Health AIs should be a strategic priority

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A UK government-commissioned industrial strategy review of the life sciences sector has identified health-based AI as a growth opportunity.

The UK is a leader in artificial intelligence while also benefiting from a wealth of patient data as part of its National Health Service. Both of these factors make the UK a potential hotbed for the development of health-focused AI. “AI is likely to be used widely in healthcare and it should be the...

AI can predict conditions such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia

The potential for AI to diagnose and even predict the onset of serious medical conditions is being demonstrated in pioneering research. More reliable predictions Starting with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia, a new algorithm is able to predict its onset with 84 percent accuracy. The author of the research, Sulantha Sanjeewa, a computer scientist at McGill University in Canada, believes it could help to slow or one day even stop the onset of debilitating symptoms which...

Facebook’s AI-driven M assistant chatbot reaches the UK

facebook ai chatbot m assistant

Facebook’s AI-driven M assistant chatbot has safely made it across the Atlantic and is now helping Messenger users in the UK. The chatbot will butt into your conversations if it feels it can be of assistance. For example, when discussing making plans it could find you nearby places, create a poll about where to go, and find time in participants’ diaries. When you arrive you could follow up with a question like “Where are you?” and the chatbot will prompt the other person to send...

OpenAI beats puny human players on Dota 2

openai dota 2 ai

Not content with AIs beating human players on games like Go, Elon Musk-backed OpenAI is now beating the best Dota 2 players. The AI faced three of the best Dota 2 players in the world at the championships in the US and beat them all. It even learned the game from scratch using the old adage of “try, try, and try again.” Some players of the eSports hit put in grueling hours of training for a chance to receive the increasingly large winnings on offer at some events. That means little to...

SimplifAI keeps traffic flowing during busy periods

SimplifAI traffic management ai

SimplifAI is an AI-based traffic lights system designed to alleviate congestion and keep cities moving during particularly busy periods. Designed by Professor Lee McCluskey of Huddersfield University, the project has been awarded more than £850,000 by Innovate UK. Under the name of ‘SimplifAI’ it optimises timings at traffic lights to ensure the least possible disruption to journeys. Being stuck at traffic lights isn’t just frustrating; it also decreases productivity and has an...

AI guru Andrew Ng launches an online deep learning course

andrew ng deep learning ai coursera course

Andrew Ng is something of a legend in the AI community, and so his launch of an online deep learning course is noteworthy. The course on Coursera is simply called ‘Deep Learning Specialization’ and promises to teach students vital skills for the future. Some of the advanced topics covered include neural networks, backpropagation, convolutional networks, recurrent networks, computer vision, natural language processing, and more. “Just as electricity transformed every major industry...

IBM breaks records with deep learning advancement

ibm deep learning research

Software giant IBM has set new records with the company’s latest deep learning advancement. IBM has already cemented its place as a leader in AI with Watson and its deep learning capabilities. Deep learning is a subset of AI which mimics the human brain and is therefore a focus of researchers. Companies including Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and Google have made advancements in deep learning, but IBM’s could be the most groundbreaking. Today’s deep learning systems can take days to...

AI uses radio waves to diagnose sleep disorders

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Researchers have developed an AI-based algorithm to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of sleep disorders using radio waves. Good sleep is vital for our mental and physical wellbeing. Diagnosing problems today, however, can be difficult as it requires patients to be fitted with electrodes and various sensors. The researchers from MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital used an AI algorithm to analyse radio signals around a subject. These readings are translated into the stages of sleep:...

Opinion: Microsoft now considers AI a top priority – and it’s about time

Microsoft should be a pioneer alongside Google when it comes to artificial intelligence, but the company only now appears to consider it a priority. In the company's annual report for the 2017 fiscal year, AI is now mentioned on six occasions. Compared to not a single mention in the previous report, it’s clear Microsoft is now putting more of its focus on artificial intelligence. Microsoft also indicates this in their corporate vision statement: "Our strategic vision is to compete and...

Experts believe AI will be weaponised in the next 12 months – attacks unslowed by dark web shutdowns

The majority of cybersecurity experts believe AI will be weaponised for use in cyberattacks within the next 12 months, and the shutting down of dark web markets will not decrease malware activity. Cylance posted the results of their survey of Black Hat USA 2017 attendees yesterday, and 62 percent of the infosec experts believe cyberattacks will become far more advanced over the course of the next year due to artificial intelligence. Interestingly, 32 percent said there wasn’t a chance...