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The Untapped Potential of Video Analytics

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You've probably seen this scenario play out on a police procedural show on television: A crime has been committed and officers are tasked with looking through security footage to see if any of it was caught on camera. On TV, they can cut away to commercial and have the answer back as soon as they return. In real life, however, analyzing huge quantities of video data is a task that's rarely accomplished effectively by human operators. There's just too much data to sift through, and the cost for the man hours required is too high. But that problem is being overcome with machine learning and video analytics.


Trump refuses to commit to accepting vote, Airbnb faces NYC eviction and a plea against helicopter parenting

#artificialintelligence

Donald Trump refused to guarantee that he would accept the result of the US election if he loses, in a fiery third and final presidential debate in which Hillary Clinton accused her Republican rival of being a "puppet" of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to a YouGov poll, 49 per cent of respondents said Mrs Clinton won the debate, while 39 per cent thought Mr Trump the victor. Here is what FT readers thought. Airbnb faces fight for survival in NYC Governor Andrew Cuomo is preparing to sign a bill that would in effect end the home-sharing company's business in New York City. The San Francisco-based company has waged a last-minute campaign to thwart the law, which would impose fines of up to 7,500 on any host who advertised short-term accommodation through Airbnb.


How artificial intelligence will impact accounting

#artificialintelligence

So many works of film and fiction are hooked on the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and what it might mean for humanity. They are often apocalyptic tales โ€“ Blade Runner, Alien, Terminator โ€“ where mankind comes off badly. But now that AI is being spearheaded by internet giants such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon, and our daily lives are increasingly affected by AI systems โ€“ chat bots, purchase prediction, news generation โ€“ what will really happen? In 2015 the UK media widely picked up on American media organisation NPR's calculator that could predict which jobs are susceptible to computerisation. The calculator, using research by the University of Oxford, said accountants have a 95% chance of losing their jobs as machines take over the number crunching and data analysis.


Indian Angel Network partners IBM to bolster startup ecosystem

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They will also gain a chance to explore new dimensions of next-gen technologies like Cloud, Cognitive, Analytics, IoT and Mobility, IAN said in a statement here. "IAN and its portfolio companies has been associated with IBM in the past and this partnership has helped nurture high growth startups. We believe this synergistic partnership will breed innovative technologies and grow global footprint companies from India," said Padmaja Ruparel, Co-founder, president IAN. IAN and IBM will work on various joint initiatives, to further technology innovation and offer mentorship and funding support to early stage startups, that will enhance their ability to scale business both in terms of technology and newer business engagements, it added. "IBM will engage, influence and mentor the early stage startup ecosystem and additionally nurture an IP led startup ecosystem focused on IOT, Artificial Intelligence, Security, Commerce etc and influence by design thinking," said Nipun Mehrotra, Vice President, Growth Initiatives, IBM India/ South Asia.


Tesla cars to have full self-driving gear, but feature disabled for now

PCWorld

Tesla Motors' cars will come fitted with full self-driving hardware, as the company jousts with tech rivals like Google and car makers like Ford who are making a dash for the autonomous car market. Model S and Model X cars with the inbuilt hardware are already in production and customers can buy one, Tesla said Wednesday. But the features possible with the new hardware will be enabled only later through over-the-air updates after testing over "millions of miles of real-world driving," Tesla added. The company is evidently not taking chances after deaths in accidents involving Tesla cars in China and Florida raised some questions about the readiness of autonomous technology. In the Florida instance, it was confirmed that Tesla's Autopilot technology for driver-assistance was activated, while in the China incident, Tesla said it does not have sufficient data to establish that the technology was engaged.


This robot can entertain children for hours without any adult supervision

#artificialintelligence

The three-foot tall robot with "wide eyes, working fingers, pastel trimming, and a touchscreen tablet on its chest" showed off its babysitting skills at an annual robotics event in San Jose, California, the Guardian reported. The iPal is designed to act like a companion for children: the robot talks to them, answering general-knowledge questions like "Why is the sun hot?," and entertaining them with song, dance, and games, such as rock-paper-scissors. Jiping Wang, founder of Avatar Mind, which created the iPal, told the Guardian that the robot can keep children between the ages of 3 and 8 occupied for "a couple of hours" without adult supervision, touting it as a perfect solution to fill the time between when children return home from school and when parents get back from work. Madeline Duva, an adviser to Avatar Mind, clarified that "it cannot replace a babysitter." But, she said, in cases where you do need to occupy a child for a brief period while you, say, run to the store for some laundry detergent, the iPal is better than devices like the iPad, which are far less interactive than the robot.


eBay's (EBAY) Devin Wenig on Q3 2016 Results - Earnings Call Transcript

#artificialintelligence

Replatforming a business of our size and scale takes time. However, our pace of innovation is accelerating. We're increasingly using structured data and artificial intelligence to transform shopping on eBay, delivering more personalization capabilities, continuing to iterate our mobile experience, and bringing more unique inventory and categories to our customers. We've got more work to do, but I'm confident we're on the right path. Now, let me turn it over to Scott, and he'll provide more details on our Q3 results.


All new Teslas will have the technology needed to drive autonomously, Elon Musk says

Los Angeles Times

Tesla announced Wednesday that all cars being produced today and going forward will be equipped with the necessary hardware to support fully autonomous driving -- including the upcoming Model 3. The required hardware includes eight cameras that add up to 360-degree visibility, 12 updated ultrasonic sensors with added sensitivity, and a forward-facing radar the company says will see through heavy rain, fog, dust "and even the car ahead." With the upgrade, Tesla moves further down the road to making its fleet of electric vehicles capable of driving without human direction, when the software and regulations allow for it. Chief Executive Elon Musk used a news briefing after the announcement to lay into media for spotlighting accidents that occur with Tesla cars using its Autopilot driver assist systems, without putting the accidents in context of the large number of overall traffic deaths. "You effectively dissuade people from using autonomous vehicles, and you're killing people," he said. The latest hardware upgrade adds yet another project to Musk's ever-rising stack of ambitions.


Tesla announces fully self-driving fleet

USATODAY - Tech Top Stories

Tesla is partnering with Panasonic to supply batteries for its upcoming Model 3. Newslook Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to his company to acquire SolarCity. SAN FRANCISCO -- Tesla's fleet is going autonomous. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday that its Model S, X and forthcoming Model 3 sedan will start being outfitted with "the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver." That constitutes full Level 5 autonomy, which doesn't require any driver involvement. That's the ultimate goal for a range of automakers and tech companies, including Google, Ford and Volvo, which have vowed to produce such self-driving vehicles by 2021.


At its U.S. launch, LeEco planned to show off two new cars. Only one arrived intact

Los Angeles Times

After snapping up Irvine television maker Vizio in July for 2 billion in cash, Chinese tech firm LeEco made its official U.S. debut Wednesday, hosting a San Francisco news conference to spell out its ambitions to sell gadgets as varied as phones and cars. During the two-hour presentation, the company ran through nearly a dozen products it plans to launch, including a range of 4K smart TVs, the Le Pro3 and Le S3 smartphones, a virtual reality headset, a smart bicycle that can travel up to 30 mph, a video streaming service and two smart cars: the semi-autonomous LeSee and the fully autonomous LeSee Pro concept car. But the LeSee was noticeably absent from the news conference. LeEco founder Jia Yueting told the audience it got into a "serious accident" while in transit from Los Angeles to Silicon Valley. The LeSee Pro, present at the event, sat stationary on display.