Category: Artificial Intelligence

Categories
Artificial Intelligence Education Reading

Latest Read: The Myth of Artificial Intelligence

The Myth of Artificial Intelligence Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do by Erik Larson. Erik is an entrepreneur and former research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin where he focused in machine learning and natural language processing.

The Myth of Artificial Intelligence by Erik Larson

In addition, Erik founded two DARPA-funded AI startups and works on core issues in natural language processing and machine learning. Erik has written for The Atlantic.

Artificial Intelligence seems to be the buzzword of the last twenty years, for better or for worse. For some it is the savior of humanity. For others, the spawn of the devil.

So, does AI actually deliver on superior knowledge systems surpassing human capabilities? Actually, there are valid points by Erik to reveal quite the opposite.

The real challenge proposed by Erik is that so many noted authors on AI, and all their books promising AI’s coming revolution have really all missed their target dates. All of those noted experts made bold predictions to delivery dates of systems that surpass all human knowledge and the downstream effect AI will play upon both markets and society. So why in 2022 have they all missed the mark?

The book is broken into three parts: The Simplified World, the Problems of Inference, and the Future of the Myth. These opening chapters should be considered mandatory reading for every middle school student as Part 1 is certainly well researched. At less than seventy pages, Erik provides a grounded explanation to the early foundation that brought AI forward. From Chapter Two, Turing at Bletchley, to Chapter Five, Natural Language Understanding.

Continue reading “Latest Read: The Myth of Artificial Intelligence”
Categories
Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: AI Ethics

AI Ethics by Mark Coeckelbergh. Mark is Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the University of Vienna.

AI Ethics by Mark Coeckelbergh

In addition, he is the President of the Society for Philosophy and Technology, member of the High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence for the European Commission, member of the Austrian robotics council.

Mark is also a member of the editorial advisory boards of AI and Sustainable Development, The AI Ethics Journal, Cognitive Systems Research, Science and Engineering Ethics, and Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society.

In addition, Mark brings a wealth of ethics experience to address Artificial intelligence (AI). This book is directed at new audiences to AI, showing how there is a real need to understand the impact of bias surrounding these technologies.

One will certainly appreciate Mark’s academic approach to explaining history’s many attempts to create knowledge in various forms. Indeed, Mark creates a good foundation for AI and it’s downstream technologies including Neural Networks, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, and ultimately Trustworthy AI.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the biggest buzzword in the marketplace today. For those pushing AI-based solutions, we are living in the best time for humanity. However, many even within IT, mathmetmatics, and researchers are able to forecast the worst things possible.

Continue reading “Latest Read: AI Ethics”
Categories
Artificial Intelligence Education Reading

Latest Read: AI Superpowers

AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order
by Kai-Fu Lee. He developed an advanced continuous speech recognition system during his Ph.D. work at Carnegie Mellon University in the early 1980s. He landed at Apple in 1990 for a decade, then went to SGI.

AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee

Since 2000 Kai-Fu served as the founding director of Microsoft Research Asia, then president of Google China, He departed to launch Sinovation Ventures, a venture capital firm in Beijing.

This book weaves in and out of AI technology developments. It is both surprising and disappointing. Many have certainly noted this is more or less propaganda for China. By the fourth chapter, I began wondering if Kai-Fu is considering a run for Chinese President.

Kai-Fu addresses in chapter 5, the four waves of AI: Internet AI, Business AI, Perception AI, and Autonomous AI. Elements of each wave appear even today, a bit far fetched for a democracy. However within a state controlled economy, China can force changes described across all four. With the US Population at 331 million compared to China’s 1.4 million, statements that China produces more data for AI system is certainly not a watershed thought. Certainly China will produce more data for AI systems than many country populations combined.

The AI shopping cart?

The idea of an AI enhanced shopping cart with a built-in LCD display and recognizes your shopping history upon touch, as you enter any Chinese local Yonghui superstore referenced in “Where every shopping cart knows your name” seems to still be a foreign concept across America’s grocery stores. Too many privacy concerns for the West. In addition, this was published prior to COVID. Today this idea certainly will be replaced by AI-enhanced mobile apps, or Internet AI as Kai-Fu is referencing above.

Continue reading “Latest Read: AI Superpowers”
Categories
Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading Technology

Latest Read: The Ten Equations That Rule the World

The Ten Equations That Rule the World by David Sumpter. He is a professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. David was awarded the UK’s Institute of Mathematics 2015 prize for communicating mathematics to a wider audience in his research How to Model Honeybee Colonies.

The Ten Equations That Rule the World by David Sumpter

David provides a deep overview of ten equations: Betting, Judgement, Confidence, Skill , Influencer, Market, Advertising, Reward, Learning, and The Universal Equation. Each equation (algorithm) includes stories that certainly provide deeper understanding.

On the other hand, the opening chapter did not really connect with me. The Betting Equation focuses on UK soccer and for reveals how betting odds can be adjusted against reality.

Nevertheless, I am not sure why this did not resonate as the rest of the book is just delightful to read.

In addition, the second chapter, Judgement Equation is the basis of Bayesian statistics and this storyline really stuck with me.

Furthermore, it is great to see David reference The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver within the third chapter, The Confidence Equation.

Continue reading “Latest Read: The Ten Equations That Rule the World”
Categories
Artificial Intelligence Education Innovation Reading

Latest Read: Artificial Intelligence HBR Insights

Artificial Intelligence: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review by Thomas H. Davenport, Erik Brynjolfsson, Andrew McAfee, and H. James Wilson. This HBR series is certainly a very good collection of essays from leading AI experts.

Artificial Intelligence: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review

Thomas H. Davenport is a Distinguished Professor in Management and Information Technology at Babson College, a research fellow at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, and a senior adviser at Deloitte Analytics. Erik Brynjolfsson is the director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, Professor of Management Science at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a research associate at NBER. H. James Wilson is a managing director of information technology and business research at Accenture Research. Andrew McAfee is a principal research scientist at MIT, studies how digital technologies are changing business, the economy, and society.

Indeed, this is not a general introduction to AI for business. At the same time, this does present readers with business advantages and challenges. There is no coding and the book is not full of technical jargon.

The messaging across this book is direct and startling for some: if your organization is not using AI you will soon be obsolete. This should not be a surprise since AI was ‘born’ in 1956. Yes, the last decade’s computing performance both on-prem and in the cloud have pushed AI further into markets. Yet the competitive lessons are valuable.

Continue reading “Latest Read: Artificial Intelligence HBR Insights”