Weekly News Roundup: 6 AI and Data Articles You Won’t Want to Miss
6 must-read articles on machine learning, cloud and data trends
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Staying up to date on the rapidly changing AI and data news cycle can be exhausting. This week, let us do the hard work.
‘No-Code’ Brings the Power of A.I. to the Masses
Publication: The New York Times
As part of a new series on how artificial intelligence has the potential to solve everyday problems, tech journalist Craig S. Smith explores one of our favorite topics: the citizen developer. However, he looks beyond the typical business use cases to explore how smaller organizations as well as regular folks are using these tools in new and increasingly creative ways. For example, one person interviewed for the piece is leveraging Lobe.ai, a low code computer vision tools, to track Asian murder hornets. By eloquently expounding the promise of low code tools without succumbing to the hype, this is the perfect article to share with colleagues who may be skeptical of low and no code solutions or anyone in need of a creative solution to a complex
Ukraine supplies 90% of U.S. semiconductor-grade neon (and what it means to chip supply chain)
Publication: Venture Beat
The demand for semiconductor chips has never been greater, yet, since the dawn of the pandemic, the supply challenges continue to mount. The most recent addition to the list of supply chain bottle necks is the war in Ukraine.
According to research firm Techcet, Ukraine supplies more than 90% of the U.S.’s semiconductor-grade neon, a gas integral to the lasers used in the chip-making process, while Russia supplies 35% of the U.S.’s palladium supply, a rare metal that can be used to create semiconductors. Given the fact that the chip supply chain is already under a lot of pressure, the long-term consequences of these disruptions could be severe.
While the recently submitted U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which includes $52 billion in domestic semiconductor funding, may help mitigate future supply chain risks, companies are already finding ways to work around the shortage. For example, Ford announced they will begin shipping Explorer SUVs without all of its chips with the promise of adding them in later.
Google Cloud Gets More Expensive
Publication: TechCrunch
Bucking current trends, Google announced that, starting October 1, prices for a significant number of its core data services and storage would be going up. For example, multi-region Nearline storage will see increases of 50% and operations pricing for Google Cloud’s Coldline Storage Class A will double from $0.10 per 10,000 operations to $0.20. In addition, customers will also be expected to pay for existing services that are currently free such as data replication, network egress and network topology.
Though not all prices will be increasing, Google’s announcement does beg the question: will other cloud vendors follow suit? After all, managing and moving large volumes of data is difficult as well as costly. Or is Google Cloud, who may already be on shaky ground with customers due to its penchant for canceling services without notice, digging its own grave?
There’s More to AI Bias Than Biased Data, NIST Report Highlights
Publication: NIST
In the past, when people talked about AI bias, the conversation would mainly center around the AI algorithm and the training data. However, according to a newly revised NIST Report, “Towards a Standard for Identifying and Managing Bias in Artificial Intelligence (NIST Special Publication 1270),” AI bias manifests itself not only in AI algorithms and the data used to train them, but also in the societal context in which AI systems are used.
In other words, a more effective way of approaching AI encompasses more than just how it is built, but how it is used.
As the author of the piece explains, “A more complete understanding of bias must take into account human and systemic biases, which figure significantly in the new version. Systemic biases result from institutions operating in ways that disadvantage certain social groups, such as discriminating against individuals based on their race. Human biases can relate to how people use data to fill in missing information, such as a person’s neighborhood of residence influencing how likely authorities would consider the person to be a crime suspect. When human, systemic and computational biases combine, they can form a pernicious mixture — especially when explicit guidance is lacking for addressing the risks associated with using AI systems.”
In order to expand the research included in the paper, NIST will host a series of public workshops over the next few months aimed at drafting a technical report for addressing AI bias and connecting the report with its AI Risk Management Framework.
Here's how Americans view facial recognition and driverless cars
Publication: NPR
Ever wonder what the general public thinks of artificial intelligence? According to Pew Research Center, Americans, at least, are a bit on the fence. In fact, 45% of U.S. adults said they were equally concerned and excited about AI, compared to 18% being more excited than concerned and 37% being more concerned than excited.
To break it down further, while people generally approved of using facial recognition technology for police work as well as using AI to filter out misinformation on social media, people were more strongly opposed to more advanced applications of AI such as computer chip brain implants and driverless cars.
In addition, 51% of participants said they thought the experiences of men were well considered in the development of AI. However, only 36% felt the same about women's experiences.
This sentiment extends to race as well. 48% of participants said they felt the experiences and viewpoints of white adults were thought of. However, the percentage of respondents who said the experiences of Asian adults, Black adults and Hispanic adults were taken into account were 33%, 24% and 23%, respectively.
The 6 Best Novels for the AI Fanatic
Publication: Inc
Some of the great inventions of all time, from robots to artificial intelligence to the metaverse, have roots in art, literature and film. Whether you’re looking for inspiration or simply to escape into another world, this list of AI-centric books has you covered.