Scientists at IBM Research – Almaden have demonstrated that the TrueNorth brain-inspired computer chip, with its 1 million neurons and 256 million synapses, can efficiently implement inference with deep networks that approach state-of-the-art classification accuracy on several vision and speech datasets. The essence of the innovation was a new algorithm for training deep networks to run efficiently on a neuromorphic architecture, such as TrueNorth, by using 1-bit neural spikes, low-precision synapses, and constrained block-wise connectivity--a task that was previously thought to be difficult, if not, impossible. "The goal of brain-inspired computing is to deliver a scalable neural network substrate while approaching fundamental limits of time, space, and energy," said IBM Fellow Dharmendra Modha, chief scientist, Brain-inspired Computing, IBM Research. Today, the TrueNorth development ecosystem includes not only the TrueNorth brain-inspired processor, the novel algorithm for training deep networks and the scaled-up NS16e System but also a simulator, a programming language, an integrated programming environment, a library of algorithms and applications, firmware, a teaching curriculum, single-chip boards, and scaled-out systems.

Scientists at IBM Research – Almaden have demonstrated that the TrueNorth brain-inspired computer chip, with its 1 million neurons and 256 million synapses, can efficiently implement inference with deep networks that approach state-of-the-art classification accuracy on several vision and speech datasets. This will open up the possibilities of embedding intelligence in the entire computing stack from the Internet of Things, to smartphones, to robotics, to cars, to cloud computing, and even supercomputing. The novel architecture of the TrueNorth processor can classify image data at between 1,200 and 2,600 frames per second while using a mere 25 to 275 mW, which is effectively greater than 6,000 fps per Watt. Like that kung fu master in the movies who simultaneously fights assaults from many opponents, this processor can detect patterns in real time from 50-100 cameras at once – each with 32 32 color pixels and streaming information at the standard TV rate of 24 fps – while running on a smartphone battery for days without recharging. The breakthrough was published this week in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

I was talking to a banking compliance executive recently about how banks are looking to use artificial intelligence to spot clues to crimes being committed by customers or employees. This executive was clearly not buying into the hype. "We've thought about that, but we don't plan to use it at this time," she said. "There's too much risk of innocent people getting caught up in a dragnet." An AI engine could find a pattern of transactions or behavior among law-abiding customers that mimics money laundering or some other crime.

Jul. 25, 2017 - Tech titans Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk recently slugged it out online over the possible threat artificial intelligence (AI) might one day pose to the human race, although you could be forgiven if you don't see why this seems like a pressing question. Thanks to AI, computers are learning to do a variety of tasks that have long eluded them -- everything from driving cars to detecting cancerous skin lesions to writing news stories. But Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, worries that AI systems could soon surpass humans, potentially leading to our deliberate (or inadvertent) extinction. Two weeks ago, Musk warned U.S. governors to get educated and start considering ways to regulate AI in order to ward off the threat. "Once there is awareness, people will be extremely afraid," he said at the time.

Sweden appears to have accidentally leaked the details of almost all of its citizens. The brewing scandal – based around a leak that actually happened in 2015 but only emerged last week – could see prominent members of Sweden's government removed from their post. The leak allowed unvetted IT workers in other countries to see the details of people registered in Swedish government and police databases. It happened after the government looked to outsource data held by the Transport Agency, but did so in a way that allowed that information to be available to almost anyone, critics have claimed. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.

Last week, Elon Musk dashed off 125 characters announcing a remarkably ambitious plan to send Amtrak to an early grave. "Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop. NY-DC in 29 mins," he proclaimed in a tweet. Sign up to get Backchannel's weekly newsletter. Yet something about this particular moonshot seemed off.

This spring, as part of their coursework, four Stanford University students found themselves in Coronado, California, doing pushups on the beach and charging into a 61-degree surf while overseen by Navy SEAL trainers. They performed this extraordinary homework to better understand the process of inculcating recruits into the elite corps of military frogmen and women. The end result of their (literal) immersion was a solution to an inefficiency in evaluating prospective SEALS: the time-consuming process of analyzing the mountains of comments made about each candidate. Tackling the problem like the internet entrepreneurs they hoped to become, the students created a mobile app to streamline the process. Their reward was thanks from a grateful military establishment--and college credit. Dan Raile is a freelance journalist based in San Francisco.

Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox. Many aspects of artificial intelligence – the technique of training a machine to learn in a way which resembles a human being – may not be entirely new, but with the increasing availability of relatively cheap and flexible computing power, the technology is becoming far more accessible. A number of tech companies and vendors are now offering APIs and frameworks that allow businesses to create their own intelligence services. Ocado is using a combination of Google's open source TensorFlow machine learning tools and cloud APIs to support internal AI projects. One such initiative focuses on automating management of the deluge of customer service-related emails the company receives.

Two unicorn companies valued at over $1B are included in the map: the automated endpoint protection company Tanium and the predictive intelligence company Cylance. Mobile Security: Included in this category are startups such as Appthority, which provides a cloud-based platform that automatically identifies and grades risky behavior in mobile apps including known and unknown malware, new malware used in targeted attacks, corporate data ex-filtration, and intellectual property exposure. Similarly, Skycure's predictive technology leverages massive crowd knowledge to proactively identify threats to secure mobile devices. Behavioral Analytics / Anomaly Detection: Startups in this category include Darktrace which uses advanced mathematics and machine learning to detect anomalous behavior in organizations' systems and networks in order detect cyber-attacks.

In an age of Photoshop, filters and social media, many of us are used to seeing manipulated pictures – subjects become slimmer and smoother or, in the case of Snapchat, transformed into puppies. However, there's a new breed of video and audio manipulation tools, made possible by advances in artificial intelligence and computer graphics, that will allow for the creation of realistic looking footage of public figures appearing to say, well, anything. Hillary Clinton describing the stolen children she keeps locked in her wine cellar. Tom Cruise finally admitting what we suspected all along … that he's a Brony. This is the future of fake news.