Intel’s OpenVINO v2022.1 – The Biggest Update to AI Toolkit in 3 Years

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July 5, 2022

Intel announced its biggest update in 3.5 years, the OpenVINO 2022.1 with functional bug fixes and enhanced capabilities from its predecessor v2021.4.2 Long Term Support (LTS). It is a standard release for developers who wait for upcoming features and will be made available three to four times a year. However, the company also plans to provide LTS releases too.

Recently, Intel expanded its OpenVINO toolkit to bring more intelligence to its Edge technologies. Now, this new update would include:

Updated and Cleaner API: The update introduced the new OpenVINO API 2.0. This API version aligns OpenVINO inputs/outputs with several frameworks using native layouts and element types. API 2.0 also enables developers to work with Dynamic Shapes. This would turn out to be beneficial for Neural Language Processing (NLP) models and other super-resolution models.

Libraries merged to a common openvino library: inference_engine, ngraph, inferencengine_Ip_transformations, and inference_engine_transformations were merged. A few more libraries were renamed.

Enhanced Portability and Performance: the update comes with a new AUTO plugin that self-discovers system inference capabilities so that applications can skip knowing their compute environment.

OpenVINO performance hints help to configure the performance keeping portability in mind. The hints “reverse” the configuration’s direction in the appropriate way. The concept allows the device to configure itself in response to a target situation expressed by a single configuration key. This is a totally portable and future-proof solution because the hints are supported by every OpenVINOTM device.

Broader Model Support: OpenVINO will be able to adapt to multiple input dimensions in a single model with Dynamic Input Shapes.

The new version will provide more models with a focus on NLP along with a new capability of Anomaly Detection. It will offer anomaly segmentation for pre-trained models and noise reduction + speech recognition + translation + text to speech recognition for combined models.

The OpenVINO 2022.1 is built with 12th Gen Intel Core ‘Alder Lake’ in mind. Hence, it supports hybrid architectures to deliver high-end performance on CPUs and integrated GPUs. For more details, you can check out the OpenVINO toolkit 2022.1.

AI Detects New Family of Genes in Intestinal Bacteria

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Sahil Pawar

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July 5, 2022

AI Detects New Genes in Intestinal Bacteria

UT Southwestern researchers have found a new family of sensing genes in enteric bacteria using artificial intelligence (AI). The genes are linked by structure and function but not by genetic sequence.

Published in PNAS, the findings offer a novel approach to identifying genes’ role in unrelated species and could also lead to new ways to fight intestinal bacterial infections.

Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Kim Orth, co-led the study with the Department of Molecular Biology’s Lisa Kinch, a bioinformatics specialist. We identified similarities in the proteins in reverse of how it is usually done. Instead of using sequence, we looked for matches in their structure, said Orth.

Dr. Orth’s lab studies how estuary and marine bacteria cause infections. In 2016, she and her colleagues used biophysics to characterize the structure of two proteins called VtrA and VtrC complexes that work together in a bacterial species called Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Orth and her team used the artificial intelligence software called AlphaFold for their research. The AI program can accurately predict the structure of some proteins based on the genetic sequence that codes for them. Previously, this information was only gleaned through laborious work in the laboratory.

Orth said these advancements could eventually lead to the discovery of pharmaceuticals that treat conditions caused by different infectious organisms relying on similar pathogenic strategies.

IISc researchers build an ML algorithm to discover human brain connectivity

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Manjiri Gaikwad

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July 5, 2022

IISc graphic processor human brain connectivity

IISc researchers at Bengaluru build a unit-based ML algorithm to study human brain connectivity using a graphics processor.

The researchers at IISc developed the ML algorithm that can analyze the brain data generated from diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) scans. They also conveyed that this ML algorithm can evaluate the dMRI data over 150 times faster than the existing algorithms.

Devarajan Sridharan, the associate professor at IISc’s Center for Neuroscience (CNS) and the corresponding study author, published in Nature Computational Science, said, “Tasks that took hours and days previously can be done within minutes and seconds now.”

Millions of neurons fire in the brain per second, helping in generating electrical pulses traveling across neural networks from one point to another through connecting cables or axons, essential for computations that the brain performs.

