alwaysAI Insider, vol. 16: What do generative AI and pumpkin spice have in common?

AI has been the pumpkin spice of summer – sprinkled on everything, everywhere (even things that make you ??). AI is difficult to avoid and makes you think if you don’t jump on board, you must be missing something (have you got a chatbot for your chatbot?).?

But as baseball winds down, football winds up, and another season of iPhones is upon us, it’s time to get real about AI. (I’ll leave you to your own reckoning with pumpkin spice but I promise, you are NOT missing out if you skip pumpkin spice salmon. ??)?

AI is still everywhere but it is starting to feel like people are slowing down and really thinking about the role AI could and should play in their organization. Or maybe it's just me?

I offer four reasons I perceive a momentary pause in the AI frenzy:

1. The publicity from the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strike and the United Auto Workers’ strike – both picketing in part over the role AI will play in their respective industries.
2. News of Congress trying to establish rules about how to regulate the unprecedented, potential power of AI.
3. Tim Cook and the team at Apple spoke about their new products and features throughout their recent event without mentioning generative AI.
4. If you haven’t read it yet, this MIT Review interview with Mustafa Suleyman helps frame generative AI as one phase in a much broader landscape of AI.?

The mystery behind generative AI is lifting and people are asking good questions about how to practically harness its power and understand its impacts on the future.

We can finally stop pretending to know more about AI than we actually do and just be open to learning more. ???

We’re starting to see uses for AI — beyond chatbots, marketing materials, and legal briefs — circulating in the news cycle. And computer vision is at the forefront.?

Consider the following:

• Computer vision is helping provide fans with a better viewing experience during Thursday Night Football.?
• Pinterest is using computer vision to try to make their searches more inclusive.?
• Dollar General is testing warehouse automation in South Carolina. The specific technology is not mentioned but sounds a lot like computer vision which can automate tasks like label and defect detection.?
• Computer vision is helping researchers better understand how lithium-ion batteries actually work. As we continue to rely on these batteries to power more and more of our modern world, the implications of the research could be far-reaching.?

Don’t get me wrong, I love the enthusiasm for AI as much as I love a good pumpkin spice latte. And to be sure, generative AI is transformative. But it’s not the only transformative AI and it’s not the only practical AI currently making a difference in how people work.?

Thanks to its ability to interpret, real, visual data in the physical world, computer vision delivers practical solutions for any business needing real-time insights. It’s being used in manufacturing, retail, restaurants, health care, and other industries to dramatically improve operations. ??

As we move into another season, we’re reflecting on the recent dramatic advances in AI that are fueling computer vision innovation, and showcasing the real, practical applications of computer vision in retail, restaurants, and beyond.

Industry Roundup

Retail leaders struggle to find budget for emerging tech goals

Despite tight budgets, retailers are looking to invest in computer vision and machine learning in the next several years. Why? Because computer vision is practical. It highlights exactly what is happening in stores, in real-time, to help retailers optimize operations and processes.?

As a result, they can:?

• Improve customer experience
• Drive greater productivity
• Achieve cost efficiencies/return on investment (ROI)?

Read more about the concerns of retail industry leaders here.?Worried you don’t have the in-house talent to adopt these technical solutions (like 1 in 5 leaders)? alwaysAI can help.??

AI model speeds up high-resolution computer vision

During this Golden Age of AI, the rapid advancement of technology begets the rapid advancement of technology. In the case of computer vision, advances in transformers (originally developed for natural language processing) recently led to developments (a vision transformer) that vastly reduce the computational complexity of semantic segmentation (a computer vision technique).?

The following article has a more technical explanation but the cliff’s notes version is:? “new model series for high-resolution computer vision [perform] up to nine times faster than prior models when deployed on a mobile device.” Read more.

alwaysAI Insights

Why restaurants don't really need fully automated kitchens

Creating a fully automated restaurant requires significant changes to infrastructure. Retrofitting kitchens to accommodate technology is capital-intensive and the payoff is yet to be proven. But that does not mean abandoning all AI either. There is a better Goldie Locks-like solution: computer vision.

Computer vision provides practical AI solutions that directly address the pain points of fast-casual restaurants including streamlining backend operations to improve speed of service and customer satisfaction.?Read more.?

Developer Digest

In case you're unfamiliar, Substack is a new web publishing platform where independent writers and podcasters can publish directly to their audience. There are TONS of topics and voices so if you have a minute, give yourself time to browse.

One page specifically devoted to the rapid advancements in machine learning and AI is Ahead of AI with Sebastian Raschka. He is a popular researcher and practitioner who regularly posts about new advances and offers his insights. Check it out!

We're always looking for even more resources to share with our community...do you have a Substack you love? Let us know in the comments!?

Reducing Choke Points in the Food Line With Computer Vision?

alwaysAI Studios proudly presents another installment of our original video series created to showcase the endless solutions alwaysAI provides for any business looking to streamline operations and drive more revenue.?

In this video, hungry customers are descending upon Cat. They want chicken but she’s running low! Danno, the chef is oblivious. Will Cat’s customers get what they want or will she face terrible Yelp reviews? Find out how computer vision resolves this delicate situation.?