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Google Looks to Accelerate AI App Development and Deployment

Google is trying to make it simpler for organizations to build and maintain AI applications at a time when there is often a disconnect between data scientists and the rest of the IT organization.

Google revealed it has embarked on a multi-prong effort to make it simpler to build and successfully deploy artificial intelligence (AI) applications faster.

A revamped set of tools for building conversational interfaces, rechristened Dialogflow CX, now makes it possible to construct omni-channel customer support engagement typical of a large contact center. Google has made available an Agent Assist module that can be employed now over both online chats and traditional voice calls and is making available in beta the ability to create unique voices using the Text-to-Speech application programming interface (API) exposed via Google Cloud.

Google is also moving to accelerate adoption of AI within specific vertical industry segments by making available Lending DocAI, an instance of its Document AI services for the mortgage industry that speeds up loan processing, and Procure-to-Pay DocAI, a service available in beta that automates procurement processes.

At the same time, Google is moving to make it simpler to build and deploy AI applications by adding a managed service for AI Platform Pipelines constructed using an instance of open source Kubeflow software for Kubernetes clusters that Google makes available on its cloud platform. AI Platform Pipelines promises to enable IT teams to automate machine learning operations (MLOps) in much the same way DevOps engineers rely on pipelines to create repeatable processes that accelerate the development and deployment of applications.

Google also committing to improving MLOps on its cloud by providing tools to evaluate the efficacy of AI models constructed data scientists along with tools to experiment with models and more easily track metadata attached to specific software artifacts.

The original article can be found here.

According to Artificial Intelligence World Society Innovation Network (AIWS.net), AI can be an important tool tfor helping people achieve well-being and happiness, relieve them of resource constraints and arbitrary/inflexible rules and processes. In this effort, Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) invites participation and collaboration with think tanks, universities, non-profits, firms, and other entities that share its commitment to the constructive and development of full-scale AI for world society.

CAIDP Update – LIBE Committee of EU Parliament Examines AI Practices, Data Protection

The LIBE Committee of the European Parliament is responsible for civil liberties and human rights, asylum, and migration. Over the years, LIBE has established a preeminent role on such issues as data protection, the transfer of passenger name records, and electronic surveillance. The Committee has frequently initiated important resolutions in the European Parliament to advance the causes of freedom and justice. In a notable case at the Court of Justice, the European Parliament also pursued successful claims against the European Commission and the Council concerning the failure to safeguard the privacy of European travel records. Mr. Juan Fernando López Aguilar, a professor of constitutional law and former Minister of Justice in Spain, heads the 68-Member Committee.

The Committee is now exploring the implications of Artificial Intelligence for Europe. In February 2020, LIBE held a hearing on Artificial Intelligence and Criminal Law. The Committee examined the benefits and risks of AI, predictive policing, facial recognition, as well as the ethical and fundamental rights implications. LIBE worked in association with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), and the Council of Europe (COE).

One of the tasks of the LIBE Committee is also to oversee the work of the European Commission to ensure that it is complying with all of its legal obligations. This past week, LIBE held a hearing on Schrems II, the data protection case discussed in an earlier CAIDP Update. Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said there is no “quick fix” to comply with the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The practical consequences will be significant. 

At the moment, many key issues about the use of Artificial Intelligence across the EU remain unresolved by the European institutions. The President of the European Commission committed earlier this year to a comprehensive framework for AI “within the first 100 days” of the new Commission, but that initiative was put on hold. An effort earlier this year to restrict the use of face surveillance has also stalled, though support remains.

Further progress on AI policy will require the leadership of the LIBE Committee. Limitations on facial recognition, the establishment of a legal framework for AI, and careful consideration of AI techniques in criminal law should be priorities. As Mr. Aguilar has stated, the LIBE Committee “is in charge of most of the legislation and democratic oversight for policies enabling the European Union to offer its citizens an area of freedom, security and justice. While doing so it ensures the full respect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU territory in conjunction with the European Convention on Human Rights and the strengthening of European citizenship.”

 

Marc Rotenberg, Director

Center for AI and Digital Policy at Michael Dukakis Institute

 

The Center for AI and Digital Policy, founded in 2020, advises governments on technology policy.