The conventional approaches use animal models and are invasive. Varsha Sreenivasan, a Ph.D. student at CNS and the first author of the study, said, “dMRI scans can provide a non-invasive method to study brain connectivity in humans.”

Since axons are the brain’s information highways, IISc states that bundles of axons are tube-shaped, and water molecules can move through them with their length directedly.

Sridharan said,” Imagine water molecules are cars. You can obtain information about the direction and speed of cars at each point in space and time without any details about the roads. Similarly, our task is to gather networks of roads by observing traffic patterns.”

To identify networks, traditional algorithms closely match predicted dMRI signals from inferred connectome with observed dMRI signals. Scientists previously developed an algorithm called LiFE(Linear Fascicle Evaluation), which could only work on traditional CPUs and take time to process.

Therefore, researchers in Sridharan’s team at IISc developed the ML algorithm to improve LiFe’s performance. “To speed up the LiFe’s performance, Sridharan’s team redesigned the algorithm to work on a specialized electronic ship found in high-end game computing computers called GPUs, helping analyze data at 100-150 times faster,” IISc said.

WiseWorks AI Raises $1.2M to Build a One-stop AI Solution to Analyze Virtual Communications

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Disha Chopra

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July 5, 2022

WiseWorks AI, an intelligent communications company backed by AI veteran Dr. Rojon Nag, raised a $1.2M investment in a round led by Veridian Ventures from funds including Silicon Valley-based R42 SyndicateRoom Angel Fund and Istcapital. Dr. Nag is the founder of R42 and has advised several speech recognition companies under brands like Motorola and Blackberry.

Dr. Nag said, “Having worked in speech recognition for 30 years, we can see the potential of WiseWorks’ application to transform the way financial institutions monitor and analyze virtual communications and handle costly and time-intensive activities.”

The startup, WiseWorks, aims to help regulated firms like financial institutions accredited by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to record and store communications. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in remote workflows amongst many institutions, various companies are struggling to manage the explosion of communications. Hence, a robust tracking and handling system of virtual communications involving confidential company data is needed.

Teoman Gonec, co-founder and CEO of WiseWorks, said their technology would help institutions achieve these objectives in a way that was not feasible before. WiseWorks has made a one-of-its-kind product that captures visual, linguistic, and acoustic communication cues. It enables out-of-reach use cases like misleading advice prediction, random fact-finding for development purposes, etc.

The startup is already gaining traction amongst several financial institutions with its Tier 1 trials. The company also plans to extend the product to other consumers who face similar challenges.

DeepNash by DeepMind beats AI by mastering Stratego

By

Vidhi Shah

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July 5, 2022

DeepNash by DeepMind beats AI — DeepMind

On Jul 1, 2022 DeepMind posted a tweet of their newly trained model-free multiagent reinforcement workflow, DeepNash, that learned to play the Stratego game. Stratego is a board game that challenges players to handle various army ranks to defeat opponents and capture their flags. This autonomous agent can understand the Stratego game from scratch to a human expert level.

Among the different board games available, Stratego is one of the few that artificial intelligence (AI) has not been able to master yet. This popular game has a vast game tree order of 10⁵³⁵ nodes, i.e., 10¹⁷⁵times bigger than that of Go, an abstract strategy board game.

There is an additional complexity involving decision-making similar to Texax hold’em poker. However, the latter has a relatively smaller game tree order of 10¹⁶⁴nodes. The decisions made in Stratego are caused due to a large number of actions, and there is no evident correlation between the action and the result.

Each game is long and consists of multiple moves before a player wins. In some cases, Stratego cannot be broken down easily into manageable sub-problems. Due to these reasons, it has been a massive challenge for artificial intelligence to crack, and it can hardly clear the amateur level of Stratego.

On the other hand, DeepNash by DeepMind uses a game-theoretic, model-free seep reinforcement algorithm that has mastered the Stratego game through self-play. The Regularised Nash Dynamic (R-NaD) algorithm is the essential component that converges to an estimated Nash equilibrium by instantly changing the underlying multi-agent learning dynamics.

