An ex-Nasa chief has revealed a stealth startup that’s built “military-grade” Apple Siri voice recognition technology June 6, 2016 A startup founded by a former top boss at Nasa has emerged from so-called stealth mode with technology that claims to beat Apple, Google and Microsoft's voice recognition technology. Dan Goldin, who spent nearly all of the 1990s leading Nasa, has revealed KnuEdge, a machine learning company that already boasts Fortune 500 clients and $100m in private funding despite its under the radar nature [...]
Porsche on-demand? VW boss reveals Gett plans June 1, 2016 Fancy ordering a Porsche to get home, instead of a plain old car or cab? Volkswagen's partnership with on-demand Uber rival Gett could very well make that a reality. VW boss Matthias Mueller has revealed more about the tie-up between the car maker and the tech company announced last week, and that could include making a high end [...]
How digitisation can help save the UK’s creative industries June 1, 2016 Creativity is the lifeblood of the modern world we live in. From writers and designers, to architects and musicians, the world around us would not exist as it is if it wasn’t for our creators, who give every office, city and country its identity and history. The UK's creative industries, which generate £9.6m per hour for the UK [...]
Toyota is in talks to buy two robotics businesses from Google June 1, 2016 Motor company Toyota is in talks to buy two robotics divisions from Google's parent company, Alphabet. The Japanese firm is interested in buying Boston Dynamics – the firm behind Cheetah, said to be the fastest-legged robot in the world – and Schaft, according to a report from Nikkei. Alphabet is reported to be interested in [...]
This is how worried Brits are about robots taking their jobs May 31, 2016 A quarter of Brits believe robots are coming to take their jobs – and soon. Some 25 per cent of 2,000 people surveyed by OpenText said they believe they could be replaced by robot technology in the next 10 years. Read more: Meet Zenbo, Asus's Wall.E style home robot Meanwhile, 42 per cent say this could [...]
Forget negative interest rate gloom. In robotics Japan has a ¥9.7 trillion opportunity May 26, 2016 A negative interest rate and the perceived failure of Abenomics have undermined investor confidence in Japan, stealing attention from robust fundamentals and an untapped growth story. Strong company earnings and structural reforms combined with improving governance are creating real value in innovative sectors of Japan’s equity market, such as robotics. Japan has always been seen [...]
The power of emotional intelligence: Why AI and robots will never compete with human creativity May 24, 2016 There have been an increasing number of reports about the rapidly developing world of AI, where computers can learn to use big data independently. Most recently, Google yesterday announced it would begin exploring whether automated machines are capable of creativity and producing original artwork and music. Many people's gut reaction to this is that nothing, not even the [...]
Can AI be creative? Google wants to find out May 23, 2016 First they came for the manual tasks, now they're eyeing up the careers of musicians, art directors and other creative types – will robots and artificial intelligence leave any jobs for us humans? Google's latest project, Magenta, will explore the possibility of machines learning creativity, leaving anyone thinking the rise of the robots would give us all time [...]
The Chinese town where robots replaced 60,000 workers May 23, 2016 A Chinese manufacturing hub enlisted a fleet of robots to help overhaul its growth strategy. Kunshan, in Jiangsu province of China, used to be one of the country’s best performing economies. But its reputation was dented after an industrial explosion killed 146 people in 2014. At the time, it was blamed on poor safety standards [...]
Here’s how your brain works on the Tube (and what it can teach AI) May 19, 2016 Our brains work harder when we have to switch lines on the Underground, even if there are fewer stops than a longer journey which requires no changes, new research reveals. Scientists have identified how our brains work when we're navigating the London Underground which could help artificial intelligence learn things more efficiently. Read more: Accenture's launching an [...]