 

Past The AI Hype: When Is AI Actually Profitable?

One of the most important value drivers of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) technology isn’t the technology itself. It’s where a company deploys it. The company’s experience is that when investors realize they lack the technical skills to evaluate ML/AI technology, they tend to throw in the towel and take a target’s inflated claims at face value. That’s a mistake. The good news is that it only requires general business knowledge to assess one of ML/AI’s main value drivers: profit proximity.

Turns out, the main value of ML/AI comes from which type of business problems ML/AI is applied to. There are a few categories here and explain how each differs in its proximity to profit, which is what really drives value. There are three profit proximities: The quickest payoff is when ML/AI is applied to customer behavior. Medium-term payoff typically applies when ML/AI improves a product that makes a user’s life noticeably easier. Lastly, the longest-term payoff applies when ML/AI’s largest effect is reputational.

The prototypical example in the business-to-business space is any ML/AI application that falls under the general category of robotic process automation, where the improved ML/AI immediately increases user productivity. While user productivity is immediately improved, increased profit from this improved product must wait until customers subsequently buy more or resist switching to lower-priced competition, which can be weeks, months or years away.

The original article can be found here.

To support for AI technology and development for social impact, Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) and Boston Global Forum (BGF) has established Artificial Intelligence World Society Innovation Network (AIWS.net) to develop positive AI for helping people achieve well-being and happiness, relieve them of resource constraints and arbitrary/inflexible rules and processes, and solve important issues, such as SDGs.

CAIDP Update – Prime Minister Abe’s AI and Data Governance Legacy

Under the direction of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan has emerged as a global leader for both AI policy and data governance. In 2016, Prime Minister Abe called for the Japanese government to establish an “Artificial Intelligence Technology Strategy Council.” In advance of the ICT Ministerial G-7 meeting in Takamatsu, Japan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications organized a public conference to examine the social impact of AI technology. That work led to the AI R&D Guidelines of the Japanese government that were presented to the G-7 meeting in Turin, Italy in 2017.  The 9 principles in the AI R&D Guidelines concern collaboration, transparency, controllability, safety, security, privacy, ethics (respect human dignity and individual autonomy), user assistance, and accountability. A subsequent meeting of the  Conference toward AI Network Society produced the AI Utilization Guidelines, “a commentary on the principles expected to be taken into consideration in the utilization of AI.”

The Japanese AI R&D Guidelines contributed significantly to the development of the OECD AI Principles, the first global framework for AI Policy. The OECD AI Principles were adopted by 42 countries in May 2019, and then by G-20 Nations at the Ministerial Summit hosted at Osaka, in June 2019. OECD Secretary General thanked Prime Minister Abe and said that the OECD AI Principles, endorsed by the G-20 nations, are “affirming that the AI we want is centred on people, respects ethical and democratic values, is transparent, safe and accountable.”

Prime Minister Abe also put forward the concept of  Data Free Flow with Trust (“DFFT”) in a speech at the World Economic Forum in January 2019. Abe said, “We must, on one hand, be able to put our personal data and data embodying intellectual property, national security intelligence, and so on, under careful protection, while on the other hand, we must enable the free flow of medical, industrial, traffic and other most useful, non-personal, anonymous data to see no borders, repeat, no borders.” Abe underscored the importance of privacy protection, explaining that the DFFT regime should be built on “non-personal data.” Abe’s vision for DFFT, which Secretary Gurria described as “ambitious and timely,” was also adopted by the G-20 Ministers at the 2019 meeting in Osaka.

In 2015, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received the World Leader in Cybersecurity award from the Boston Global Forum for his “exemplary leadership and contributions in promoting cybersecurity in Japan and Asia.” Governor Michael Dukakis explained that Prime Minister Abe has “worked tirelessly to make cybersecurity a priority in Japan and in the international community.” Recounting the innovative work of the Japanese government, Governor Dukakis said, “These and other efforts have put Prime Minister Abe in the forefront among world leaders in advancing the cause of cybersecurity.”

