Japan passes bill to build AI-powered ‘super cities’ addressing societal issues

Japan has passed a bill to build “super cities” which address societal issues using emerging technologies such as AI.

The bill, passed on Wednesday, aims to accelerate the sweeping change of regulations across various fields to support the creation of such futuristic cities.

Addressing issues such as depopulation and an aging society will be the focus of the super cities. Technologies including big data and AI will be key to successfully tackling the challenging...

28 May 2020 | Adoption

No Rekognition: Police ditch Amazon’s controversial facial recognition

Orlando Police have decided to ditch Amazon’s controversial facial recognition system Rekognition following technical issues.

Rekognition was called out by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for erroneously labelling those with darker skin tones as criminals more often in a test using a database of mugshots.

Jacob Snow, Technology and Civil Liberties Attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, said:

“Face surveillance will be used to...

19 July 2019 | Amazon

Baidu and Geely announce collaboration in AI technologies

Baidu has announced plans to strategically collaborate with Geely on the application of AI technologies to various fields.

Announced during this year’s Baidu Create conference, the companies say they will focus on areas such as the smart home, intelligent connectivity, smart mobility, and e-commerce.

Geely is a privately held global automotive group headquartered in the city of Hangzhou and is most well-known for owning the Volvo and Lotus car brands.

The...

8 July 2019 | China

Apple reportedly wants to ‘acqui-hire’ self-driving car startup Drive.ai

Apple is reportedly mulling a purchase of self-driving car startup Drive.ai in an ‘acqui-hire’ deal to grab its talent.

Drive.ai is full of skilled personnel after being founded in 2016 by a pioneering team of graduates from Stanford’s AI lab. With AI talent in short supply, it seems Apple is considering purchasing a whole company to get the skills on its side.

Apple would not get any of Drive.ai’s intellectual property as part of the deal, only the minds behind...

10 June 2019 | Apple

Morality algorithm proves AI can also be friendly

We’re used to seeing headlines of AI beating us at our own games in adversarial roles, but a new study has proven they can also excel when it comes to cooperation and compromise. The study, from an international team of computer scientists, found AI can be programmed with a higher degree of morality than humans. The researchers set out to build a new type of algorithm for playing games which requires working together rather than simply winning at all cost. Jacob Crandall, BYU Computer...

22 January 2018 | Ethics

BMW envisions AI-powered electric bike lanes

BMW has set forth its vision for the future of transport beyond driverless cars — an AI-powered bike lane for electric bikes. If you live in a major city, you will be all too familiar with traffic. Many are switching to alternative methods, such as cycling, but many feel vulnerable. Electric bikes are opening cycling to more people who may not be in the peak of their fitness or live in hilly areas where even long-term cyclists may struggle. These bikes are often faster than many people...

23 November 2017 | Smart Cities