Monthly Archives: January 2021

The year 2020 was profoundly challenging for citizens, companies, and governments around the world. As covid-19 spread, requiring far-reaching health and safety restrictions, artificial intelligence (AI) applications played a crucial role in saving lives and fostering economic resilience. Research and development (R&D) to enhance core AI capabilities, from autonomous driving and natural language processing to quantum computing, continued unabated.

Baidu was at the forefront of many important AI breakthroughs in 2020. This article outlines five significant advances with implications for combating covid-19 as well as transforming the future of our economies and society.

The trendand why it matters. It typically takes years, if not decades, to develop a new vaccine. But by March 2020, vaccine candidates to fight covid-19 were already undergoing human tests, just three months after the first reported cases. The record speed of vaccine development was partly thanks to AI models that helped researchers analyze vast amounts of data about coronavirus.

There are tens of thousands of subcomponents to the outer proteins of a virus. Machine learning models can sort through this blizzard of data and predict which subcomponents are the most immunogenici.e., capable of producing an immune responseand thereby guide researchers in designing targeted vaccines. The use of AI in vaccine development may revolutionize the way all vaccines are created in the future.

Baidus innovations. In February, Baidu opened its LinearFold AI algorithm for scientific and medical teams working to fight the virus. LinearFold predicts the secondary structure of the ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequence of a virusand does so significantly faster than traditional RNA folding algorithms. LinearFold was able to predict the secondary structure of the SARS-CoV-2 RNAsequence in only 27 seconds, 120 times faster than other methods. This is significant, because the key breakthrough of covid-19 vaccines has been the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. Instead of conventional approaches, which insert a small portion of a virus to trigger a human immune response, mRNA teaches cells how to make a protein that can prompt an immune response, which greatly shortens the time span involved in development and approval.

To support mRNA vaccine development, Baidu later developed and released an AI algorithm for optimizing mRNA sequence design called LinearDesign, which aims to solve the problem of unstable and unproductive mRNA sequences in candidate vaccines.

In addition to opening up access to LinearFold and LinearDesign for researchers around the world, Baidu also formed a strategic partnership with the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, part of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Following an outbreak at Beijings Xinfadi market in June, Baidus AI technology allowed authorities to complete genome sequencing of the coronavirus strain within 10 hours, helping curb the outbreak. In December, Baidu unveiled PaddleHelix, a machine learning-based bio-computing framework aimed at facilitating the development of vaccine design, drug discovery, and precision medicine.

The trendand why it matters. Autonomous driving technology continued to mature in 2020, with the industrys leading companies testing driverless cars and opening up robotaxi services to the public in various cities. Fully automated driving, which enables rides without a human safety driver on board, will be necessary for the scalability and commercialization of autonomous driving.

Baidus innovations. Over the past year, Baidu launched the Apollo Go Robotaxi service in the Chinese cities of Changsha, Cangzhou, and Beijingincluding in busy commercial areasbecoming the only company in China to start robotaxi trial operations in multiple cities.

These developments are a result of Baidus continuous innovation in developing AI systems that can safely control a vehicle in complex road conditions and solve the majority of possible issues on the road, independent of a human driver.

At Baidu World 2020, its annual technology conference, Baidu also demonstrated its fully automated driving capabilitywhere the AI system drives independently without an in-vehicle safety driver. To support fully automated driving, Baidu developed the 5G Remote Driving Service, a safety measure whereby remote human operators can take control of a vehicle in the event of an exceptional emergency. Baidus achievement of fully automated driving, and the rollout of its robotaxis, suggests a positive outlook for the commercialization of the technology in the near future.

The trendand why it matters. In 2020, natural language systems became significantly more advanced at processing aspects of human language like sentiment and intent, generating language that aligns with human speaking and writing patterns, and even visual understanding, meaning the capability to express understanding about an image through language. These natural language models are powering more accurate search results and more sophisticated chatbots and virtual assistants, leading to better user experiences and creating value for businesses.

Baidus innovations. Baidu released a new multiflow sequence framework for language generation called ERNIE-GEN. By training the model to predict semantically complete blocks of text, ERNIE-GEN performs at an elite level across a range of language generation tasks, including dialogue engagement, question generation, and abstractive summarization.

