We've seen AI revolutionizing everything from crafting cover letters to enabling contactless checkout at grocery stores. But did you know that AI is also uncovering fossils from over 2,200 years ago?
Dive into this week's exciting highlights in the world of AI!
- Helping robots zero in on the objects that matter
- MIT engineers have introduced Clio, a new method that enables robots to efficiently map their surroundings and identify relevant objects for specific tasks using natural language commands. Clio processes scenes in real-time, automatically segmenting them and focusing only on task-relevant items while ignoring distractions. This method employs advanced computer vision and language processing techniques, including an "information bottleneck" algorithm to prioritize semantically significant segments. Clio, named after the Greek muse of history, has been tested in various environments, including cluttered offices and buildings, and holds promise for applications in search and rescue, domestic robotics, and industrial settings. The researchers aim to further enhance Clio for more complex tasks in the future.
- China’s Plan to Make AI Watermarks Happen
- China's Cyberspace Administration has proposed new regulations aimed at ensuring proper labeling of AI-generated content to combat misinformation and enhance transparency. The draft, which seeks public feedback until October 14, includes requirements for explicit labels on AI content, such as watermarks on images and notification labels on videos, as well as implicit metadata labeling with encrypted company information. This legislation imposes legal liabilities on social media platforms to actively monitor and tag AI-generated content, creating significant compliance challenges. China's initiative follows similar efforts in the EU and California but aims to establish itself as a global leader in AI regulation, balancing content control with the need for innovation in the rapidly evolving AI industry.
- Google paid $2.7 billion for one man
- Google reportedly spent $2.7 billion to rehire AI expert Noam Shazeer, a significant investment for a single computer scientist. Shazeer, who co-founded the AI startup Character.AI
after leaving Google in 2021, was a key figure in developing early AI technologies, including large language models. While Google officially claimed the payment was for licensing technology, sources indicate Shazeer's expertise was the primary motivation. This deal underscores the escalating financial stakes in the AI sector as tech companies vie for top talent, raising concerns among investors about the sustainability of such high expenditures without guaranteed returns.
- Archaeologists use AI to discover 303 unknown geoglyphs near Nazca Lines
- Archaeologists have discovered 303 new geoglyphs near Peru's Nazca Lines using AI technology, almost doubling the number of known figures at the site. Dating back to around 200 BCE, these smaller geoglyphs depict animals such as parrots, cats, monkeys, and killer whales, as well as humans and decapitated heads. Researchers from Japan's University of Yamagata, in collaboration with IBM Research, utilized drones and AI models to identify these previously hidden figures, achieving in six months what traditional methods would have taken nearly a century to accomplish. The use of AI enabled them to analyze geospatial data and map the distribution of geoglyphs more efficiently, offering a new perspective on the transition between the Paracas and Nazca cultures.
- How Northpower used computer vision with AWS to automate safety inspection risk assessments
- Northpower, a New Zealand-based electricity distributor, collaborated with AWS and their technology partner Sculpt to automate safety inspection risk assessments using computer vision and AI. They aimed to identify utility poles without stay wire insulators to mitigate public safety risks. Traditional inspections of 57,230 poles were labor-intensive and costly, prompting Northpower to digitize their data and leverage Amazon SageMaker to build a machine learning solution. Using historical paper records and over 765,000 images, they trained an object detection model with Amazon SageMaker JumpStart and Ground Truth. The AI solution identified 141 poles requiring action, significantly reducing inspection costs and carbon emissions.
- Realizing AI in Retail
- Carrefour is undergoing a digital transformation, leveraging SAP S/4HANA for enterprise resource planning to enhance demand forecasting and supply chain optimization through AI and data analytics. This shift has led to a significant 40% reduction in food waste by 2022 compared to 2016, demonstrating the company's commitment to sustainability. With innovative solutions like the BuyBye app and dynamic pricing algorithms, Carrefour is enhancing customer experience while expanding its retail media partnerships, utilizing its vast consumer data. The integration of AI enables better inventory management, personalized customer offers, and supply chain predictions, positioning Carrefour as a leader in the retail sector's digital evolution.
- Sandcastle: data/AI apps for everyone
- Airbnb's internal prototyping platform, Sandcastle, empowers data scientists and engineers to quickly develop and share interactive web applications, addressing challenges in effectively communicating data and AI ideas to non-technical stakeholders. By integrating tools like Onebrain for packaging, kube-gen for Kubernetes configuration, and OneTouch for dynamic scaling, Sandcastle enables users to transition from concept to live app in under an hour, bypassing the lengthy planning cycles typical of traditional engineering collaboration. In the past year, this platform has facilitated the creation of over 175 live prototypes, significantly enhancing internal engagement and fostering a culture of rapid iteration and direct interaction with data-driven ideas.
About Plainsight Technologies
Plainsight Technologies is the enterprise vision data company that makes cameras count. Through our pre-built Vision Intelligence Filters, containerized applications that solve business problems with accurate data from visual sources, we empower organizations to scale from concept to industry adoption while prioritizing privacy, security, and rapid innovation. Our mission is to "make your cameras count," extracting valuable insights from visual data to optimize processes in agriculture, marine biology, manufacturing, food service, and more. Headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, Plainsight Technologies operates as a distributed team, delivering cutting-edge solutions worldwide. To learn more, visit plainsight.ai
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