Daily Archives: March 31, 2021

The U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence recently made the news when its members warned that America faces a national security crisis due to insufficient investment in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Commission Vice Chair Robert Work argued we dont feel this is the time for incremental budgets This will be expensive and requires significant change in the mindset at the national, and agency, and Cabinet levels. Commission Chair Eric Schmidt extended those worries by saying China is catching the US and competition with China will increase.

This is not the first time the country has worried about the economic and national security ramifications of new technologies. In the aftermath of World War II, the United States, Soviet Union, China, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and others were concerned about the risk of war and the ethical aspects of nuclear weapons, chemical agents, and biological warfare. Despite vastly different worldviews, national interests, and systems of government, their leaders reached a number of agreements and treaties to constrain certain behaviors, and define the rules of war. There were treaties regarding nuclear arms control, conventional weapons, biological and chemical weapons, outer space, landmines, civilian protection, and the humane treatment of POWs.

The goal through these agreements was to provide greater stability and predictability in international affairs, introduce widely-held humanitarian and ethical norms into the conduct of war, and reduce the risks of misunderstandings that might spark unintended conflict or uncontrollable escalation. By talking with adversaries and negotiating agreements, the hope was that the world could avoid the tragedies of large-scale conflagrations, now with unimaginably destructive weapons, that might cost millions of lives and disrupt the entire globe.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, supercomputing, and data analytics, the world today is at a crucial turning point in the national security and the conduct of war. Sometimes known as the AI triad, these characteristics and other weapons systems, such as hypersonics, are accelerating both the speed with which warfare is waged, and the speed with which warfare can escalate. Called hyperwar by Amir Husain and one of us (John R. Allen), this new form of warfare will feature levels of autonomy, including the potential for lethal autonomous weapons without humans being in the loop on decision-making.

It will affect both the nature and character of war and usher in new risks for humanity. As noted in ourrecent AI book Turning Point,this emerging reality could feature swarms of drones that may overwhelm aircraft carriers, cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, AI-guided nuclear weapons, and hypersonic missiles that automatically launch when satellite sensors detect ominous actions by adversaries. It may seem to be a dystopian future, but some of these capabilities are with us now. And to be clear, both of us, and more broadly the worlds liberal democracies, are struggling with the moral and ethical implications of fully autonomous, lethal weapon systems.

In this high-risk era, it is now time to negotiate global agreements governing the conduct of war during the early adoption and adaptation of AI and emerging technologies to the waging of war and to specific systems and weapons. It will be much easier to do this before AI capabilities are fully fielded and embedded in military planning. Similar to earlier treaties on nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in the post-war period, these agreements should focus on several key principles:

The good news is there are some international entities that already are working on these issues. For example, the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence is a group of more than a dozen democratic nations that have agreed to support the responsible and human-centric development and use of AI in a manner consistent with human rights, fundamental freedoms, and our shared democratic values. This community of democracies is run by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and features high-level convenings, research, and technical assistance.

That said, there are increasingly calls for the technologically advanced democracies to come together to aggregate their capacities, as well as leveraging their accumulated moral strength, to create the norms and ethical behaviors essential to governing the applications of AI and other technologies. Creating a reservoir of humanitarian commitment among the democracies will be vital to negotiating from a position of moral strength with the Chinese, Russians, and other authoritarian states whose views on the future of AI vary dramatically from ours.

In addition, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, European Union, and other regional security alliances are undertaking consultations designed to create agreed-to norms and policies on AI and other new technologies. This includes effort to design ethical principles for AI that govern algorithmic development and deployment and provide guardrails for economic and military actions. For these agreements to be fully implemented though, they will need to have the active participation and support of China and Russia as well as other relevant states. For just as it was during the Cold War, logic should dictate that potential adversaries be at the negotiating table in the fashioning of these agreements. Otherwise, democratic countries will end up in a situation where they are self-constrained but adversaries are not.