Baidus vision-language model ERNIE-ViL also achieved significant progress in visual understanding, ranking first on the VCR leaderboard, a dataset of 290,000 questions built by the University of Washington and the Allen Institute for AI, that aims to test visual understanding ability. ERNIE-ViL also achieved state-of-the-art performance on five vision-language downstream tasks. Visual understanding lays the foundation for computer systems to physically interact in everyday scenes, as it involves both understanding visual content and expressing it through language. It will be crucial for improving the quality of human-machine interaction.

The trendand why it matters. Quantum computing made significant inroads in 2020, including the Jiuzhang computers achievement of quantum supremacy. This carries significance for AI, since quantum computing has the potential to supercharge AI applications compared to binary-based classical computers. For example, quantum computing could be used to run a generative machine learning model through a larger dataset than a classical computer can process, thus making the model more accurate and useful in real-world settings. Advanced technologies such as deep learning algorithms are also playing an increasingly critical role in the development of quantum computing research.

Baidus innovations. Baidu achieved a number of technical breakthroughs in 2020 that promise to bridge AI and quantum computing. In May, Baidu launched Paddle Quantum, a quantum machine learning development toolkit that can help scientists and developers quickly build and train quantum neural network models and provide advanced quantum computing applications. The open-source toolkit both supports developers building quantum AI applications, and helps deep learning enthusiasts develop quantum computing. In September, Baidu entered cloud-based quantum computing with the launch of Quantum Leaf, which provides quantum development kits such as QCompute, and can shorten the life cycle of quantum programming and help realize a closed-loop quantum tool chain.

The trendand why it matters. AI hardware continued to develop in 2020, with the launch of several AI chips customized for specialized tasks. While an ordinary processor is capable of supporting AI tasks, AI-specific processors are modified with particular systems that can optimize performance for tasks like deep learning. As AI applications become more widespread, any increase in performance or reduction in cost can unlock more value for companies that operate a wide network of data centers for commercial cloud services, and can facilitate the companys internal operations.

Baidus innovations. At Baidu World 2020, the company offered a glimpse into its next-generation AI processor, the Kunlun 2, which it plans to put into mass production in early 2021. The chip uses 7 nanometer (nm) processing technology and its maximum computational capability is over three times that of the previous generation, the Kunlun 1. The Kunlun chips are characterized by high performance, low cost, and high flexibility, which can support a broad range of AI applications and scenarios, helping foster greater AI adoption and reducing usage costs. More than 20,000 Kunlun 1 chips have now been deployed to support Baidus search engine and Baidu Cloud partners since they launched in 2018, empowering industrial manufacturing, smart cities, smart transportation, and other fields.

This content was produced by Baidu. It was not written by MIT Technology Reviews editorial staff.

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These five AI developments will shape 2021 and beyond - MIT Technology Review

90 entrepreneurs and researchers from the Netherlands want to solve all the world's problems with collaboration and innovation.

The Lightyear One charges its own batteries via five square meters of solar panels built into the car itself.

Image: Lightyear One

The 90 Dutch companies in the NL Tech Pavilion at CES 2021 represent every possible use of technology as a problem-solving tool, from air quality and cars to sustainability and violence.

This collection of companies is one of the largest private sector delegations at this year's virtual CES.

The companies represent 13 sectors including advanced materials; artificial intelligence, big data and quantum computing; energy power and climate change; enterprise solutions; robotics and future work; digital health and wellness; cybersecurity and resilience; smart cities and mobility; sustainability and circularity; and 5G, IoT sensors, photonics and nanotech.

This year, Dutch organizers wanted to highlight how companies must work together to create economic, environmental, and social change by using partnerships between government, private and public companies, and research and knowledge institutions.

SEE: CES 2021: The big trends for business (ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature)

The quantum computing contingent at CES is one example of that collaboration. In addition to three companies, the Pavilion is hosting Quantum Delta NL as well. The organization supports networking among researchers and educational efforts around quantum computing.

"As global power players race toward building the first quantum computer, we continue to encourage productive collaboration between Dutch research institutes like QuTech, our national ecosystem for excellence Quantum Delta and groundbreaking startups like Qblox who all play an equally essential role in establishing the Netherlands as a leader in the evolution of quantum innovation," said Mona Keijzer, State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

These six companies in the delegation are working in artificial intelligence, data centers, energy use, digital health, blockchain, and solar-powered cars:

Here's a look at how these six companies are using technology to solve old and new problems.

