Atmosphere Inspires Edition 022

Sam Colyer
Atmosphere Inspires is our regular curation of news and views from the digital sphere; the lead stories that are affecting you and your business. In this edition we’re exploring how AI is becoming intrinsically linked to businesses across a variety of sectors.

Stories catching our attention

Facebook acquires Bloomsbury AI

It's no surprise that Facebook wants a piece of the AI pie: they've just acquired London based Bloomsbury AI. The start-up uses AI technology to read text documents and answer questions about their contents; Facebook wants to use this capability to help identify fake news as well address other content concerns. 2018 has been a year of controversy for Facebook, particularly around privacy concerns (discussed in our Data Privacy Just Got Real blog), so there’s got to be an irony somewhere here: organisations are now having to combat technology driven problems with… bigger and better technology…

Is the NHS heading towards an AI revolution?

Happy 70th birthday to the NHS! And what better way to celebrate than with a “revolution” driven forward by AI capabilities. The InnerEye programme is being used successfully with prostate cancer patients and can mark up scans and create 3D images in a matter of moments. Critically, it saves time, so it’s now being lined up for brain tumour treatment too. After that, and assuming success, it seems like there could be many, many exciting possibilities. Remember though that a lack of personal / human input is a common criticism of AI, so particularly with healthcare there surely is a need for incorporating some element of human, personalised care too.

What else is happening?

DWP pioneers AI algorithms to crack down on fraudsters

Pioneering AI algorithms are being developed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help crack down on benefits fraud. DWP has already been working with AI learning for sometime, but it’s only now that initiatives are starting to gather pace. It goes without saying that a critical part of any transformation is having the right team in place: and it appears that the DWP has their ducks in a row having been on a digital hiring spree earlier this year. This will no doubt stand them in good stead for the changes to come.

Defense Department develops AI hub

The Defense Department is standing up its artificial intelligence hub with a goal of implementing a number of AI projects known as the National Mission Initiatives. Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan is prioritising the initiative and expects “all offices and personnel….to make rapid enterprise-wide AI adoption a reality.” As you’d imagine, the Defense Department is hot on new tech trends, it’s an area it can’t really afford to fall behind in. Infact, just last month they announced the winners of their innovative tech contract which aims to support further research and development.

Is the use of AI accelerating in 2018?

Great discussion piece here pondering whether 2018 is the year of artificial intelligence. Performance marketing startup Xineoh promises to predict consumer behaviours, particularly for small and medium sized businesses. AI algorithms will help instigate a number of matches, including people with products, and prices with spending behaviours, all of which could give businesses a leading edge over competition. If there’s a way of doing something better, faster, and more productively, then why wouldn’t a business do it? The need to exploit technology in this way is without a doubt helping to drive forward digital growth at a hurtling speed.

When robots and burgers join forces....

Do you like a story about robots? Do you like a story about food? If your answer yes to both, then this one’s for you: the world’s first robot made burger is served in San Francisco. The marketing ploy of burger maker Creator is that they’re able to produce high quality food at a lower price. There’s also the pull that they’re able to use culinary techniques only used normally in high end restaurants (think sous vide cooking, dehydrators and creating foam).  So is Creator going to be a disruptor to the food industry? It’s definitely possible, and what does it mean for the role of the employee? Early reviews found on Yelp appear to be more than satisfied with the food, so watch this space….

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