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

usa most promising ai artificial intelligence startups cb insights research report

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

babylon health ai doctor safety gp at hand artificial intelligence

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

antibiotic resistance healthcare ai artificial intelligence mit research

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

tesla elon musk ai artificial intelligence regulation policy

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

nixon deepfake moon landing usa president ai artificial intelligence

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

Meena is Google’s first truly conversational AI

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Google is attempting to build the first digital assistant that can truly hold a conversation with an AI project called Meena.

Digital assistants like Alexa and Siri are programmed to pick up keywords and provide scripted responses. Google has previously demonstrated its work towards a more natural conversation with its Duplex project but Meena should offer another leap forward.

Meena is a neural network with 2.6 billion parameters. Google claims Meena is able to handle...

29 January 2020 | Google

Google CEO: We need sensible AI regulation that does not limit its potential

sundar pichai google ceo ai artificial intelligence sensible regulation uk usa eu europe

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has called for sensible AI regulation that does not limit the huge potential benefits to society.

Writing in a FT editorial, Pichai said: “...there is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated. It is too important not to.”

Few people debate the need for AI regulation but there are differing opinions when it comes to how much. Overregulation limits innovation while lack of regulation can pose serious dangers –...

21 January 2020 | Ethics

Apple buys edge AI experts Xnor.ai for a reported $200 million

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Apple has acquired Seattle-based edge AI experts Xnor.ai for a reported $200 million.

If you recognise Xnor.ai, it’s likely because the company’s technology once powered the person-detection feature on Wyze’s popular cameras. Xnor.ai abruptly cancelled their contract with Wyze back in November – and now we know why.

In layman’s terms, edge computing means the processing is done on-device. On-device computation has significant advantages when it comes to...

16 January 2020 | Apple