, which extend to foreign companies using relevant U.S. technology, have already begun taking effect. But companies including Intel, Samsung, TSMC and SK Hynix have reportedly received limited exemptions allowing them to continue shipping to some factories there. Continue reading U.S. Aims to Slow China Tech Progress with Chip Restrictions

While drone announcements failed to generate the same buzz during CES 2022 as in previous years, several new products should be of interest to consumers and professionals, especially those in photography, video and movie production. In addition to demonstrations of hydrogen fuel cell tech promising increased flying time and new underwater micro-ROVs touting a range of enterprise applications, CES included affordable feature-rich drones such as Autel Robotics’ Dragonfish with built-in 4K video and 50X optical zoom; Skydio’s self-flying drone, geared toward cinematographers; and Sony’s Airpeak S1, the smallest drone to support a full-size mirrorless Alpha camera. Continue reading CES: Updated Drone Tech Offers Possibilities for Production

ETC@USC teamed with Charisma.ai, Digital Domain, Fable Studio and Write Brothers, Inc. to publish a white paper on an innovative character definition tool that enables casting audience members within a story. The goal is to help construct new immersive experiences across different narrative formats using a variety of authoring systems. The proposal features a Universal Character Model (UCM) that houses all motivations, goals and methods of any specific character in order to create consistent behavior within the fluid context of interactive and dynamic stories. The white paper is now available to the creative community. Continue reading Universal Character Model Detailed in Latest ETC White Paper

ST37 Sport et Technologie, a small startup within the French Pavilion at CES’s Eureka Park, was demonstrating an AI-driven real-time referee assistant that will, in their words, end subjectivity in sports. The company’s autonomous robotized cameras connect to an AI that interprets the images in real time and sends the results to smartwatches or screens. The system is designed to assist referees in making better calls, provide helpful tools to scouts, and offer coaches and athletes valuable tools for improving performance. The ETC team suggested to ST37 that the data would also be extremely useful for on-air color commentators. Continue reading CES 2020: Startup Creates AI For Better Sports Refereeing

The IEEE just published the first version of a 136-page document that it hopes will help technologists build ethically designed AI systems that can benefit humanity and avoid the pitfalls inherent in the new field. Ethics, says the IEEE, is something that technologists should consider when building autonomous systems, and it lists recommendations in the new document, titled “Ethically Aligned Design,” which are based on the input of more than 100 specialists in AI, law, ethics, philosophy and policy. Continue reading IEEE Publishes First Draft Guidelines for ‘Ethically Aligned’ AI

The FLYBi automates many of the operational tasks that often frustrate drone users. In addition to standard features (remote control, companion app, 12MP camera, 1080p video, on-board Wi-Fi), the FLYBi has the ability to take off, hover, land — even return and change batteries — with little or no interaction by the pilot. VR goggles aid in operation, thanks to a camera unit installed on a gimbal and connected to the head-tracking unit. The FLYBi also features a 1.8-inch display with anti-glare glass and a wrist-worn remote, one of the first wearable drone controllers. Continue reading New Drone Adds Wearable Remote, Head-Tracking VR Goggles

Today, the costs associated with implementing a light detection and ranging sensor — or LIDAR — for a self-driving car are rather expensive, ranging anywhere between $8,000 to $80,000. Silicon Valley startup Quanergy Systems however, claims it will soon be able to offer those same sensors at a significantly lower cost. By next year, the company plans to release a LIDAR no bigger than a credit card with a price tag of about $250. Quanergy hopes to release a postage stamp-sized version by 2018 for $100 or less. Continue reading Quanergy to Deliver Low Cost Sensors for Self-Driving Vehicles

New details have surfaced suggesting that Apple’s latest innovation may emerge in the auto industry. According to inside sources, a team of several hundred Apple employees, led by former Ford engineer and Apple product design VP Steve Zadesky, has been developing an electric car under the project code name “Titan” for about a year now. While Apple has yet to confirm the project, the company’s recent hiring of experienced auto executives suggests there might be truth to these rumors.

Continue reading Project Titan: Apple is Reportedly Developing an Electric Car

Research firm Gartner recently made a number of interesting forecasts related to the Internet of Things, notably that there will be 4.9 billion connected devices in use this year, up 30 percent from 2014. We should expect 25 billion connected things by 2020. The research firm also anticipates that by 2020, connected kitchen appliances will contribute at least 15 percent savings in the food and beverage industry. And Gartner says there will be 250 million connected vehicles with automated driving capabilities within the next five years. Continue reading Gartner Predicts About 25 Billion Connected Devices by 2020