Daily Archives: April 27, 2017

Garry Kasparov PublicAffairs: 2017. ISBN: 9781610397865

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Grandmaster Garry Kasparov during the last of six games against Deep Blue in 1997; the computer won the match by 3.5 games to 2.5.

Nearly 20 years ago, I was fortunate enough to play friendly blitz chess against former world champion Garry Kasparov. It was quite an experience; his competitive spirit and creative genius were palpable. I had recently founded Elixir Studios, which specialized in artificial intelligence (AI) games, and my ambition was to conduct cutting-edge research in the field. AI was on my mind that day: Kasparov had played chess against IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue just a few years before. Now, he sets out the details of that titanic event in his memoir Deep Thinking.

The 1997 match was a watershed for AI and an extraordinary technical feat. Strangely, although Kasparov lost, it left me more in awe of the incredible capabilities of the human brain than of the machine. Kasparov was able to compete against a computational leviathan and to complete myriad other tasks that make us all distinctly human. By contrast, Deep Blue was hard-coded with a set of specialized rules distilled from chess grandmasters, and empowered with a brute-force search algorithm. It was programmed to do one thing only; it could not have played even a simpler game such as noughts and crosses without being completely reprogrammed. I felt that this brand of 'intelligence' was missing crucial traits such as generality, adaptability and learning.

As he details in Deep Thinking, Kasparov reached a similar conclusion. The book is his first thorough account of the match, and it offers thoughtful meditations on technology. The title references what he believes chess engines cannot do: they can calculate, but not innovate or create. They cannot think in the deepest sense. In drawing out these distinctions, Kasparov provides an impressively researched history of AI and the field's ongoing obsession with chess.

For decades, leading computer scientists believed that, given the traditional status of chess as an exemplary demonstration of human intellect, a competent computer chess player would soon also surpass all other human abilities. That proved not to be the case. This has to do partly with differences between human and machine cognition: computers can easily perform calculation tasks that people consider incredibly difficult, but totally fail at commonsense tasks we find intuitive (a phenomenon called Moravec's paradox). It was also due to industry and research dynamics in the 1980s and 1990s: in pursuit of quick results, labs ditched generalizable, learning-based approaches in favour of narrow, hand-coded solutions that exploited machines' computational speed.

The focus on brute-force approaches had upsides, Kasparov explains. It may not have delivered on the promise of general-purpose AI, but it did result in very powerful chess engines that soon became popularly available. Today, anyone can practise for free against software stronger than the greatest human chess masters, enabling enthusiasts worldwide to train at top levels. Before Deep Blue, pessimists predicted that the defeat of a world chess champion by a machine would lead to the game's death. In fact, more people play now than ever before, according to World Chess Federation figures.

Chess engines have also given rise to exciting variants of play. In 1998, Kasparov introduced 'Advanced Chess', in which humancomputer teams merge the calculation abilities of machines with a person's pattern-matching insights. Kasparov's embrace of the technology that defeated him shows how computers can inspire, rather than obviate, human creativity.

In Deep Thinking, Kasparov also delves into the renaissance of machine learning, an AI subdomain focusing on general-purpose algorithms that learn from data. He highlights the radical differences between Deep Blue and AlphaGo, a learning algorithm created by my company DeepMind to play the massively complex game of Go. Last year, AlphaGo defeated Lee Sedol, widely hailed as the greatest player of the past decade. Whereas Deep Blue followed instructions carefully honed by a crack team of engineers and chess professionals, AlphaGo played against itself repeatedly, learning from its mistakes and developing novel strategies. Several of its moves against Lee had never been seen in human games most notably move 37 in game 2, which upended centuries of traditional Go wisdom by playing on the fifth line early in the game.

Most excitingly, because its learning algorithms can be generalized, AlphaGo holds promise far beyond the game for which it was created. Kasparov relishes this potential, discussing applications from machine translation to automated medical diagnoses. AI will not replace humans, he argues, but will enlighten and enrich us, much as chess engines did 20 years ago. His position is especially notable coming from someone who would have every reason to be bitter about AI's advances.