Incooling and Lightyear are taking on energy use in two different sectors. Incooling SVC is a compressor-based cooling system to cool high-performance servers by focusing on the CPU. This closed-loop system can be inserted directly into servers, according to the company, and can respond quickly to changing temperatures. The system uses two-phase cooling. With this system, the coolant is heated and subjected to phase change. This means that when the cooling material is heated to the boiling point, it can change from a liquid to a gas. This allows the cooling system to absorb more heat.

The Lightyear One charges its own batteries via five square meters of solar panels built into the car itself. The solar cells on the hood and the roof are encased in safety glass. The car also has four independent in-wheel motors that provide power when and where it is needed. This long-range solar electric car is two to three times more energy efficient than the current crop of electric vehicles, according to the company. Lightyear One uses 83 watts per kilometer, which will cover a range of 725 kilometers, or 450 miles. The Lightyear One goes on sale in late 2021 in Europe for 150,000 euros, or about $182,395.

Oddity is working on a commercial violence recognition algorithm with advanced deep learning techniques. The algorithm monitors video feeds in real time to watch for potential violence and alert security officers. The company claims the system has a detection speed of less than half a second. The company also states that the algorithms analyze subjects in full anonymity and deploy on premises to protect privacy.

Verisign reports that there are about 330 million registered domain names but a significant portion of those are not active. Dan.com is using blockchain to make it easier for businesses and individuals to find, buy, and transfer these unused domains. Dan.com used IBM's blockchain technology to automate domain name processes such as transferring a name to a new owner and to power new services such as domain name rental and lease to own.

Music has the power to influence emotions and AlphaBeats is using that power to help individuals relax. The company's app measures stress via breathing, heart rate variability, and brainwaves. The sound quality from the ear buds changes based on the level of stress the biofeedback algorithms detect. As a person relaxes, the quality of the music improves. AlphaBeats is licensing a neurofeedback algorithm from Philips to power the app. AlphaBeats claims that 10 minute training sessions will help users train themselves to relax on command. The company is signing up beta testers for the iOS and Android apps.

Breath in Balanz also wants to train users to be healthier and its focus is breathing. The coaching system uses an app and a belt to improve breathing patterns to prevent hyperventilation. Breathing too shallowly or too fast can affect a person's overall health, including sleep and heart conditions. Breath in Balanz offers an 80-day training program that is divided into seven segments. The idea is to train the variety of muscles used to breathe via the app and a sensor.

The Netherlands Pavilion includes a quantum computing cohort this year with three companies and one industry organization attending. Orange Quantum System helps R&D labs with quantum research. Qblox is advancing quantum technology with scalable and low-latency qubit control equipment. Quantum Inspire is a multi-hardware quantum technology platform.

Quantum Delta NL supports the broader quantum ecosystem by encouraging collaboration among the country's five major quantum research hubs, strengthening large-scale facilities across the country for nanotech research, and accelerating education efforts to support a quantum economy. The organization's catalyst programs include building the first European quantum computing platform, establishing a national quantum network, and supporting companies that could build quantum sensing applications. Intel's quantum researchers work with the Dutch company QuTech to test quantum chips that the hardware company is developing.

Our editors highlight the TechRepublic articles, downloads, and galleries that you cannot miss to stay current on the latest IT news, innovations, and tips. Fridays

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You can find a $180K solar-powered car, qubit controls, and breathing tips at the NL Tech Pavilion at CES 2021 - TechRepublic

The plans have been adjusted a bit for virtual participation, but all systems are go for Research Week 2021 at Duke, Jan. 25-29.

This first-ever event will include the inaugural Ingrid Daubechies Lecture and updates from Duke researchers working on the frontiers of political science, Covid, Quantum computing, CRISPR gene editing and artificial intelligence. Participants can earn some Responsible Conduct of Research training credits and hear a sampling of work from our students and postdocs.

The Office of Research, which is hosting the event, will also be unveiling a powerful new platform for research planning and administration, myRESEARCHsuite.

And the Office of Licensing and Ventures will be hosting its annual showcase of Duke-grown startup companies.

This is a sort of a celebration, said Vice President for Research Larry Carin. Dukes researchers, from senior faculty to undergraduates, have risen above the challenges faced in this new world of social distancing, infectious disease controls, and surveillance testing.