It is essential for national leaders to build on international efforts and make sure key principles are incorporated into contemporary agreements. We need to reach treaties with allies and adversaries that provide reliable guidance for the use of technology in warfare, create rules on what is humane and morally acceptable, outline military conduct that is unacceptable, ensure effective compliance, and take steps that protect humanity. We are rapidly reaching the point where failure to take the necessary steps will render our societies unacceptably vulnerable, and subject the world to the Cold War specter of constant risk and the potential for unthinkable destruction. As advocated by the members of the National Security Commission, it is time for serious action regarding the future of AI. The stakes are too high otherwise.

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It is time to negotiate global treaties on artificial intelligence - Brookings Institution

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Arguably the most controversial on the Street, penny stocks are a hot-button issue. Usually, there isnt a lot of middle-ground with respect to these tickers priced for less than $5 apiece. Dividing market watchers into two distinct groups, both sides present valid arguments laying out the pros and cons. Sure, there is reason enough to be skeptical. Often, a cheap stock is cheap for a reason, with the low share price potentially reflecting an underlying problem with the business, whether it be poor fundamentals or unbeatable headwinds. That said, a bargain price tag isnt always indicative of a lost cause. For some, better days are on the horizon, and for very little money, investors can control a lot more shares. Therefore, even minor upward movements could result in massive percentage gains, and thus, significant returns. As the nature of these investments makes it difficult to gauge the strength of their long-term growth prospects, one effective stock selecting strategy is to follow the analysts advice. Using TipRanks database, we locked in on two penny stocks that have garnered glowing reviews from the Street, enough to earn a Strong Buy consensus rating. Not to mention each offers massive upside potential. Savara, Inc. (SVRA) Well start with Savara, a biotech company focused on orphan lung diseases. Savaras main focus is on autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (aPAP), a rare condition in which protein material builds up in the lungs and prevents effective breathing. Current treatment involves a patient admission to intensive care, full anesthesia, and a literal washing out of the lungs an invasive and difficult procedure. Savara is researching medical alternatives. The companys lead drug candidate, molgradex, is an inhalant medication designed as a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; in short, it is targeted on the autoimmune flaw that prevents the bodys natural self-cleansing of the lungs. Molgradex has an Orphan Drug designation from the FDA, and has completed its Phase 3 IMPALA clinical study, with some mixed results. It missed the primary endpoint, but met a key secondary endpoint, and the company in December stated that it planned to meet with regulatory authorities to discuss further studies. Those discussions led to an open-label follow-up period, a study that focused on long-term safety in the use of molgradex for patients with aPAP. The study followed 128 patients over periods between 48 and 72 weeks, and showed improvements on two independent measures of gas exchange in the lungs. Considering these positive results, the company is starting molgradex on the IMPALA 2 study, an additional Phase 3 clinical trial, to begin in 2Q21. Currently going for $1.71 apiece, some members of the Street believe Savara's share price reflects an attractive entry point. Among the bulls is Piper Sandler analyst Yasmeen Rahimi who believes SVRA is an "ideal value pick." We believe that Molgradex has the potential to be a game-changing therapeutic for autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (aPAP)... With a compelling MOA at its back, we have strong conviction in the clinical POS for Molgradex in a Phase 3 study (IMPALA 2), which we believe can improve upon its existing dataset in the 24-week double-blind Phase 2b/3 IMPALA 1 study in 138 aPAP patients that showed favorable safety... Therefore, we have a strong conviction that SVRA shares have the potential to make a comeback in valuation with Molgradex in IMPALA 2,which is expected to commence in 2Q21," Rahimi opined. "Importantly," the analyst added, "Molgradex has already received Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. (with eligibility for seven years exclusivity) and EU (potential for 10 years exclusivity) as well as FDA Fast Track Designation and FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation, building up validation for Molgradex in aPAP." To this end, Rahimi rates SVRA an Overweight (i.e. Buy), while setting a $7 price target. This target suggests shares could soar 309% in the next year. (To watch Rahimis track record, click here) Overall, SVRA has 3 recent analyst reviews, and all are Buys, making the analyst consensus rating a Strong Buy. The average price target stands tall at $4.67, which suggests the stock has room for 173% upside in the next 12 months. (See SVRA stock analysis on TipRanks) Aquestive Therapeutics (AQST) Next up, Aquestive Therapeutics, is a diversified biotech firm with a range of products in all stages of the development pipeline, from pre-clinical to fully approved and on the market. Aquestive uses a unique film-based delivery mechanism for its medications. It has adapted the film delivery system for dosing through several locations in the mouth, including inside the cheek, under the tongue, and on the tongue. This companys major news item in the past few months was the FDA rejection of the New Drug Application (NDA) for Libervant buccal film. This medication is a formulation of diazepam, a well-known tranquilizer frequently used to treat seizures. Libervant, dosed through a buccal (inside the cheek) film, was designed to treat seizure clusters. In response to the NDA, the FDA sent Aquestive a Complete Response Letter (CRL) outlining issues with the drug. The CRL specifically cited lower drug exposure levels in patients in certain weight groups. However, there were no other safety or clinical issues cited. After meeting with the FDA, Aquestive revised the weight-based dosing regimen, and is preparing a new NDA for Libervant. The company does not believe that further clinical studies are necessary, and expects to complete the NDA submission in 2Q21. Once the application is sent, the company anticipates a six month process of review. Analyst Jason Butler, in his coverage of this stock for JMP Securities, points out that the key driver here is the resubmission of the Libervant NDA. [The] company recently gained clarity from the FDA on the acceptability of the companys revised proposed weight-based dosing regimen, in combination with new modeling and simulations, in a Type A meeting in October 2020 and the companys subsequent submission of the planned dosing regimen and modeling in December. In the past few weeks, the agency has asked for formatting changes for the safety section of the resubmission and for the company to show the predictive nature of the PK model vs. the observed data from the cross-over study. We view these activities as readily accomplishable..." Butler noted. Butler summed up, "We remain confident in the regulatory path for Libervant and anticipate approval this year, maintaining our 85% probability of approval." Looking forward to a successful resubmission, Butler rates Aquestives shares an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $17 price target implies an upside of 315% in the next 12 months. (To watch Butlers track record, click here) Turning now to the rest of the Street, other analysts are on the same page. With 100% Street support, or 5 Buy ratings to be exact, the message is clear: AQST is a Strong Buy. The $15 average price target brings the upside potential to ~266%. (See AQST stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for penny stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Ambi Robotics Emerges From Stealth with Advanced Simulation-to-Reality Artificial Intelligence - Yahoo Finance

Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commissioned RAND Europe to carry out an Artificial intelligence (AI) research study to provide an overview of the main opportunities, challenges and requirements for the adoption of AI-based capabilities in border management.

AI offers several opportunities to the European Border and Coast Guard, including increased efficiency and improving the ability of border security agencies to adapt to a fast-paced geopolitical and security environment. However, various technological and non-technological barriers might influence how AI materializes in the performance of border security functions.

Some of the analyzed technologies included automated border control, object recognition to detect suspicious vehicles or cargo and the use of geospatial data analytics for operational awareness and threat detection.

The findings from the study have now been made public, and Frontex aims to use the data gleaned to shape the future landscape of AI-based capabilities for Integrated Border Management, including AI-related research and innovation projects.

The study identified a wide range of current and potential future uses of AI in relation to five key border security functions, namely: situation awareness and assessment; information management; communication; detection, identification and authentication; and training and exercise.

According to the report, AI is generally believed to bring at least an incremental improvement to the existing ways in which border security functions are conducted. This includes front-end capabilities that end users directly utilize, such as surveillance systems, as well as back-end capabilities that enable border security functions, like automated machine learning.

Potential barriers to AI adoption include knowledge and skills gaps, organizational and cultural issues, and a current lack of conclusive evidence from actual real-life scenarios.