His account of the Deep Blue match itself is fascinating. Famously, Kasparov stormed out of one game and gave antagonistic press conferences in which he protested against IBM's secrecy around the Deep Blue team and its methods, and insinuated that the company might have cheated. In Deep Thinking, Kasparov offers an engaging insight into his psychological state during the match. To a degree, he walks back on his earlier claims, concluding that although IBM probably did not cheat, it violated the spirit of fair competition by obscuring useful information. He also provides a detailed commentary on several crucial moments; for instance, he dispels the myth that Deep Blue's bizarre move 44 in the first game of the match left him unrecoverably flummoxed.

Kasparov includes enough detail to satisfy chess enthusiasts, while providing a thrilling narrative for the casual reader. Deep Thinking delivers a rare balance of analysis and narrative, weaving commentary about technological progress with an inside look at one of the most important chess matches ever played.

Read this article:

Artificial Intelligence: Chess match of the century - Nature.com

Tech experts and the media talk ad nauseam about the potential for artificial intelligence to steal a massive number of jobs. Do everyday workers and consumers share the fear?

A new report attempts to answer that question. PwC published a survey Tuesday that polled 2,500 people on their thoughts about A.I. The results: People aren't nearly as fearful of the technology as some of the field's most vocal leaders.

Predictions from experts have varied widely regarding just how many jobs automation will render obsolete. A Forrester study puts the number at 6 percent of jobs by 2021; others say nearly half of all jobs will be gone by 2035.

Workers, however, aren't so worried. Only 46 percent of people polled by PwC believe A.I. "will harm people by taking away jobs." Those surveyed were required to show at least basic familiarity with A.I.

Predictably, people are even less likely to buy into the fear when it comes to Terminator-style doomsday scenarios: Only 23 percent believe A.I. will have "serious, negative implications."

Tech leaders--perhaps most notably Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking--have expressed fear that A.I. could become too powerful and rebel against its makers. Earlier this month, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, laid out a scenario in which computers don't just take jobs--they create and run companies themselves, eventually controlling the entire world economy.

The survey's respondents seemed to focus more on the positive outcomes A.I. will bring. The survey found that 63 percent of people believe A.I. can "help solve complex problems that plague modern societies."

As to where, specifically, respondents would like to see A.I. used, 68 percent say it's important that A.I. be used to solve issues related to cybersecurity and privacy. High percentages of those polled also believe A.I. can make significant advances in eradicating cancer and diseases, developing clean energy, improving education, and boosting global health and well-being.

When it comes to whether or not it's acceptable for the economy to lose jobs due to more automation, the answers largely depended on what kind of jobs are on the chopping block. Eighty percent of those polled say it's more important to have access to the cheaper legal advice that A.I. might offer than to preserve the jobs of lawyers. And two-thirds of respondents are okay with taxi driver and call center jobs being lost if it means access to better transportation and customer service.

Those feelings don't translate to situations that have a long-term impact on consumers' lives. Seventy-seven percent of respondents would forego a home assessment with a robotic smart kit to go see a real live doctor--good news for those in the health field, since A.I. can already detect issues like skin cancer as well as a dermatologist can. And 61 percent would rather see universities keep human assistants than have automated chatbots assistants and cheaper tuition.

But the entertainment industry might want to take note: more than half of the people surveyed think that by 2025, A.I. will create a Billboard 100 song and write a hit TV series.

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People Are Surprisingly Optimistic About Artificial Intelligence Stealing Their Jobs, Survey Finds - Inc.com

Forbes

The Complete Beginners' Guide to Artificial Intelligence Forbes Ten years ago, if you mentioned the term artificial intelligence in a boardroom there's a good chance you would have been laughed at. For most people it would bring to mind sentient, sci-fi machines such as 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL or Star Trek's ... Artificial intelligence as a driver for innovation - FederalNewsRadio ...FederalNewsRadio.com all 2 news articles »

Excerpt from:

The Complete Beginners' Guide to Artificial Intelligence - Forbes

Forbes

Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Workflow For Agency Owners Forbes There has been a lot of interest in artificial intelligence and predictive learning systems and with good reason. The systems provide a fast, powerful method to handle data analysis, as well as handoff routine decisions to something that can research ...

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Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Workflow For Agency Owners - Forbes

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the hot technology for Silicon Valley startups (Ive personally talked to 15 AI startups in the past year). In fact, AngelList currently lists more than 2,000 AI startups with an average valuation of $5 million. In his TED Talk, digital visionary Kevin Kelly described AI as the next revolution, and his simple formula for startups is to solve a problem using AI. And, IDC projected the AI market will reach more than $47 billion by 2020, with 62% of enterprises adopting the technology by next year.

