Deep learning hope and hype: MIT Technology Review's Will Knight

Both the progress and the hype around cutting-edge machine learning techniques were on vivid display at the December 2018 NeurIPS Conference in Montreal, Quebec, says Will Knight, MIT Technology Review's senior editor for artificial intelligence. One big question hanging over the meeting, he says, was how to detect and reverse the sexism, racism, and other forms of bias that seep into machine-learning algorithms that train themselves using real-world data. Participants also previewed the coming generation of chips designed specifically to support deep learning--a field where US manufacturers face growing competition from China. Separately, Will looks to the most exciting AI trends for 2019, including the generative adversarial networks (GANs) being used to generate authentic-looking photos and videos. This episode is sponsored by PwC, a global consulting firm in 158 countries with more than 250,000 people. PwC transforms business outcomes and results, helping companies use digital and emerging tech to reimagine their business, from strategy and operations to tax and finance. In the second half of the show, Scott Likens, PwC's New Services and Emerging Tech Leader, shares details from a new PwC study on the main trends in artificial intelligence that business leaders need to know about in 2019. Business Lab is hosted by Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, the CEO and publisher of MIT Technology Review. The show is produced by Wade Roush, with editorial help from Mindy Blodgett. Will Knight: "China has never had a real chip industry. Making AI chips could change that." PwC 2019 AI Predictions: Six AI priorities you can't afford to ignore Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau: From MIT Technology Review, I'm Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, and this is Business Lab, the show that helps business leaders make sense of new technologies coming out of the lab and into the marketplace.