Cybernetics has actually been around longer than the term AI. In this episode of the AI Today podcast hosts Kathleen Walch and Ron Schmelzer define what Cybernetic systems are at a high level.

Like all technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not immune to the waves of obscurity, hyped promotion, plateauing of interest, and decline. In fact, the AI industry has been through two such major waves of interest, hype, plateau, and decline, commonly referred to as the "AI Winters". In this episode of the AI Today podcast hosts Kathleen Walch and Ron Schmelzer define an "AI Winter" at a high level.

The Defense Digital Service (DDS) will discuss how digital services are supporting the development of AI within the Department of Defense (DoD). From previous and current projects, DDS will discuss how they are supporting this development by pursuing quality data, cybersecurity, and advising organizations within DoD on technical capabilities. Join this engaging and interactive presentation to learn more about how the DDS is supporting AI development in the DoD and stick around for Q&A with the presenters to get your questions answered. AI in Government is where those working in and with the government get together to network, discuss, and interact on topics relating to AI, machine learning, and cognitive technologies. Join us at this monthly event for high-quality content with compelling & informative speakers and opportunities to network and connect with fellow like-minded individuals.

The evolution of cloud computing and artificial intelligence are growing in parallel, and the complexity of the cloud is driving the need for AI. In addition, the complexity of AI is also creating the need for it to work better in the cloud environment with efficiency, transparency and control. Organizations are taking a more data-driven approach, where artificial intelligence can be used to detect and proactively provide alerts on weaknesses and vulnerabilities both that are being exploited right now, or that might be exploited in the future. This is being done by analyzing data coming in and out of protected endpoints, both detecting threats based on known behavior, and spotting yet known threats based on predictive analytics. Join this interactive presentation and be sure to stick around for Q&A with Melvin!

Artificial intelligence is very prevalent in movies and science fiction, from sentient beings that are able to walk, and talk, and live with humans like the characters from Westworld, Star Wars, or Star Trek. In reality, however, we are a far way away from the dream of sentient machines that we see and read about in science fiction. So much of today's AI systems are doing much more mundane things that aren't getting the attention or interest of the press and media. However, interest and investment in AI remains strong, and even if AI is unable to live up to the fantasies of science fiction, vendors are riding the hype wave of AI and promising capabilities that AI systems might not be able to deliver. While vendors are doing their best to deliver these capabilities, the challenge is that adopters and end users sometimes themselves get caught up in the hype as well.

The hidden secret of artificial intelligence is that much of it is actually powered by humans. Well, to be specific, the supervised learning algorithms that have gained much of the attention recently are dependent on humans to provide well-labeled training data that can be used to train machine learning algorithms. Since machines have to first be taught, they can't teach themselves (yet), so it falls upon the capabilities of humans to do this training. This is the secret achilles heel of AI: the need for humans to teach machines the things that they are not yet able to do on their own. Machine learning is what powers today's AI systems.

The idea of the paperless office has been around for decades yet few companies have been able to achieve anything close to this idea. With all the technological advances we've had, why is it still so hard for companies to move away from their people and paper based processes? It may come as little surprise that organizations are still awash in paper. However, for companies looking to gain insights and extract value from their data, they need to get that data into a state where computers are able to process it. To do that, companies need to digitize and digitalize their information and processes.

Artificial intelligence has been put to amazing use providing great abilities for recognition, pattern and anomaly detection, predictive analytics, autonomous systems, hyperpersonalization, and goal-driven systems. However, AI systems can't do anything at all without access to data to train the machine learning models. And much of that data is locked in documents in paper or electronic form or in human-controlled processes. Often, a necessary first step to making any AI project happen is simply getting those documents and processes out of paper and human-based forms and into digital forms that a machine can understand. The notion of converting these analog assets into digital forms is known as digitization in the context of documents and information, and digitalization, in the context of processes and human-based activities.

Ron is principal analyst, managing partner, and founder of the Artificial Intelligence-focused analyst and advisory firm Cognilytica, and is also the host of the AI Today podcast, SXSW Innovation Awards Judge, founder and operator of TechBreakfast demo format events, and an expert in AI, Machine Learning, Enterprise Architecture, venture capital, startup and entrepreneurial ecosystems, and more.Prior to founding Cognilytica, Ron founded and ran ZapThink, an industry analyst firm focused on Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Cloud Computing, Web Services, XML, & Enterprise Architecture, which was acquired by Dovel Technologies in August 2011.

AMAZON'S "GO" STORES are impressive places. The cashier-less shops, which first opened in Seattle in 2018, allow app-wielding customers to pick up items and simply walk out with them. The system uses many sensors, but the bulk of the magic is performed by cameras connected to an AI system that tracks items as they are taken from shelves. Once the shoppers leave with their goods, the bill is calculated and they are automatically charged. Doing that in a crowded shop is not easy.