Duke Research Week is an opportunity to showcase the extraordinary research accomplishments our faculty and students achieved under unimaginable challenges and constraints, Carin said.

Monday, Jan. 25: SARS-CoV-2 testing and modeling; Young voters in 2021 and beyond.

Tuesday, Jan. 26: Introduction to myRESEARCHsuite; Daubechies Lecture: Waves: Building Blocks in Nature and Mathematics, with Gigliola Staffilani of MIT; Grad student and postdoc mini-talks.

Wednesday, Jan. 27: FlyRDU design challenge winners; Undergraduate research virtual poster session; Research Town Hall Fundamentals of the Scientific Process panel discussions; Invented at Duke showcase.

Thursday, Jan. 28: Introduction to the Duke Quantum Center; The Human genome and CRISPR technologies.

Friday, Jan. 29: Artificial Intelligence and Health, a half-day symposium in three parts.

Registration is required to access the online content. Please see https://dukeresearchweek.vfairs.com/

Excerpt from:

Research Week Features Hot Topics and New Tools - Duke Today

In one of the most significant departures from the Trump Administration, President-elect Joe Biden vowed to make science a central theme of his administration enlisting scientists to solve problems at home and across the globe, and giving them unprecedented influence in his administration.

As president, Ill pay great attention to science and scientists, Biden said January 16 in an online briefing introducing his team of top five science advisors. He confirmed his plan to name his chief scientific advisor, geneticist Eric Lander, to cabinet-level rank the first time in US history, because we think its that important.

He also said he will focus his administrations scientific efforts on five main issues: the pandemic, the economy and economic equality, the climate crisis, technological and industrial leadership, and restoring trust in science.

In a similar vein, a day earlier when discussing his COVID-19 plans, Biden vowed that our administration will lead with science and scientists, with a CDC, an NIH, that will be free, totally free from political influence, a surgeon general who is independent, an FDA whose decisions are based on science and science alone. The Centres for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration became political casualties of the Trump Administrations fumbling pandemic response, as political appointees frequently overruled career scientists.

A signal to the world

Taken together, the five appointments and the impassioned rhetoric send a powerful signal to other world leaders that there will be a new boss and a new agenda in Washington from noon on January 20, Inauguration Day. In several capitals, expectations have risen for the US returning to its former prominent role on global climate policy, health research, environmental protection. Indeed, some have started calling for a global summit on science, to better coordinate how humanity should respond to those issues, and the impact of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

Certainly, watching the Biden briefings over the weekend, an observer couldnt help but be struck by the contrast with the departing Trump Administration. Trump famously called climate science a Chinese hoax, speculated aloud about the possibility of administering bleach to COVID patients, took a felt-tip marker to a government weather map to make a hurricanes path appear less threatening, and enacted a long series of administrative changes that downgraded the impact of scientific evidence on US policy in many domains.

By contrast, we are going to make sure the United States of America once again leads the way in science and innovation, said Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect, at the briefing.

Echoing Bidens enthusiasm for the scientific appointments, Harris joked that she and Biden can nerd out a little at times. She went on to describe how she learned from her mother, an endocrinologist, about the scientific method as a way of life, of forming a hypothesis and recognising that its not a failure to revaluate that hypothesis when the facts dont add up making a decision based not on ideology but on evidence.

So far, the full sweep of Bidens planned science-related policies arent yet clear though he has in the past month laid out specific new measures, based on scientific advice, to tackle the pandemic, improve environmental protection and revive and restructure the economy.

A slim Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, and a 50-50 Democratic-Republican split in the Senate (with Harris as the tie-breaker), will permit many changes. And his executive powers to enact change especially in the inner workings of key agencies like the FDA and the departments of energy and agriculture are extensive. But the Democratic party itself is riven by internal dissension, and the chance of bipartisan agreement diminished greatly after the House voted to impeach Trump for an historic second time last week.

Science for equality

A few messages came clearly through the Biden science briefings. One was on the need to apply science to helping fix Americas appalling inequalities of income and race. Alondra Nelson, a Princeton University social scientist who was named Bidens deputy science advisor, said that science at its core is a social phenomenon, a reflection of the people. How we build AI algorithms, provide health care, are human choices. It matters who makes these choicesAs a Black woman researcher, I am keenly aware of who is missing from such decisions at present.

