The problem of career trajectory prediction (CTP) aims to predict one's future employer or job position. While several CTP methods have been developed for this problem, we posit that none of these methods (1) jointly considers the mutual ternary dependency between three key units (i.e., user, position, and company) of a career and (2) captures the characteristic shifts of key units in career over time, leading to an inaccurate understanding of the job movement patterns in the labor market. To address the above challenges, we propose a novel solution, named as CAPER, that solves the challenges via sophisticated temporal knowledge graph (TKG) modeling. It enables the utilization of a graph-structured knowledge base with rich expressiveness, effectively preserving the changes in job movement patterns. Furthermore, we devise an extrapolated career reasoning task on TKG for a realistic evaluation. The experiments on a real-world career trajectory dataset demonstrate that CAPER consistently and significantly outperforms four baselines, two recent TKG reasoning methods, and five state-of-the-art CTP methods in predicting one's future companies and positions-i.e., on average, yielding 6.80% and 34.58% more accurate predictions, respectively.

Network alignment, or the task of finding corresponding nodes in different networks, is an important problem formulation in many application domains. We propose CAPER, a multilevel alignment framework that Coarsens the input graphs, Aligns the coarsened graphs, Projects the alignment solution to finer levels and Refines the alignment solution. We show that CAPER can improve upon many different existing network alignment algorithms by enforcing alignment consistency across multiple graph resolutions: nodes matched at finer levels should also be matched at coarser levels. CAPER also accelerates the use of slower network alignment methods, at the modest cost of linear-time coarsening and refinement steps, by allowing them to be run on smaller coarsened versions of the input graphs. Experiments show that CAPER can improve upon diverse network alignment methods by an average of 33% in accuracy and/or an order of magnitude faster in runtime.

Learn more about what comes next. Instacart today announced that it acquired Caper AI, a startup developing technologies to automate brick-and-mortar checkout experiences, for approximately $350 million in cash and stock. With the purchase, Instacart says that it aims to help retailers "unify in-store and online shopping [flows] for customers." Caper's New York-based workforce will join Instacart, adding hardware engineering talent to Instacart's existing product development team. Over time, Instacart expects to integrate Caper's technology into the Instacart app and the ecommerce websites and apps of its retail partners, allowing customers to build online shopping lists and browse recipes ahead of time and check off their lists as they go. "Over the years, Instacart has continued to expand its retailer enablement services, helping brick-and-mortar grocers across North America move their businesses online, grow, and meet the evolving needs of their customers.

In 1937, two decades after founding his first Piggly Wiggly, supermarket entrepreneur Clarence Saunders opened Keedoozle, a "fully-automated grocery store." Groceries were offered at a steep discount and sample items were displayed in glass cabinets. "To purchase, the customer will insert a key in a hole in the showcase beside the sample article, press a button," TIME Magazine reported at the time. "In the stockroom the proper article will drop on a conveyor belt leading to the cashier's desk. Simultaneously the purchase price is recorded on an adding machine. After all purchases are made, the customer sticks his key into the adding machine, gets his bill. Using another key, the cashier releases the purchases all wrapped for the customer."

Kroger is testing new smart shopping cart technology in the Cincinnati area that eliminates paying at the checkout. For the past few weeks, Kroger quietly rolled out the new carts at its Madeira store, branded "KrogGo." The technology allows shoppers to load up their cart with groceries, then pay by swiping their credit or debit card at the cart, then head for the parking lot. Using artificial intelligence, the technology will enable shoppers to assemble their order without having to scan items as carts begin to recognize a box of cereal or pound of apples, according to Caper, the New York firm behind the technology. The carts include a built-in scale to measure items sold by weight and a built-in screen that can deliver shopping list recommendations, promotional offers, and wayfinding capabilities.

Grocery giant Sobeys has unveiled what it calls Canada's first smart shopping cart at a store in Ontario. It's a great idea for people looking for assistance in shopping and to be on their way as soon as possible. The project is a partnership with New York-based retail technology company Capers. Essentially, the cart you grab as you enter the store has high-tech devices that allow customers to shop, get recipe ideas, obtain information on where to get ingredients, weigh and pay for their food. The cart also has GPS so you can find whatever you need in the store. The Smart Cart has been developed to allow shoppers to bypass traditional checkout lanes, one of the most unpleasant parts of grocery shopping.

Take AmazonGo, the A.I.-powered convenience mart that opened 10 locations in cities including Seattle and Chicago last year, with plans to evangelize New Yorkers next. Cutting errand time back considerably, the store offers "JustWalkOut" shopping for groceries and meals. How it works: Download the free app, scan a QR code at the entrance, grab items off the shelves and exit through the turnstiles. By the time you receive a receipt in the AmazonGo app, you're halfway to the car. At less intelligent stores, you might soon be able to grab a cart that lets you checkout and bag items without a wait.

In a hilarious turn of events last month, a Russian robot named Boris was unmasked as a man in a robot suit. Likewise, state-run media in China unveiled its AI reporter in November, and to this day it's not clear if this is an actual AI system boiling down news stories or just a synthesized voice with an avatar. More fabricated robotic theatrics appeared to be on display this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where LG CTO I.P. Park delivered the opening CES keynote address. Park was accompanied onstage for the hour-long presentation by CLOi, a conceptual robot line perhaps best known for failing during a live demo at CES a year ago. This year, however, CLOi did a bit of everything: The robot acted as co-host, cracked jokes, delivered some LG HomeBrew beer, and even helped some guy who hates blind dates find true love.

The Amazon boogie-man has every retailer scrambling for ways to fight back. But the cost and effort to install cameras all over the ceiling or into every shelf could block stores from entering the autonomous shopping era. Caper wants to make eliminating checkout lines as easy as replacing their shopping carts while offering a more familiar experience for customers. The startup makes a shopping cart with a built-in barcode scanner and credit card swiper, but it's finalizing the technology to automatically scan items you drop in thanks to three image recognition cameras and a weight sensor. The company claims people already buy 18 percent more per visit after stores are equipped with its carts.

From cashierless Amazon Go stores to Walmart's self-driving vans for food drop-offs, tech is revolutionizing grocery shopping with an emphasis on speed and convenience. Now a lesser-known startup is entering the fray with its AI-powered shopping carts that could put an end to bothersome checkout lines at your local store. Equipped with an interactive display and card swiper, the Caper smart shopping cart lets you scan an item's barcode as you shop and pay before you leave. It's already available in two stores in New York, claims the company, which lists Key Food Fresh, Met Fresh and Pioneer Supermarkets as its retail partners on its website. But Caper will need a bigger team-up if it wants to go the distance. For now, it's marketing its smart cart as a more affordable, scalable solution for businesses looking to get in on the autonomous shopping action.