 

Marc Rotenberg, Director

Center for AI and Digital Policy at Michael Dukakis Institute

The Center for AI and Digital Policy, founded in 2020, advises governments on technology policy.

Facebook wants to help build AI that can remember everything for you

On Friday, Facebook announced new AI research that could help pave the way for a significant change in how artificial intelligence — and some devices that incorporate this technology — functions in our daily lives.

The company announced a real-world sound simulator that will let researchers train AI systems in virtual three-dimensional spaces with sounds that mimic those that occur indoors, opening up the possibility that an AI assistant may one day help you track down a smartphone ringing in a distant room.

Facebook also unveiled an indoor mapping tool meant to help AI systems better understand and recall details about indoor spaces, such as how many chairs are in a dining room or whether a cup is on a counter.

This isn’t something you can do with technology as it is today. Smart speakers generally can’t “see” the world around them, and computers are not nearly as good as humans at finding their way around indoor spaces.

But Schroepfer’s goal could depend on the company convincing people to trust Facebook to develop technology that may become deeply embedded in their personal lives — no small feat after years of privacy controversies and concerns about how much personal information the social network already has from its users.

The original article can be found here.

To support for AI technology and development for social impact, Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) and Artificial Intelligence World Society (AIWS.net) has developed AIWS Ethics and Practice Index to measure the ethical values and help people achieve well-being and happiness, as well as solve important issues, such as SDGs. Regarding to AI Ethics, AI World Society (AIWS) initiated and promoted to design AIWS Ethics framework within four components including transparency, regulation, promotion and implementation for constructive use of AI.

Nguyen Anh Tuan introduced AIWS City together with Vint Cerf

On August 21, 2020, at the United Nations 2045 Roundtable organized by the United Nations Academic Impact, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Co-founder and CEO of the Boston Global Forum, Co-founder of AIWS.net, presented AI World Society City (AIWS City) after Keynote Speaker Vint Cerf presented “The People Centered Economy: The New AI and Internet Ecosystem for Work and Life”. AIWS City is virtual city that applies the standards of “the Social Contract 2020”, “People Centered Economy”, “Trustworthy Economy”, “Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civic Society”, and “AI-Government”, with AIWS Value to foster Vint Cerf’s idea that “all people can create value for each other”.

 

Here is a brief overview of AIWS City:

  1. Purpose:
  • To practice concepts from “the Social Contract 2020, A New Social Contract in the Age of AI”, the People Centered Economy, and the Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civic Society.
  • To use the Internet and AI to shape brighter futures and to create an ecosystem for work and life with the philosophy of the People Centered Economy.
  • The AIWS City is an application and practice of the thoughts and ideas of Vint Cerf.

 

  1. Principles and Concepts:
  • Vint Cerf’s idea:” “All people can create value for each other. A good economy has an ecosystem of organizations that lets that happen, in the most meaningful and fulfilling ways.”
  • AIWS City is virtual city that applies the standards of “the Social Contract 2020”, “People Centered Economy”, “Trustworthy Economy”, “Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civic Society”, and “AI-Government”.
  • The features of Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civil Society are knowledge, critical thinking and social responsibility. 
  • AIWS City can assist citizens to become more thoughtful by enhancing knowledge, critical thinking and social responsibility 
  • AIWS created the concept of AIWS Value. AIWS Value: traditional value (products, services, data, etc.) + social values (contributions), recognize and exchange traditional and social values.
  • AIWS City will operate based on AIWS Value in order to create a good Ecosystem of the People Centered Economy – “all people can create value for each other”.

 

  1. Model of AIWS City:

AIWS City includes: Government of City, Citizens, Companies, and Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civil Society

Government: use AI-Government (Government assisted by AI, Data Science, and Internet)

Build infrastructure for AI-Government based on Internet and Data Science (AI).

Government creates social works for citizens and supports special education program for citizens.

Companies: apply Trustworthy Economy and support the People Centered Economy.

Citizens: create values from ecosystem of AIWS City.

Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civil Society in AIWS City: promote “the Social Contract 2020” and AIWS Value, as well as collaborate to create the Ecosystem of AIWS City.

