Collaboration, Not Competition, Will Move FinTech Forward
We recently wrote about the talent shortage in FinTech, and what it means for the future of banking and financial systems. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that, without any talent to fight over, players in the FinTech space need to collaborate. Otherwise, FinTech development could be negatively impacted by a lack of […]
An Inside Look at Amazon’s Ambitions to Make Alexa Sound Human
Amazon’s Alexa is ahead of its competitors, but it’s got a long way to go in making Alexa sound and “act” more human. Improving Alexa’s ability to quip a funny response or having her hold an actual conversation are Amazon’s top priorities right now with their best-selling artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled voice assistant. The Alexa Prize […]
Apple Restricts Developers from Selling User Contact Data
Apple’s trying to avoid a data abuse probe, similar to what happened with Facebook’s recent data scandal. Facebook’s data abuse scandal happened because the company was too lax in what permissions and information it allowed developers to access. Consequently, when a Facebook app developer sold the data he’d mined from a quiz he’d built, Facebook […]
Can AI Predict the 2018 World Cup Winner?
The 2018 FIFA World Cup began a few days ago. It might be easy to know which teams are more likely to advance over others right now. But as the tournament reaches the semifinals and finals, the winning team could be anyone’s guess. Fortunately, now we have artificial intelligence (AI) to give us a clearer […]
The Internet of Things Is Rescuing Rhinos
The Internet of Things (IoT) is expanding more into enterprise applications every day. But one of the most fascinating IoT developments isn’t occurring in an office; it’s happening in the savanna. IoT is helping save rhinos in Africa. But contrary to the common assumption, it’s not doing so by tracking the rhinos. Instead, IoT is being […]
What Does Microsoft’s $7.5 Billion Acquisition of GitHub Really Mean for Tech?
In a big turn of events, Microsoft, known a few years ago as a strictly proprietary code company, bought open-source code platform, GitHub, for $7.5 billion. GitHub, which has 28 million members, is a cloud-based software development host. GitHub is the Seattle-based tech giant’s third largest acquisition yet, trailing behind Skype and LinkedIn. Many industry […]
MIT Created a Psychopath AI to Demonstrate the Dangers of Bias
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) decided to make an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm into a psychopath. Why? For science! Specifically, the AI is being used to demonstrate the dangers of introducing biases to AI. You Are What You Eat MIT researchers Manuel Cebrian, Iyad Rahwan, and Pinar Yanardag trained the algorithm by […]
Google Ends Involvement With Controversial U.S. Government Project
Due to backlash from employees and academia, Google has decided to pull out of its involvement with Project Maven, a controversial project that would help the U.S. government strengthen its drone surveillance with artificial intelligence (AI). Do the Right Thing “Don’t be evil” was a motto used within Google’s corporate code of conduct for quite […]
When Are Robo-Advisors the Right Choice?
It’s undeniable that robots are part of our future; they already play huge roles in numerous facets of our everyday lives right now. But should you rely on robo-advisors to control your finances? Many modern investors struggle with this hot topic. In a new piece for CNBC, Eric Jansen, the founder, president and chief investment […]
U.S.-Mexico Border Security Is Testing Facial Recognition
We recently wrote about Amazon’s Rekognition being sold to local law enforcement. This isn’t a one-off case; security teams around the world will implement some type of facial recognition within the next five to ten years. But the technology is still far from perfect. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is one of the most […]