Read the full report at Frontex

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Study Finds Both Opportunities and Challenges for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Border Management Homeland Security Today - HSToday

Author Stephen Taglieri, KwF Conservation Research Intern

More and more, drones are becoming a normal part of our future. When we firstintroduced the integration of computer science with aerospace engineering to create self aware drones it seemed like an alien concept, but over the last couple of years A.I. has advanced exponentially while drone development has expanded to many conservation studies, says Princess Aliyah Pandolfi, Executive Director of Kashmir World Foundation (KwF).

These flying robots aid workers with daily tasks, and innovation keeps pushing technology in a direction to further help. However, drones dont always have to help people, drones can also be used to safeguard wildlife. Conservationists are chronically underfunded and understaffed, so the use of drones can give much-needed assistance. This is especially true with sea turtle conservation.

Kashmir World Foundation (KwF) was able to introduce Pronatura, Mexicos largestenvironmental conservation group, to the perks of using drones to protect turtles.

Pandolfi created the Fly for Conservation workshop to educate researchers and biologists on the value of custom drones embedded with A.I. on the Edge. In 2018, Marista University of Mrida hosted the Fly for Conservation workshop with KwF staff teaching environmentalists on the Yucatan Peninsula how to build, program, and operate drones to survey sea turtles efficiently.

With aerial visuals, the team released 32 sea turtle hatchlings at a beach in Celestun, Mexico and ended the successful evening with a group picture to document their victory. Sea turtle conservation is usually time-consuming and energy-intensive; drones, and the innovative ways to use them, take pressure off experts so they can spend more time-saving species.

Dr. Melania Lpez-Castro is a conservationist at Pronatura working with sea turtle populations along the Yucatan coastlines. Drones have the potential to help their efforts significantly.

Although the organization is large, Pronatura still struggles with finding enough manpower to survey all the sea turtles that nest on beaches under their jurisdiction. There are many threats to turtles in that area, and Lpez-Castro is working to increase her organizations ability to protect them. They are currently fighting against the effects of plastic pollution, beach erosion, and destructive human activities on the beach.

The Pronatura team walks the beach every morning and evening to find any new turtle nests. Throughout the night, researchers and volunteers work to record the success of hatchlings leaving the nest and avoiding predators on their way to the ocean. Animals such as birds, crabs, coyotes, raccoons, and sharks are all predators of sea turtle hatchlings. If the team runs into an adult turtle while looking for tracks on the beach, they will measure the animal and record whether it has been tagged before. The process is very demanding of the researchers, and it can stress the turtle as well.

This is where KwF steps in to create a more effective and minimally intrusive conservation environment for both humans and turtles. Malini Shivaram, Sean Sewell, and Langston Kosoff are all interns working with the artificial intelligence A.I. program at KwF.

They are developing a new artificial intelligent drone that can help sea turtle conservationists.

Shivaram is an Artificial Intelligence Major at Carnegie Mellon, Sewell an Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering Major at Stanford, and Kosoff is a Computer Science Major at the University of Chicago. The sea turtle conservation drone embedded with an AI, is called MiSHELL. It is made specifically for detecting sea turtle tracks and identifying the specific species and providing the GPS location of the nest to the biologists.

KwF has partnered with Pronatura to collect data for their research and test MiSHELLs ability to work outside of lab settings. The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is trained to process data in real time on a small computer onboard the drone. This type of program is best for image recognition and processing. Once the computer is connected to the flight controller and GPS on the drone, it will be used to fly over beach areas where turtles may have been. Using downward-facing cameras, MiSHELL will be able to process the video data in real time and identify sea turtle tracks as it flies over them.

Conservation teams in the area will then know where the tracks are located and can navigate to them via GPS coordinates. The project will save time finding the animals and give the Pronatura more time to record data and protect the sea turtles.

In an interview, Shivaram said that using AI to identify wildlife in captured images orvideos could be an efficient and fairly accurate way to process data. With MiSHELL, real-time data is sent to on-the-ground conservation teams while the drone captures imagery. The data can be sent to these teams at any time, even if theyre miles down the beach from the drones location. The team will know specifically where to find the tracks, so they wont have to walk meticulously down the beach looking for turtles. MiSHELL can even identify which species of turtle created the tracks on the beach. This is done by analyzing the pattern of these tracks; all seven species of turtle leave different patterned tracks due to the size and shape of their flippers.

