AI project aims to diagnose COVID-19 using voice analysis

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Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University are developing an AI-powered voice analysis system for diagnosing COVID-19.

Governments around the world are racing to obtain sufficient and effective testing kits to diagnose COVID-19. The current widely-used test requires a thin cotton swab to be put up the nasal cavity and reach to the back of the throat. It’s not a painful procedure, but it’s invasive and uncomfortable.

COVID-19 tests which only require a finger prick...

1 April 2020 | Healthcare

AI enables Star Trek: Voyager to be remastered in 4K

AI is helping to overcome difficulties with older filming techniques and enabling Star Trek: Voyager to be remastered in 4K.

Older shows like Voyager shot their effects during filming rather than adding them digitally after the fact. Remastering these scenes in a higher resolution is incredibly difficult, to say the least.

Star Trek fan Billy Reichard has employed AI to do the painstaking work that upgrades the image quality as much as possible. For some idea of how long...

30 March 2020 | Entertainment

AI exposed Brits ignoring advice to stay home and socially distance

An AI system exposed the shameful number of Brits who ignored advice to stay home, socially distance, and only travel if essential amid the coronavirus outbreak.

British PM Boris Johnson said he wanted to avoid the draconian measures in place in other countries if possible. However, if coronavirus cases and deaths continue to climb – as people fail to follow advice – then he'd be left with no option.

Images of Brits continuing to hit the pub and other large...

27 March 2020 | Society

CB Insights: The majority of promising AI startups are US-based

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A new report from CB Insights suggests the majority of promising AI startups are still based in the US.

Despite increasing AI investments around the world, 65 percent of the top 100 AI startups were located in the US. However, some of the companies also had headquarters in other countries.

It’s little surprise to see the most promising AI companies based in the world’s largest economy, but some of the others are more surprising.

The UK and Canada were in...

3 March 2020 | Research

Babylon Health lashes out at doctor who raised AI chatbot safety concerns

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Controversial healthcare app maker Babylon Health has criticised the doctor who first raised concerns about the safety of their AI chatbot.

Babylon Health’s chatbot is available in the company’s GP at Hand app, a digital healthcare solution championed by health secretary Matt Hancock that was also integrated into Samsung Health since last year.

The chatbot aims to reduce the burden on GPs and A&E departments by automating the triage process to determine whether...

26 February 2020 | Bots

MIT researchers use AI to discover a welcome new antibiotic

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A team of MIT researchers have used AI to discover a welcome new antibiotic to help in the fight against increasing resistance.

Using a machine learning algorithm, the MIT researchers were able to discover a new antibiotic compound which did not develop any resistance during a 30-day treatment period on mice.

The algorithm was trained using around 2,500 molecules – including about 1,700 FDA-approved drugs and a set of 800 natural products – to seek out chemical...

21 February 2020 | Healthcare

Elon Musk wants more stringent AI regulation, including for Tesla

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Elon Musk has once again called for more stringent regulations around the development of AI technologies.

The founder of Tesla and SpaceX has been one of the most vocal prominent figures in expressing concerns about AI – going as far as to call it humanity’s “biggest existential threat” if left unchecked.

Of course, given the nature of the companies Musk has founded, he is also well aware of AI’s potential.

Back in 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI – an...

19 February 2020 | Ethics

Deepfake shows Nixon announcing the moon landing failed

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In the latest creepy deepfake, former US President Nixon is shown to announce that the first moon landing failed.

Nixon was known to be a divisive figure but certainly recognisable. The video shows Nixon in the Oval Office, surrounded by flags, giving a presidential address to an eagerly awaiting world.

However, unlike the actual first moon landing – unless you’re a subscriber to conspiracy theories – this one failed.

“These brave men, Neil...

6 February 2020 | Deepfakes

Elon Musk is hosting a ‘super fun’ AI hackathon at his house

Fresh from kicking off his EDM career, Elon Musk has announced Tesla will be hosting a “super fun” AI hackathon at his house.

In a tweet, Musk wrote: “Tesla will hold a super fun AI party/hackathon at my house with the Tesla AI/autopilot team in about four weeks. Invitations going out soon.”

The hackathon will focus on the AI behind Tesla’s problematic AutoPilot feature which has been reported to accelerate erratically. Tesla has denied the claims but the...

4 February 2020 | Connected Cars

Microsoft details $40 million ‘AI for Health’ initiative

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Microsoft is reminding us big corporations can sometimes do good in the world with a $40 million AI healthcare initiative.

In a blog post today, Microsoft chief data analytics officer John Kahan detailed the new initiative which aims to advance the health of people and communities around the world.

Kahan notes how, on the whole, people have never been healthier or safer. He particularly highlights the steep decline in child and maternal mortality...

30 January 2020 | Healthcare