Intel, Ubotica, and the ESA launch the first AI satellite

Intel, Ubotica, and the European Space Agency (ESA) have launched the first AI satellite into Earth’s orbit.

The PhiSat-1 satellite is about the size of a cereal box and was ejected from a rocket’s dispenser alongside 45 other satellites. The rocket launched from Guiana Space Centre on September 2nd.

Intel has integrated its Movidius Myriad 2 Vision Processing Unit (VPU) into PhiSat-1 – enabling large amounts of data to be processed on the device. This helps to...

20 October 2020 | Edge

Microsoft’s new AI auto-captions images for the visually impaired

A new AI from Microsoft aims to automatically caption images in documents and emails so that software for visual impairments can read it out.

Researchers from Microsoft explained their machine learning model in a paper on preprint repository arXiv.

The model uses VIsual VOcabulary pre-training (VIVO) which leverages large amounts of paired image-tag data to learn a visual vocabulary.

A second dataset of properly captioned images is then used to help teach the...

19 October 2020 | Applications

South Korea wants to develop 50 types of AI chips by 2030

South Korea has set itself the ambitious national target of developing 50 types of AI chips within the next decade.

The country’s ICT ministry made the announcement this week as South Korea positions itself to move beyond its historic foothold in memory chips into artificial intelligence semiconductors.

South Korea is investing heavily in AI; especially in the hardware which makes it possible.

Around one trillion won ($871 million) will be spent on developing...

13 October 2020 | Government

Information Commissioner clears Cambridge Analytica of influencing Brexit

A three-year investigation by the UK Information Commissioner's office has cleared Cambridge Analytica of electoral interference.

Cambridge Analytica was accused in March 2018 of using AI tools and big data to influence the results of the Brexit referendum and the US presidential election. Most objective observers probably felt the case was overblown, but it's taken until now to be confirmed.

“From my review of the materials recovered by the investigation I have found...

8 October 2020 | Ethics

Eggplant launches AI-powered software testing in the cloud

Automation specialists Eggplant have launched a new AI-powered software testing platform.

The cloud-based solution aims to help accelerate the delivery of software in a rapidly-changing world while maintaining a high bar of quality.

Gareth Smith, CTO of Eggplant, said:

“The launch of our cloud platform is a significant milestone in our mission to rid the world of bad software. In our new normal, delivering speed and agility at scale has never been more...

6 October 2020 | Cloud

GTC 2020: Using AI to help put COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror

This year’s GTC is Nvidia’s biggest event yet, but – like the rest of the world – it’s had to adapt to the unusual circumstances we all find ourselves in. Huang swapped his usual big stage for nine clips with such exotic backdrops as his kitchen.

AI is helping with COVID-19 research around the world and much of it is being powered by NVIDIA GPUs. It’s a daunting task, new drugs often cost over $2.5 billion in research and development — doubling every nine years —...

5 October 2020 | Healthcare

GTC 2020: Nvidia doubles-down on its UK AI investments

Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, has kicked off the company’s annual GTC conference with a series of AI announcements—including a doubling-down of its UK investments.

NVIDIA is investing heavily in the UK’s accelerating AI sector. The company announced its acquisition of legendary semiconductor giant Arm for $40 billion back in September along with the promise to open a new AI centre in Cambridge.

“We will create an open centre of excellence in the area once home to...

5 October 2020 | Nvidia

Facebook uses AI to help people support each other

Facebook has deployed an AI system which matches people needing support with local heroes offering it.“United we stand, divided we fall” is a clichéd saying—but tackling a pandemic is a collective effort. While we’ve all seen people taking selfish actions, they’ve been more than balanced out by those helping to support their communities.

Facebook has been its usual blessing and a curse during the pandemic. On the one hand, it's helped people to stay connected and...

2 October 2020 | Facebook

Full-stack AI solution SingularityNET switches Ethereum for Cardano

Full-stack AI solution SingularityNET is switching the Ethereum blockchain for peer-reviewed rival Cardano.

SingularityNET is a decentralised AI marketplace which has the ultimate goal of forming the basis for the emergence of the world’s first true Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

One of the brightest and most respected minds in AI leads the SingularityNET project, Dr Ben Goertzel.

“Current speed and cost issues with the Ethereum blockchain have...

1 October 2020 | AGI

AI is helping mobile operators to cope with pandemic demand

Artificial intelligence is helping telecoms operators to boost the RAN capacity of their 4G networks by 15 percent.

More people than ever are relying on telecoms networks to work, play, and stay connected during the pandemic. Operators are doing all they can to ensure their existing networks have enough capacity to cope with demand.

Gorkem Yigit, Principal Analyst at Analysys Mason, said:

“Video streaming continues to experience high year on year growth and...

30 September 2020 | Adoption