 

  1. Implementation:

Key people: Nguyen Anh Tuan, Alex Pentland, Vint Cerf, Michael Dukakis, and Board Members of Michael Dukakis Institute, key leaders of AIWS.net.

 

CENTER FOR AI AND DIGITAL POLICY UPDATE – UN Agency Examines AI in Criminal Justice

The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute assists organizations in their efforts to formulate and implement improved policies in the fields of crime prevention and justice administration. The UNICJRI has recently published the “Artificial Intelligence Collection.” This report follows two related reports from the UN agency, “Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for law Enforcement” (2019) and “Artificial Intelligence: an overview of state initiatives” (2019).

The UNICRJRI report on AI states that the “potential of the Artificial Intelligence for law enforcement, legal professionals, the court system and even the penal system to augment human capabilities is enormous. However, we need to truly test the limits of our creativity and innovation to overcome the challenges that come with these technologies, as well as to develop entirely new approaches, standards and metrics that will be necessitated by them.

The Collection includes articles from innovative minds in academia to stimulate discussion and promote solutions to the challenges “we face in this emerging domain on how to shape the design of the policies and legal frameworks of the future and provide guidance to those who will build the AI-based tools and techniques.”

One paper explains “AI’s dual nature makes it both a threat and a means to protect human rights and information technology systems. Amongst other issues, issues pertaining to the opacity and inclusion of potential biases in algorithms processes, as well as the inherent security vulnerabilities of such applications, unveil a tension between such technological pitfalls and the aptness of current regulatory frameworks.”

AI techniques in the criminal justice field raise far-reaching about fairness and bias. Properly applied, techniques could help those in the criminal justice field uncover the sources of bias and help ensure more fair and more just outcomes. But a lack of attention during deployment and throughout the life cycle of AI systems, could lead to embedded bias, greater opacity, and mission creep that allows systems without clear purpose specification to move far beyond their initial boundaries. These issues and others are explored in this important publication from the UNICRJRI.

 

Marc Rotenberg, Director

Center for AI and Digital Policy at Michael Dukakis Institute

The Center for AI and Digital Policy, founded in 2020, advises governments on technology policy.

Too many AI researchers think real-world problems are not relevant

Any researcher who’s focused on applying machine learning to real-world problems has likely received a response like this one: “The authors present a solution for an original and highly motivating problem, but it is an application and the significance seems limited for the machine-learning community.”

The goal of artificial intelligence is to push forward the frontier of machine intelligence. In the field of machine learning, a novel development usually means a new algorithm or procedure, or—in the case of deep learning—a new network architecture. As others have pointed out, this hyperfocus on novel methods leads to a scourge of papers that report marginal or incremental improvements on benchmark data sets and exhibit flawed scholarship (pdf) as researchers race to top the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, many papers that describe new applications present both novel concepts and high-impact results. But even a hint of the word “application” seems to spoil the paper for reviewers. As a result, such research is marginalized at major conferences. Their authors’ only real hope is to have their papers accepted in workshops, which rarely get the same attention from the community.

This is a problem because machine learning holds great promise for advancing health, agriculture, scientific discovery, and more. The first image of a black hole was produced using machine learning. The most accurate predictions of protein structures, an important step for drug discovery, are made using machine learning. If others in the field had prioritized real-world applications, what other groundbreaking discoveries would we have made by now?

This is not a new revelation. To quote a classic paper titled “Machine Learning that Matters” , by NASA computer scientist Kiri Wagstaff: “Much of current machine learning research has lost its connection to problems of import to the larger world of science and society.” The same year that Wagstaff published her paper, a convolutional neural network called AlexNet won a high-profile competition for image recognition centered on the popular ImageNet data set, leading to an explosion of interest in deep learning. Unfortunately, the disconnect she described appears to have grown even worse since then.

The original article can be found here.

In support of positive AI development for the society, the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation (MDI) and Boston Global Forum (BGF) established the Artificial Intelligence World Society (AIWS.net) in 2018. In this effort, MDI and BGF invite participation and collaboration with think tanks, universities, non-profits, firms, and other entities that share its commitment to the constructive and development of full-scale AI for world society.

