Media vs AI, AI solutions in sports, police and energy

Government initiatives across the world tighten regulations on AI

The beginning of the year marked the high activity in the government regulations. AI is set to be regulated very carefully and thoughtfully. The New York Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) announced two major initiatives on artificial intelligence that will impact private and public organizations in New York and beyond. A new “Empire AI” consortium will consolidate computing resources and funding often needed to support AI research and and aims to create a technology hub in upstate New York. The consortium initially will consist of seven institutions—Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the State University of New York system, the City University of New York and the Simons Foundation—and will receive $400 million from the state, the Simons Foundation and Tom Secunda, a co-founder of Bloomberg LP. NY ITS also issued a new state IT policy on the “Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies”, under which any state use of AI must include human oversight, fairness and equity, and explainability, transparency, AI risk assessment and management, privacy controls, security and protection of intellectual property.

Another thing that happened last month in New York, is a lawsuit filed by The New York Times newspaper against OpenAI and Microsoft. The newspaper says ChatGPT allegedly uses the Times’ articles in the data they use to train (improve) and test their systems. They claim that OpenAI has infringed copyright by using their journalism as part of the process of creating ChatGPT. In doing so, the lawsuit claims, they have created a competing product that threatens their business. OpenAI’s response so far has been very cautious, but a key tenet outlined in a statement released by the company is that their use of online data falls under the principle known as “fair use”.

But other news industry executives urged Congress for legal clarification that using journalism to train AI assistants like ChatGPT is not fair use, as claimed by companies such as OpenAI. Instead, they would prefer a licensing regime for AI training content that would force Big Tech companies to pay for content in a method similar to rights clearinghouses for music. The plea for action came during a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Oversight of A.I.: The Future of Journalism,". Last year, the pair of senators introduced a bipartisan framework for AI legislation and held a series of hearings on the impact of AI. In addition to Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast, the hearing featured three other witnesses: Jeff Jarvis, a veteran journalism professor and pundit; Danielle Coffey, the president and CEO of News Media Alliance; and Curtis LeGeyt, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters.

In the other part of the world, in the United Arab Emirates, an artificial intelligence council was launched with the aim to lead the nation’s foray into the emerging ecosystem. The new council is powered to formulate and implement AI innovation and adoption policies. Top on the list for the сouncil is to fast-track the adoption of AI systems across critical sectors of the UAE economy to drive growth.

Europe focused its efforts on helping start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) so they can develop trustworthy artificial intelligence that respects EU values and rules. The AI package includes a broad range of measures to support these start-ups and innovation, along with a proposal to provide privileged access to supercomputers to AI start-ups and the broader innovation community. Other measures include setting up AI Factories and making sure AI supercomputer infrastructure available for start-ups can be purchased and upgraded, a decision to establish an AI Office in the European Commission which can develop and coordinate AI policy at European level and supervise the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act, an EU AI Start-Up and Innovation Communication which outlines key activities such as financial and equity support, Common European Data Spaces and other initiatives.

However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns artificial intelligence will affect up to 40% of jobs worldwide. This could rise to 60% of roles in advanced economies like the UK - but it is believed that, in half of these cases, AI will benefit the workforce. In a new report, the IMF says that AI's consequences for society remain difficult to foresee, but the technology is likely to exacerbate income and wealth inequality. Although younger workers may find it easier to embrace the opportunities that artificial intelligence brings, older workers could struggle to adapt.

New project sases make a focus on using AI for better urban life

Whereas new cases from using AI come from India. The Uttar Pradesh Police has unveiled an in-house portal dubbed “Big Data Analysis” to facilitate crime analytics and predictive policing. This innovative tool is set to revolutionize law enforcement strategies by mapping crime patterns, enabling a focused and effective investigative process. The initiative was created out of a need to address field-level difficulties and to optimize the policing approach. The “Big Data Analysis” portal sources its information from the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System. It allows for detailed crime mapping by various time frames, highlighting area-specific crime details, frequency, hotspots, and trends. With a rank-based restrictive access system, police officers can delve into critical data, enabling them to tailor their patrolling routes, duties, and crime control measures. The feedback of officers on the field will be incorporated to further enhance the system, continuously refining it for optimum efficacy.

In Florida the Plant City company, called Good Greek Moving and Storage, installed artificial intelligence in trucks to keep drivers safe on the road. The technology uses a camera facing the driver and the road and also connects to the engine of the vehicle. It detects when a driver is texting, falling asleep, veering out of their lane or following too closely to another driver – and alerts them. Because of the AI feature, the company can be notified, and then a driver is notified anytime they are doing something they are not supposed to be doing, taking out your phone or texting.

New acquisitions and significant contribution to science highlighted by vendors

Qlik announced its acquisition of intellectual property and technology from Kyndi, a leading player in the fields of natural language processing, search, and generative AI. This acquisition aims to enhance Qlik's provision of authoritative, contextually rich answers to complex business questions, combining Qlik Cloud’s mastery of structured data with Kyndi’s innovative unstructured data technologies. Kyndi's expertise will allow Qlik to offer solutions that manage and curate answers, opening up new use cases for decision-making across a vast range of data sources. This will empower users with comprehensive, quality-assured insights, setting a new standard in the data analytics landscape.

Google DeepMind – Google’s artificial intelligence lab – is contributing nearly 400,000 new compounds to the Materials Project, an open-access database founded at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in 2011. The dataset includes how the atoms of a material are arranged (the crystal structure) and how stable it is (formation energy). The expansion of the open-access resource is instrumental for scientists in developing novel materials for future technologies. New advancements in technology frequently necessitate the development of novel materials – and thanks to supercomputers and advanced simulations, researchers can bypass the time-consuming and often inefficient process of trial-and-error. Researchers can focus on promising materials for future technologies – think lighter alloys that improve fuel economy in cars, more efficient solar cells to boost renewable energy, or faster transistors for the next generation of computers.

The Olympics are coming

The analytics era of cycling began with the advent of the power meter in the 1990s, followed by the emergence of software such as TrainingPeaks at the end of the decade. In the new millennium, the growth of technology was unstoppable, and numbers became vital to all the members of a performance team. To help deal with, and utilize, this avalanche of ‘big data’, Lidl-Trek cycling expanded its performance team. The task of the data analysts is to extract data from across the whole gamut of rider performance, then arrange the numbers into a format that the coaches can easily interpret. New coaches help interpret this data and turn it into real-world performance gains. The system Larrazabal which is used in this process collects data, carried out through sensors and high-tech devices. This is followed by the aggregation of data and the creation of algorithms that facilitate interpretation. Finally, the team studies the data to sift out answers. Using historical data collected throughout the Team’s history a database can be created that supports the team in comparing current data with some of the great riders who have raced on a Trek bike.

If you are more into winter sports, consider using this AI GPT. Austrian Ski Instructors have started using Chat SKiPT, wher real ski instructors answer live questions about winter holidays and beyond. The initiative run by the Austrian National Tourist Office is based on ChatSkiPT.com website and simulates the way ChatGPT works. Visitors write their questions in a chat window, similar to ChatGPT. Instead of AI, 15 ski instructors from the Austrian ski regions respond. The experts provide in-depth specialist knowledge about skiing, reveal how to enjoy the Austrian winter and are also happy to share a word or two of wisdom. A better way to communicate, eh?