Recently, multiple applications of machine learning have been introduced. They include various possibilities arising when image analysis methods are applied to, broadly understood, video streams. In this context, a novel tool, developed for academic educators to enhance the teaching process by automating, summarizing, and offering prompt feedback on conducting lectures, has been developed. The implemented prototype utilizes machine learning-based techniques to recognise selected didactic and behavioural teachers' features within lecture video recordings. Specifically, users (teachers) can upload their lecture videos, which are preprocessed and analysed using machine learning models. Next, users can view summaries of recognized didactic features through interactive charts and tables. Additionally, stored ML-based prediction results support comparisons between lectures based on their didactic content. In the developed application text-based models trained on lecture transcriptions, with enhancements to the transcription quality, by adopting an automatic speech recognition solution are applied. Furthermore, the system offers flexibility for (future) integration of new/additional machine-learning models and software modules for image and video analysis.

Language processing has a large practical potential in intelligent interfaces if we take into account multiple modalities of communication. Multi-modality refers to the perception of different coordinated media used in delivering a message as well as the combination of various attitudes in relation to communication. In particular, the integration of natural language processing and hypermedia allows each modality to overcome the constraints of the other, resulting in a novel class of integrated environments for complex exploration and information access. Information presentation is a key element of such environments; generation techniques can contribute to their quality by producing texts ex novo or flexibly adapting existing material to the current situation. A great opportunity arises for intelligent interfaces and language technology of this kind to play an important role for individual-oriented cultural tourism.

Last month I took part in a debate on the'future of technology in retail and whether technology could replace humans....' Subsequently, I've pulled together some thoughts for Inside Retail (also published here). For the past decade, advancements in technology have been disrupting what seems like most facets of the human experience. And with what feels like monthly advances in technology, it's no surprise the retail industry is accelerating globally in innovation and experimentation. According to Gartner, worldwide retail-tech spending will increase by 3.6% to $203.6 billion in 2019, surpassing most other industries with regard to technology spend. With customer support now on instant, 24-hour demand, voice and chat assistants have quickly taken the place of most traditional online help platforms and traditional services.

Advanced networking, serverless computing, and intelligent interfaces will reshape business processes in the coming years, according to Deloitte's 10th annual tech trends report set to release on Wednesday. The report examines how new technologies are currently disrupting industries, but will gradually reshape them in the coming years, a Tuesday press release said. Ten years ago, Deloitte published its first tech trends report, which focused on the popularity of smartphones and mobile applications, and introduced the emergence of the cloud and Internet of Things (IoT). Those two technologies are no longer new, evolving from emerging tech to necessary tech. Time will tell how 2019's emerging tech will revolutionize the workplace moving forward.

And even these engagement patterns are giving way to new and more seamless and natural methods of interaction. For example, images and video feeds can be used to track assets, authenticate individual identities, and understand context from surrounding environments. Advanced voice capabilities allow interaction with complex systems in natural, nuanced conversations. Moreover, by intuiting human gestures, head movements, and gazes, AI-based systems can respond to nonverbal user commands. Intelligent interfaces combine the latest in human-centered design techniques with leading-edge technologies such as computer vision, conversational voice, auditory analytics, and advanced augmented reality and virtual reality. Working in concert, these techniques and capabilities are transforming the way we engage with machines, data, and each other. At a dinner party, your spouse, across the table, raises an eyebrow ever so slightly. The gesture is so subtle that no one else notices, but you received the message loud and clear: "I'm bored. Most people recognize this kind of intuitive communication as a shared language that develops over time among people in intimate relationships. We accept it as perfectly natural--but only between humans.

Next IT is now part of Verint, The Customer Engagement Company. For two decades, Next IT has empowered enterprises to better serve their customers and employees. Our innovations in Conversational AI enable natural interactions with intelligent assistants and chatbots that engage customers more effectively and make employees even more productive. Together with Verint, we're taking Intelligent Assistance to a whole new level, using artificial intelligence and analytics to increase automation, foster customer and employee engagement, and share real-time intelligence enterprise-wide.

My Ph.D. dissertation (Calistri 1990) extends traditional methods of plan recognition to handle situations in which agents have flawed plans. This extension involves solving two problems: determining what sorts of mistakes people make when they reason about plans and figuring out how to recognize these mistakes when they occur. I have developed a complete classification of plan-based misconceptions, which categorizes all ways that a plan can fail, and I have developed a probabilistic interpretation of these misconceptions that can be used in principle to guide a bestfirst-search algorithm. I have also developed a program called Pathfinder that embodies a practical implementation of this theory. Pathfinder is a probability-based plan-recognition system based on the A* algorithm that uses information available from a user model to guide a bestfirst search through a plan hierarchy.

After months of delays, Samsung has finally launched its Bixby voice assistant in more than 200 countries worldwide. Among the countries with access to the smart assistant are the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa – although it can only understand American English and Korean. The launch will come as a huge relief to Samsung, which suffered major delays as Bixby'struggled to understand English.' It operates through'Quick Commands' – a feature that allows users to create custom voice commands. For example, users can use the command'good night' as a shortcut for'Turn on Do-not-disturb mode, set an alarm for 6:00am and turn on blue light filter.'

With the rapid advances in key computing technologies and the heightened user expectation of computers, the development of socially and emotionally adept technologies is becoming a necessity. This project is investigating the inference of people's mental states from facial expressions, vocal nuances, body posture and gesture, and other physiological signals, and also considering the expression of emotions by robots and cartoon avatars. Facial expressions provide an important spontaneous channel for the communication of both emotional and social displays. They are used to communicate feelings, show empathy, and acknowledge the actions of other people. In this research we investigate how facial expression information can be used as part of a wider context to make useful inferences about a user's mental state in a natural computing environment, in such a way that increases usability.

The digital assistant technology race is heating up, with Samsung announcing plans to acquire the open artificial intelligence platform Viv on Wednesday. It's an intriguing move, not least because it means the team who created Apple's voice-powered assistant Siri is forming closer ties with the South Korean electronics giant. SEE ALSO: Someone turned Samsung's Note7 into a lethal weapon with a'GTA 5' mod As an intelligent interface that can interact with a range of devices, Viv is "an ideal candidate" to integrate with Samsung home appliances and wearables, Injong Rhee, CTO of Samsung Electronics, said in a statement. Samsung makes a whole range of home appliances, so the acquisition suggests the company is keen to have them interacting with customers in the future. Viv will remain an independent subsidiary of Samsung.