In deep learning, \textit{depth}, as well as \textit{nonlinearity}, create non-convex loss surfaces. Then, does depth alone create bad local minima? In this paper, we prove that without nonlinearity, depth alone does not create bad local minima, although it induces non-convex loss surface. Using this insight, we greatly simplify a recently proposed proof to show that all of the local minima of feedforward deep linear neural networks are global minima. Our theoretical results generalize previous results with fewer assumptions, and this analysis provides a method to show similar results beyond square loss in deep linear models.

Ford is replacing CEO Mark Fields as it struggles to keep its traditional auto-manufacturing business running smoothly while remaking itself as a nimble, high-tech provider of new mobility services. The 114-year-old automaker said Fields is retiring at age 56 after 28 years at the company. Fields will be replaced by Jim Hackett, who joined Ford's board in 2013. Hackett has led Ford's mobility unit since March of last year. In three years as CEO, Fields began Ford's transition from a traditional automaker into a "mobility" company, laying out plans to build autonomous vehicles and explore new services such as ride-hailing and car-sharing.

FILE - In this April 12, 2017 file photo, Ford Motor Co. President and CEO Mark Fields speaks during a media preview of the 2018 Lincoln Navigator at the New York International Auto Show in New York. Ford is replacing its CEO amid questions about its current performance and future strategy, a person familiar with the situation has said. Fields will be replaced by Jim Hackett, who joined Ford's board in 2013. FILE - In this April 12, 2017 file photo, Ford Motor Co. President and CEO Mark Fields speaks during a media preview of the 2018 Lincoln Navigator at the New York International Auto Show in New York. Ford is replacing its CEO amid questions about its current performance and future strategy, a person familiar with the situation has said.

Ford Motor Co. is expected to announce on Monday the replacement of President and CEO Mark Fields with board member Jim Hackett. Hackett is also head of the company's smart mobility unit, which is focused on its ride-hailing and car-sharing efforts. According to several reports, the move is due to the automaker's recent disappointing profits and stock price, which has dropped nearly 40 percent since Fields took over in 2014. Fields, 56, has worked at the company for 28 years, and previously served as CEO of then Ford-owned Mazda, and president of The Americas. Ford has not officially confirmed Field's departure, and issued a statement to Automotive News that said, "we are staying focused on our plan for creating value and profitable growth.

This article was originally published at 9:30 p.m.

Several organizations are already using drones to fight poaching, but the Lindbergh Foundation is taking it one step further. The environmental non-profit has joined forces with Neurala in order to use the company's deep learning neural network AI to boost the capabilities of the drones in its Air Shepherd program. Neurala taught its technology what elephants, rhinos and poachers look like, so it can accurately pinpoint and mark them in videos. It will now put the AI to work sifting through all the footage the foundation's drones beam back in real time, including infrared footage taken at night. The AI's job is to pore over these videos and quickly identify the presence of poachers to prevent them from even reaching the animals' herds. It's the perfect addition to the Air Shepherd program that aims to use cutting edge software and drones to stop poaching in Africa.

Summary: As deep learning expands those capabilities are finding their way into the not-for-profit community in the service of conserving the earth's wildlife and forests. The for-profit world may be driving AI but it's a solution to many problems in the not-for-profit world as well. We were particularly impressed by the use of deep learning technologies to solve problems in the pursuit of preserving natural resources including many species of animals and fish, and also including forests. For the most part the data problems that nature conservancy organizations face fall into these categories. Going back 20 years this meant putting intrepid feet on the ground with binoculars and note pads.

The longer you spend with the entrepreneurs behind the video game industry cluster in Cambridge, the more the forthcoming general election begins to seem a trifling, parochial concern. Compared with the momentous significance of the vote to leave the EU, next month's election barely registers for people such as Mark Gerhard, CEO of Playfusion, a video game company (pictured above) employing 58 people, of whom about 60% are from the EU. Almost all of us are disengaged from it. The cruel thing is that it doesn't affect us; if it goes really bad we can change our situation, we can solve it," he says. For people working in Cambridge's science parks, part of the hi-tech, global knowledge economy, the fallout from the Brexit vote is still the key political issue. Cambridge voted 74% to remain, and the shock of seeing things not go their way remains palpable. Bosses and senior employees in this tech cluster are highly educated and relatively well-off, and have many choices about where they base themselves. For the moment, this is Cambridge, but many are watching and waiting, contemplating their next steps, ready to leave the country should things turn unfavourable. In the months after the Brexit vote, Gerhard (who is originally from South Africa, but has lived here for 19 years and now has citizenship) was so dismayed to feel, as an immigrant, like he no longer belonged, that he contemplated moving to America. The election of Trump put paid to that idea, he says, but he is clear that should Brexit-related developments make it harder for his company to thrive in the UK, he will relocate. "It's not a threat; the reality is that for highly skilled individuals, the world is borderless.

Google has announced at its annual conference (I/O 2017) that it has computing pods capable of 11.5 petaflops. They are made of 64 customized TPU (processors specialized for deep learning/AI), each generate 180 teraflops. It is going to be available to other companies via Google cloud. Google has also announced Google.ai, a new website where Google presents its work on AI. It seems likely that Google wants to sell AI as a service.

Artificial Intelligence Set to Transform Insurance Industry but Integration Challenges Remain, According to Accenture Report Insurers are investing in AI technology to enhance the customer experience, empower their own people NEW YORK; Apr. 19, 2017 – Insurance executives believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly transform their industry in the next three years, with insurers investing in AI to empower agents, brokers and employees to enhance the customer experience with automated personalized services, faster claims handling and individual risk-based underwriting processes, according to Accenture's Technology Vision for Insurance 2017. At the same time, however, the report found that insurers face challenges integrating AI into their existing technology, citing issues such as data quality, privacy and infrastructure compatibility. Titled "Technology for People," the report is based on the insights of a technology advisory board, interviews with industry technologists and a survey of more than 550 insurance executives across 31 countries. According to the report, three-quarters (75 percent) of insurance executives believe that AI will either significantly alter or completely transform the overall insurance industry in the next three years. One-third (32 percent) believe that their own company will be "completely transformed" by AI within that timeframe, and an additional 39 percent believe that AI will "significantly change" their company.