Creating a working, reliable AI model takes a great deal of data. KwFs partnership with Pronatura has brought the AI-building process a long way. Researchers in Mexico have recorded videos from the drones flying over turtle tracks and sent them to KwF. These pre-recorded videos are used to train the CNN. The data is fed into the AI so it can learn how to successfully identify the tracks. Shivaram and the rest of the team all work to point out the tracks to the AI initially, and then challenge the program to find the tracks by itself. This process is called training a convolutional neural network, and it allows the AI to identify these patterns in the sand on its own.

This careful process takes a long time. It gives the team time to work out any other bugs, though, before fully putting their trust into the drone. For example, Lpez-Castro observed that the sound of drones spook turtles in the area. While the AI continues to be developed, the drone team at KwF is using research from another project, Eagle Ray, to fix this issue. Eagle Ray is a different kind of drone program which employs silent thrusters, and that technology could cross over to benefit the sea turtle project (Read more about Eagle Ray).

As drone technology gets more advanced, Lpez-Castro and her team cant help but look into the future.

The applications of drone technology in the conservation field are seemingly endless. The Pronatura team believes that the technology could be used for more applications as they get more involved with the drones. One potential use would be to track sea turtle surface movement in clear waters off the coast. Tracking turtles using aerial drones would allow researchers to get close to turtles without noisy boats. This method could also give more information about where sea turtle breeding and feeding grounds are. Drones made for underwater environments could replace metal or satellite tagging programs while being more cost-effective.

This is a huge step in the right direction. When speaking about current tracking methods, Lpez-Castro explains that the most effective way of tagging a turtle in the wild is to clip a metal marker to the animals flipper. Each marker has a unique number that identifies that specific turtle, and researchers can record where and when they see that animal again. The downside is this method does not give any data about the animal between its interactions with researchers, which means that not much is known about turtles when theyre off the beach.

Satellite tags can be used, but they are very expensive and have a high chance of falling off the turtle before enough data is taken. Experts still dont know where sea turtle feeding grounds are, where mating sites are, or the impacts which the disappearance of sea turtles is having on the environment.

Working with what they are given, conservation organizations have been able to make the best of their resources. KwF, and partners, work to give environmentalists the technology and training to grow eco-friendly efforts around the world. The use of artificial intelligence, drones, and other state-of-the-art innovations can change the game when it comes to saving species. Having helped create a MiSHELL, Shivaram affirms that like in many other fields, technology (especially the use of AI) will become prominent in conservation.

Visit our website at http://www.kashmirworldfoundation.org

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Smart Safe Keeping: Blending Artificial Intelligence with Sea Turtle Conservation Steve Taglieri KwF Conservation Research Intern - sUAS News

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile. That was Karl Benz.

But Ford did perfect the assembly line for auto production. That innovation directly led to cars becoming markedly cheaper, putting them within reach of millions of Americans.

In effect, Ford democratized the automobile, and I see a direct analogy to what the University of Florida is doing for artificial intelligence AI, for short.

In July, the University of Florida announced a $100 million public-private partnership with NVIDIA the maker of graphics processing units used in computers that will catapult UFs research strength to address some of the worlds most formidable challenges, create unprecedented access to AI training and tools for under-represented communities and build momentum for transforming the future of the workforce.

At the heart of this effort is HiPerGator AI the most powerful AI supercomputer in higher education. The supercomputer, as well as related tools, training and other resources, is made possible by a donation from UF alumnus Chris Malachowsky as well as from NVIDIA, the Silicon Valley-based technology company he co-founded and a world leader in AI and accelerated computing. State support also plays a critical role, particularly as UF looks to add 100 AI-focused faculty members to the 500 new faculty recently added across the university many of whom will weave AI into their teaching and research.