Father of the Internet Vint Cerf talks at UN Roundtable 2045

 

“All people can create value for each other. A good economy has an ecosystem of organizations that lets that happen, in the most meaningful and fulfilling ways.”

How can we make this idea happen through using AI and the Internet?

How can we apply and practice this idea?

 

The Internet plays a significant role in data science and AI, so the History of AI Initiative at Michael Dukakis Institute considers Vint Cerf as a historical figure in AI. At this United Nations 2045 Roundtable, Vint Cerf will talk about historical moments in the birth of the Internet and how to use the Internet and AI to shape bright futures and to create an ecosystem for work and life with the philosophy of the People Centered Economy. With concepts from the New Social Contract in the Age of AI, Intellectual Society-Thoughtful Civil Society, and the People Centered Economy, AI World Society (AIWS) conceives concepts of the AIWS City as applying and practicing the thoughts and ideas of Vint Cerf.

 

The People Centered Economy: The New AI and Internet Ecosystem for Work and Life 

Time: 9:30 am – 10:45 am EDT, August 21, 2020

This is a UN 2045 Roundtable and an event of the History of AI

Keynote speaker: Vint Cerf, Father of the Internet

Speakers: Governor Michael Dukakis, Co-founder and Chairman of the Boston Global Forum, Nguyen Anh Tuan, CEO of the Boston Global Forum

Moderator: Ramu Damodaran, Chief of the United Nations Academic Impact

Discussants: Professor Nazli Choucri, MIT, Professor Hiroshi Esaki, University of Tokyo, Professor Mikhail Kupriyanov, Vice Rector, Saint Petersburg Electrotechnology University, Former Prime Minister Bosnia & Herzegovina Zlatko Lagumdžija, Dr. Chien Minh Le, President of Dalat University,Professor Jun Murai, Keio University, Father of the Internet Japan, Professor David Silbersweig, Harvard University

 

Agenda:

  • 9:30 am: Opening Remarks, Governor Michael Dukakis
  • Remarks on United Nations 2045 Initiative, Keynote Speaker Vint Cerf, and discussants; Ramu Damodaran
  • Keynote speech: “The People Centered Economy: The New AI and Internet Ecosystem for Work and Life”, Vint Cerf
  • Introduce AIWS City, a model that applies the concept “The People Centered Economy: The New AI and Internet Ecosystem for Work and Life”, Nguyen Anh Tuan
  • Discussion: Zlatko Lagumdžija, Jun Murai, NazliChoucri, Hiroshi Esaki, David Silbersweig, Mikhail Kupriyanov, Le Minh Chien. Moderator: Ramu Damodaran
  • 10:40 am:  Conclude, Ramu Damodaran

The United Nations 2045 Initiative:

The United Nations 2045 is an initiative of the United Nations Academic Impact with collaboration by the Boston Global Forum.

The United Nations 2045 include roundtables, ideas, concepts, solutions, essays, and reflections looking ahead to the global landscape in 2045, when the United Nations completes its first centenary, in areas of these technologies, including artificial intelligence, cyber security and weapons systems, among others. Such a compilation which looks both to the horizon ahead and the role of the United Nations in making it beneficial and secure, would be timely.

The History of AI Initiative:

The History of AI research and explore historical achievements, events, and figures in AI.

The HAI Board is chaired by Governor Michael Dukakis, with Professor Nazli Choucri (MIT), Historian Le Minh Chien, President of Dalat University, Professor Caroline Jones, MIT, Professor Ole Molvig (Vanderbilt University), Tuan Anh Nguyen (Michael Dukakis Institute), Professor Thomas Patterson (Harvard University), Professor Judea Pearl (UCLA), Professor Alex Pentland (MIT), Professor David Silbersweig (Harvard University), Professor Caroline Jones, MIT, and President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvia as members.

The “The History of AI” Board will review and identify historical events, figures, and achievements in AI. After the HAI Board approve them, they will be made official historical events, figures, achievements in AI and posted on the AI Chronicle at AIWS.net. The HAI Board will review and select contents for books and papers of the History of AI.

Following Keynote Speaker Vint Cerf, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan introduced the AIWS City. Here are some key messages from Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan’s talk.