Daily Archives: June 23, 2017

As the CEO of Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence, Pete Kane has founded multiple startups such as Healthcare Minnesota and Startup Venture Loft, which led to his most recent collaborative creation Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence. The community group uses machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to collaborate on research projects that can make landmark discoveries in science and healthcare. Silicon Valley AI will host the Genomics Hackathon fromFriday through Sunday at Google Launchpad in San Francisco. We spoke to Kane to get the skinny on what AI means for the future, and whether we should be afraid of the machines turning on us.

Why should people be excited about AI?

AI is exciting because were all exploring it at the same pace. Its possibilities have captured undivided attention of the world's smartest and most innovative people. Its exciting because were early on in this field. Everyone can get involved. Everyone can dream up ways to use machine intelligence.

What are the biggest benefits of AI now, and in the future?

I think of AI in terms of healthcare, medicine and life sciences research. Right now there are fantastic algorithms for imaging analysis like radiology and dermatology. In the future, I believe AI will play a leading role in areas like drug discovery, personalized medicine and cancer genomics.

Should we fear singularity?

No.The singularity question is a bit overhyped. I feel like we should focus on using AI to increase our understanding of medicine and biology.

What intentions did the original founders have for Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence?

Our original intention was to build community in the SF Bay Area AI scene. We wanted to build sustainable non-profit organization, where people could learn from one another and make meaningful connections on a regular basis.

What was the first thing that got you interested in AI?

When I realized the AI scene wanted healthcare data, I was all in. The previous organization I started was a healthcare innovation community in Minnesota (Healthcare.mn), so I knew I could add a lot to the emerging AI scene here.

What response has the group received from the Silicon Valley community?

Strong! Weve have built wonderful relationships with researchers, students, and industry. The gatherings we host draw a serious, motivated crowd and I think weve built a great culture.

How does genomics play into AI and affect everyday people?

Very little at the moment. The cost and accessibility of high-resolution genomic sequencing excludes the general population. Moreover, it is still largely exploratory how AI/ML and Deep Learning is being applied to genomics, and the interpretability of those results.

What results could be a product of the Genomics Hackathon on June 23?

Participants will be analyzing drug treatment pathways, creating mutation ranking algorithms and simulating drug interventions. When 150 of the smartest people in AI, Genomics, Bioinformatics and Computer Science come together to hack on a rare cancer (NF2) genomics dataset, amazing things are going to happen. Stay tuned.

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Q&A: Pete Kane, CEO of Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence - San Jose Inside (blog)

Senraj Soundar, CEO, ConnectLeader discusses how AI-driven software can eliminate a great deal of manual work, helping sales reps make decisions about how to approach prospects, personalize conversations, and most importantly, focus on the leads that deserve follow-up

In 1996, IBM introduced a supercomputer called Deep Blue to the world. Deep Blue challenged world chess champion Garry Kasparov to a series of chess matches and Deep Blue won. In 2011, IBM introduced Watson, another supercomputer, which beat two of Jeopardy's greatest champions. In 2016, Go Master Lee Sedol played a match against an ominous new challenger, a super computer from Google named, DeepMind, which won the match, making it the first time a computer had defeated a Go master.

Watson was the beginning of a new era in computing. Computing started with mechanical switches that counted things. It then moved to programmable systems. The computer was told what to do and it improved our productivity. Watson was the first computer built for big data, for extracting an understanding from massive amounts of data to help humans make better decisions. As it was given data and given outcomes, it learned. The more data it got, the smarter it got. And it never forgot. As Watsons father John Kelly, senior vice president of IBM said, We wanted to help humans that were basically in this cognitive overload because of information. We wanted to help them make better decisions.