UF will likely be the nations first comprehensive research institution to integrate AI across the curriculum and make it a ubiquitous part of its academic enterprise. It will offer certificates and degree programs in AI and data science, with curriculum modules for specific technical and industry-focused domains. The result? Thousands of students per year will graduate with AI skills, growing the AI-trained workforce in Florida and serving as a national model for institutions across the country. Ultimately, UFs effort will help to address the important national problem of how to train the nations 21st-century workforce at scale.

Further, due to the unparalleled capabilities of our new machine, researchers will now have the tools to solve applied problems previously out of reach. Already, researchers are eyeing how to identify at-risk students even if they are learning remotely, how to bend the medical cost curve to a sustainable level, and how to solve the problems facing Floridas coastal communities and fresh water supply.

Additionally, UF recently announced it would make its supercomputer available to the entire State University System for educational and research purposes, further bolstering research and workforce training opportunities and positioning Florida to be a national leader in a field revolutionizing the way we all work and live. Soon, we plan to offer access to the machine even more broadly, boosting the national competitiveness of the United States by partnering with educational institutions and private industry around the country.

Innovation, access, economic impact, world-changing technological advancement UFs AI initiative provides all these things and more.

If Henry Ford were alive today, I believe he would recognize the importance of whats happening at UF. And while he did not graduate from college, I believe he would be proud to see it happening at an American public university.

Joe Glover is provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at the University of Florida.

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Heres why UF is going to use artificial intelligence across its entire curriculum | Column - Tampa Bay Times

VERONA, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trueblue, after having announced the integration of its Artificial Intelligence Relationship Management with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, officially launches on the market:

AiDEA

Smart Customer Engagement

AiDEA is the new AI driven Omnichannel Customer Engagement suite. The foundation of the solution, represented by Artificial Intelligence , integrates and powers the operational and analytical functionalities based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, for a holistic and integrated experience, with the goal of revolutionizing the working model of Pharma & Life Science markets, simplifying omni-channel engagement through intuitive and conversational interaction.

Two fundamental components guide the change, whose union had not yet materialized in the reference market: the concrete integration of Big Data in the perspective of Multichannel Management and the use of Artificial Intelligence functionalities and algorithms. The latter is an element that can no longer be postponed from an IT point of view, as it is necessary to drive Customer Engagement processes to satisfy company objectives from both a strategic and an operational point of view.

These elements require a structural change in the approach of organizations and tools, as a generic Customer Relationship Management system is no longer sufficient. It is in fact necessary to adopt specific Smart Omnichannel Customer Engagement solutions, fully enabled in terms of Artificial Intelligence, to have, in a quick, simple and intuitive way, precise indications about one's own customers.

As part of this transition in fact, Pharma companies such as Angelini Pharma, Alfasigma and others are taking this direction with strength and determination with the aim of innovating and achieving their business results faster.

"Artificial Intelligence represents a tremendous opportunity to increase our effectiveness and we want to provide this competitive advantage to our employees thanks to AiDEA" said Pierluigi Antonelli, CEO of Angelini Pharma "After a long and thorough analysis, we identified Trueblue and Microsoft as the best partners to advance our Customer Engagement capabilities by delivering an innovative digital CRM solution that transforms strategy into action.

Trueblue, which has always been at the center of technological and digital innovation for the pharmaceutical industry, thanks to the integration with Microsoft introduces with AiDEA a new paradigm in which Artificial Intelligence is the backbone and key factor of the evolutionary process.

"Through this integration, Trueblue will help companies in the industry accelerate their growth and find new ways to drive Digital Innovation through a wide range of solutions that will enable them to simplify the use of AI in their daily activities," said Marco Bonesini CEO of Trueblue

In todays reality of accelerated digital transformation processes, pharma & life science companies rely on proactive solutions such as AIDEA, integrated with Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, to enable effective omnichannel strategies said Elena Bonfiglioli, Managing Director, HealthCare and Life Sciences, EMEA Regional Lead.

Discover more About Trueblue

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Trueblue Designs the Future of Artificial Intelligence and Analytics for Healthcare With Aidea Integrated With Microsoft Dynamics 365 - Business Wire