Likewise, Landers, the new chief science advisor, said we have to be sure not only that everybody has a seat at the table, but a place at the lab bench.

Another theme was listening to science to improve the chaotic US pandemic response. At the Jan. 15 briefing on COVID, Biden said that from the moment of his inauguration he will make mask-wearing mandatory on federal property, and on interstate planes and trains. Mask wearing, he said, has become a partisan issue. But what a stupid, stupid thing for it to happen. He said wearing masks in his first 100 days could save 50,000 lives.

Referring to the Capital siege in which legislators were forced to shelter together some with, and some without, masks, Biden called it shocking to see members of Congress refuse to wear masks. What the hells the matter with you?

Of the five top science appointees, most are familiar faces from the Obama Administration and in one case, from both the Trump and Obama eras:

Eric S. Lander, presidential science advisor and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). A leader of the successful 1990s US Human Genome Project that sequenced the first full human genome, and currently head of the Broad Institute, a genetics research centre run jointly by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Also, in the Obama-Biden administration, co-chair of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Alondra Nelson, OSTP deputy director for science and society. Currently president of the Social Science Research Council and a sociology professor at Princetons Institute for Advanced Study.

Frances H. Arnold, co-chair of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. A California Institute of Technology professor who in 2018 was the first American woman to win a Nobel in chemistry. She co-founded three biotech companies and is a director of Alphabet, the parent company of Google currently fighting antitrust charges from the US Department of Justice.

Maria Zuber, co-chair of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. A geophysicist who is currently MIT vice president for research, and head of MITs famous Lincoln Laboratory. She has been involved in scientific aspects of 10 US space missions. She was named in 2013 by then-President Obama to the National Science Board, and was reappointed under Trump as board chair from 2016 to 2018.

Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. A hold-over from the Trump Administration, and first named to the post in 2009 by then-President Obama. He is a physician and geneticist, who was also with Lander a leader of the Human Genome Project.

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Biden puts science at the top of his agenda - Science Business

Dell Technologies have presented what they think about the year 2021 in terms of technologies and the companys view and strategy towards said elements.

For the main discussions, they have shared their insights, analytics, and predictions for the top 4 emerging technologies of 2021, namely quantum computing, silicon chips, 5G, multi-cloud edge solutions.

For starters, the company recognizes the existence and ability of quantum computing but it is not yet practical at least for a couple of years and it should be positioned as an augmentation of conventional computing such as an addition of a new tier towards the highest point of a pyramid hierarchy. They are also impressed by the fact that the cryptography sector has finally met its real challenger in terms of pure brute force speed and have started investing R&D resources to refine modern-day security solutions to match them. Recommendation wise, they are encouraging the development of a simulator and language tailored specifically for quantum computing to train and produce sufficient experts in the future.

Onto semiconductors, they have seen global leaders such as Apple, Intel, and AMD all made their own moves of incorporating their own heterogeneous architectures such as big.LITTLE in their processors one way or another and with NVIDIA purchasing ARM and AMD getting its hands on Xylinx, Dell Technologies are pretty sure future servers are going to follow suit and similar architectures as well, focusing on software modernization, integration platform in conjunction with the silicon chip itself.

The enterprise use of 5G also stemmed the organizations interest as they have predicted that the new standards will really take off during this year as true SA-5G specifications such as mMTC, UR-LLC and MEC provide the groundwork for telecommunications parties to learn, adapt and deploy them in both public and private use cases. Software solutions providers such as Dell Technologies themselves, Microsoft, and more will chime in to continuously refine 5G to be open yet standardized.

Finally, multi-cloud assimilation will solve the issue of edge proliferation which is the excessive independent edge system that currently existed in the ecosystem by clearly classifying resource pools and workload extensions into 2 unique individual categories. In a simpler sense, more workloads and resources targeting public clouds and SaaS edges will involve more logical partitioning compared to the past.

Amit Midha, President of the APAC and Japan region, also added that the entire world is slowly shifting its focus to Asia in terms of business and the technology it carries along and forward into the future. Discussing the companys progress for the social impact aimed for the year 2030 with 9 years to go, they are in the driver seat to achieve a 1:1 ratio of using recycled materials for manufacturing and gender representation for its employees alongside affecting more than 1 billion of lives for a greater good.

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Find out what Dell Technologies has to say about quantum computing, 5G and more for this year - Nasi Lemak Tech