What exactly is AI? According to HCL Global Vice President Arun Saksena, AI is actually an umbrella term that covers several technologies, including the following:

Interestingly enough, AI adoption isnt limited to startups. H&R Block, while not a highly technical company, recently implemented AI into its platform using IBM Watson. Its platform learned 74,000 pages of the US Tax Code and augments its human tax preparers.

If you are thinking about joining the AI gold rush, it may be simpler than you think. The adoption of AI has been made substantially easier as major technology companies have developed AI platforms that can be leveraged by developers through their published APIs. I predict an explosion of AI applications, just as we have seen the emergence of countless SaaS solutions with the availability of cloud computing services.

Learn how your companys mobile strategy compares

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Artificial intelligence and startups: The AI gold rush - Mobile Business Insights (blog)

Ryan Steelberg, President of Veritone, and one of the worlds foremost experts in online advertising, will co-host the first in a series of free Radio Ink and RBR-TVBR webinars starting May 23 at 1 p.m.ET. Ryan will reveal new tool sets that enable broadcasters and advertisers to increase ROI and campaign measurement. (REGISTER HERE)

Emerging technology, like artificial intelligence, is giving radio and other traditional media a new opportunity to turn the tables on their Internet rivals in the marketplace. Forward-looking organizations are using cognitive engines to unlock value previously trapped within their content and advertising data, yielding increased revenue, improved efficiency, and fresh monetization opportunities.

Dont miss out on an opportunity to learn how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the media industry as Ed Ryan, Editor of Radio Ink, and Steelberg talk about Artificial Intelligence 101. Topics include: Why should the radio industry care about AI?; What radio stations are using this technology now and how are they using it?; What revenue opportunities does this new technology provide for radio and how do stations get involved? Reserve your spot now!

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How Artificial Intelligence Can Supercharge ROI For Your Advertisers - Radio Ink

No matter the benefits, AI use cases will be limited if British patients are not comfortable with the technology. However, technological advances have led to a growing level of trust amongst British citizens when it comes to AI and healthcare

Last Friday, the government revealed how the budget for more investment in cutting-edge technology and innovation would be split, with business secretary Greg Clark announcing that robotics and AI will be receiving 93 million as part of the governments 1 billion Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund impacting a range of sectors, including healthcare.

In the healthcare sector, technology has already been used to update patient records, improve care delivery and streamline processes.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being heralded as a technology to achieve further breakthroughs in this sector.

>See also:The next necessary step in healthcare: remote mobile solutions

UK consumers are also seeing the advantages of introducing AI into the healthcare sector. Recent research from the enterprise information management company, OpenText, revealed that a the UK public would appreciate quicker diagnoses.

This was identified as the biggest benefit for people surveyed, with one in three (33%) UK residents believing robots would reach a decision on their condition much faster.

As well as faster diagnosis, one in four (25%) believed they would get a more accurate diagnosis from AI.

A quarter of UK consumers (25%) said robot technology would mean they wouldnt have to rely on booking an appointment with a GP, while 24% said the biggest benefit would be no longer having to take time off work to visit a doctor.

AI would also, almost certainly reduce the strain on the NHS.

>See also:Beware of hackers: people deserve a more secure healthcare system

Mark Barrenechea, CEO at OpenText, said that Thanks to parallel processing, big data, cloud technology, and advanced algorithms, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are becoming more powerful. The analysts are jumping on board, with Forrester predicting that investments in AI will grow 300% in 2017. The Digital Revolution will drive an increasing reliance on self-service technology, machine to machine (M2M) communication and AI, and there is no denying that every job in every industry will be impacted. However, the opportunity for innovation and change is limitless.

No matter the benefits, AI use cases will be limited if British patients are not comfortable with the technology. However, technological advances have led to a growing level of trust amongst British citizens when it comes to AI and healthcare. In one recent report, PwC revealed that over a quarter of Brits would now trust robots over doctors with heart surgery.

This belief in AI is mirrored across the healthcare sector at a much wider level OpenText research revealed that nearly two in five (38%) UK consumers would trust the medical diagnosis given by AI and just over 1 in 10 (11%) said they would trust the diagnosis of AI more, or just as much, as a doctors diagnosis.

The rest is here:

Artificial intelligence and the healthcare sector - Information Age