Yet, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates and Elon Musk have all raised concerns about the threat that artificial intelligence (AI) poses. According to Musk, advanced AI could be more dangerous than nukes, while Hawking suggested that it could lead to the end of humanity. But, humans have always been masters of technology--steam power, coal, electricity, and now computerization--and it seems every new technology comes with its scare. Every day now we hear stories about AI, data and robotics, about the jobs threatened in manufacturing, retail, transportation, even in the legal, medical, and high finance worlds. The research firm PwC found that nearly 4 out of 10 jobs in the United States could be vulnerable to replacement by robots in the next fifteen years. Ford plans to invest $1 billion into AI. The goal is to have a fully autonomous vehicle on the commercial market by 2021.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, seems to have infiltrated every aspect of our lives, especially with his personal assistant, Alexa, that delivers us the news, weather, and the fastest way to get to work. Buoy Health has launched a digital symptom-checker designed to simulate a conversation with a real doctor. Scientists at MIT have developed a wearable wrist device that can read the emotions of a conversation. AI seems to be everywhere--the computer part of all we do.

According to computer scientist, inventor and futurist, Ray Kurzweil, AI outperforms humans because of several aspects unique to machines:

In the business world, with sales, its all about understanding behaviors and motivations. An AI-based system can use computing power to find the best prospects. The computer can use masses of market data which can be compared and matched with ideal customer profiles, saving the sales rep hours and hours of manual labor.

Todays best reps use predictive analytics, a form of AI that optimizes decision making around sales efforts. Salesforce and Microsoft have AI-driven tools and investment in AI startups is at an all-time high. This type of software uses techniques that gather customer and prospect data from multiple sources, run it through machine learning models to predict which leads are most likely to convert, and present the findings to a sales team, in the form of best prospects and accounts. AI-driven software can eliminate a great deal of manual work, helping sales reps make decisions about how to approach prospects, personalize conversations, and most importantly, focus on the leads that deserve follow-up.

Here are a few data points which can be taken into consideration by an AI-based platform: size of company; location; recent ventures; length of sales cycle; revenue; growth rate; financial health; recruitments; relocations; funding rounds; installed technologies; intent to buy; social media activity.

AI engines can provide sales reps with quality connects and conversations with qualified buyers from all that data residing in the companys CRM system. By sourcing and analyzing the data coming from different sales channels (emails, calls, social media), the AI algorithms can provide optimal personalized propositions for customers. And when propelled by calling tools, the best leads will be reach at the most optimal time.

And at this point, it may be best to remember the story of John Henry. Unlike those in the beginning of this article who lost their games to supercomputers and had to suffer embarrassment, when John Henry took on the steam shovel and lost, he died. So, . Let advanced AI technology help you stop wasting valuable time and energy, and help make you optimize your lead generation by making you win more sales.

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How Artificial Intelligence Makes Lead Generation Smarter - MarTech Advisor

While some fear artificial intelligence may take jobs from humans, technology company SAP sees it as a way to potentially make better hires and increase diversity.

The German technology company, which employs more than 1,500 people in the Chicago area, is introducing a tool that will allow recruiters to use machine learning to sift through thousands of applications much faster.

SAP Resume Matching applies machine learning to the process of matching resumes and job descriptions, said DJ Paoni, SAPs Chicago-based Midwest managing director. SAP will roll the product out to its own recruiters this year and will also sell it to clients.

Paoni said the tool extracts information such as skills and experience from resumes and scores them against particular open positions. That can allow a recruiter to more easily whittle down a pool of a thousand to several dozen that are worth further consideration, he said.

It really allows recruiters to focus on the important part of that whole process, which is interacting with the candidates, as opposed to poring through resumes and trying to match job descriptions, Paoni said.

He said SAP plans to use this tool to help make better hires. Over the past eight years or so, the company has shifted to taking on more young, entry-level employees for the first time. As a result, its paying more attention to hiring and retention trends, such as the impact of employee well-being on productivity, diversity and inclusion, the use of part-time or supplemental workers and continuous feedback rather than annual reviews.

To make SAP a better workplace based on those trends, it needs to be quicker and better at finding the best hires, he said.

Automating the resume sorting process could also help remove bias from the hiring process, Paoni said, creating a more diverse candidate pool.

SAP also plans to use machine learning to score job descriptions themselves a process that could help identify unconscious bias in listings. For example, terms like rockstar or ninja may be more attractive to men than women. The company is developing a new machine learning tool that would detect this kind of language using sentiment analysis, then suggest alternatives.

Its similar to a grammar check that you might do on a document, Paoni said. The system will recommend alternative words for terms that might hint at a pattern of unconscious bias.

He said that will help SAP as it pushes for more diversity and inclusion. But Paoni said the machine learning tools are intended to speed up and supplement the recruiting process, not replace it.

If you rely too much on the technology, you lose that personal feel, he said. It's a delicate balance.

aelahi@chicagotribune.com Twitter @aminamania

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Can resume-reading software help companies make better hires? - Chicago Tribune

The reckless rise of artificial intelligence is going to be much more disruptive for the London technology scene in the longer run than Britains departure from the EU, according to musician, entrepreneur and philanthropist will.i.am.

Speaking at an event celebrating his collaboration with Atom Bank, an app-based digital-only bank launched last year, the founding member of The Black Eyed Peas said that by 2030, Brexit will be an old school thought for the UKs rapidly evolving tech industry and AI will present a much more acute challenge.

At the moment no one really understands the things that we should care about, he said. We need to invest in AI in order to stay ahead.

Echoing similar remarks made by Chinese business magnate Alibaba chairman Jack Ma this week, will.i.am said that historically, technology and industrialisation have caused wars.

Technology today hasnt caused turmoil [yet] but we need to make sure it doesnt, he said. We need to work closer together to be inspiring and encouraging, and to protect the youth.

A time when we do everything on our phones from banking to screening our medical health and even voting in elections is just around the corner.

Multimillionaire will.i.am shot to fame in the early 2000s with hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas. Hes since released several solo albums, collaborated with scores of artists, including Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. Hes broken into television, with talent show The Voice and has also dabbled in fashion.

Hes a founding shareholder of Beats Electronics, which makes high-end headphones, and an avid philanthropist through his foundation dedicated to providing education to underprivileged students. In the UK, his foundation collaborates with The Princes Trust.

Earlier this year, Durham-based Atom announced that will.i.am had been appointed as the banks first strategic board advisor.

As a consumer technology investor, Atom at the time said that the 42-year old, whose real name is William James Adams, would provide an external perspective on culture, philanthropy and technology.

At this weeks event, hosted in a Shoreditch hotel, Anthony Thomson, founder and chairman of Atom, elaborated on the perhaps not quite obvious partnership.

He said that he had pitched to the musician around two years ago after trying to determine who Atom would be if it were a person.

Hes a guy who has all the qualities were looking for [in the bank], Mr Thomson, who is also the founder and chairman of Metro Bank, said.

will.i.am told The Independent that he had chosen to work with Atom because of its progressive approach to banking and the way in which it strives to educate especially young people about saving, in a prescient manner.

When he got his first pay cheque after securing a record deal at 20 years old, he had no clue how to manage his finances. He said that he developed a habit of stashing the cheques he was receiving in the locked glove compartment of his car. That was my idea of saving.

A new age type of banking company, as will.i.am describes Atom, will ensure that young peopleespecially those from a deprived background who have little understanding of personal finance are given the opportunity to learn how to manage their savings. He said that he grew up in a poor neighbourhood in east Los Angeles and could relate to youngsters today trying to make living.

As a celebrity, he said, he can help Atom raise awareness and drive adoption and help the lender be to the larger, established banks what a true disruptor, like Uber is to the traditional taxi industry.

This is all about preparing for tomorrow, he said. No one wants to play catch up.

Atom, which received its banking licence in June 2015, currently offers several savings products and has entered the mortgage market by partnering with brokers. In March it raised 83m from major institutional investors, including Spains BBVA, veteran fund manager Neil Woodford and Toscafund. It said that it intends to launch further products this year.

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Brexit: will.i.am says artificial intelligence will be more disruptive to ... - The Independent