DeepNash exceeds the current artificial intelligence strategies in the Stratego game and is the all-time top 3 on the Gravon games platform, contesting with human expert players.

HCG adopts AI technology for hematopathology screening

By

Sahil Pawar

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July 5, 2022

HCG adopts AI technology hematopathology screening

HealthCare Global Enterprises (HCG) hospital chain has adopted artificial intelligence (AI) technology SigTuple’s AI100 to automate the manual screening process across its hematopathology labs.

This advancement has made HCG the first hospital chain to equip the hematopathology labs across its network with AI screening solutions for disease management and cancer detection. SigTuple’s AI100 is the premium solution for digital hematopathology. It is the only digital hematopathology solution available in India that is robust and economical enough for wide-scale adoption.

Dr. Ajaikumar, executive chairman of HCG, said that AI-powered digital scanning technology has emerged as a game-changer in cancer care. SigTuple’s top-notch solution has brought remarkable precision to hematopathology diagnostic capabilities of HCG, he added.

The pioneering AI technology’s automation of critical processes and logistics optimization is a distinct value-add for HCG. The advancement aligns with HCG’s overarching goal of serving patients through enhanced clinical outcomes.

Artificial intelligence-assisted digital scanning technology is the future of pathology. The company informed that SigTuple’s AI100 makes it possible for pathologists to review samples remotely without shipping them to the laboratories, as the digital conversion can occur at the site.

This collaboration is expected to drastically reduce the turnaround time, standardize reporting quality, and increase efficiency. The AI solution will enable pathologists to collaborate seamlessly across the globe, thus ensuring every HCG center gets access to experts across the network within seconds.

HCL Tech launches continuous cloud modernization solution for AWS

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Vidhi Shah

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July 5, 2022

HCL Technologies and Amazon Web Series (AWS) announced the launch of CloudSMART for AWS, a persistent modernization experience to assist enterprises in boosting their cloud industry transformation journey.

The joint program of HCL and AWS professionals with the client teams is to build a long-term strategy and essential landmarks to drive a company’s ongoing digital transformation at an accelerated rate.

The method attempts to bring the best of the HCL and AWS ecosystem’s frameworks and techniques to boost the business transformation via innovative procedures and swift delivery.

CloudSMART, a strategic industry concentrated cloud services, is organized to help businesses and entrepreneurs to grow from their present cloud status to a modern cloud for creating futuristic digital enterprises. This approach primarily focuses on maximizing the business value and enhancing the digital changeover to manage business-specific challenges.

For AWS, CloudSMART is a cloud-native initiative that concentrates on increasing business development, accelerating operational superiority, and providing optimal agility on the cloud.

HCL is the AWS Premier Consulting Partner with a reliable and trustworthy fully equipped business section to deliver an end-to-end road map to corporate customers for embracing AWS at scale.

PM Modi inaugurates ‘Raising & Accelerating MSME Performance’ scheme

By

Vidhi Shah

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July 5, 2022

PM Modi inaugurates Raising & Accelerating MSME Performance — OneIndia

On Thursday at Vigyan Bhawan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance’ scheme. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the scheme has an expenditure of about Rs. 6,000 crore. The scheme’s objective is to increase the implementation capability and scope of Medium Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) in the states, enhancing existing MSME schemes.

It will complement the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan as it will encourage innovation and creativity and support new businesses to develop better quality benchmarks, enhance practices and market availability, develop technical tools, and Industry 4.0 so that MSMEs become self-reliant.

With the RAMP scheme, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exports’ scheme and new characteristics of the ‘Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program’ (PMEG).

The PMEG’s maximum project cost increased from Rs. 25 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh for the manufacturing sector and from 10 lakh to 20 lakh in the service sector and inclusion of applicants from transgenders and aspirational districts in the Special Category application for higher subsidies. Furthermore, support will be provided to entrepreneurs or applications via the engagement of technical, banking, and marketing professionals.

‘Udyami Bharat’ reflects the government’s constant dedication to work towards the empowerment of MSMEs. To support the MSME sector, the government undertook initiatives like the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, MUDRA Yojana, and Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI); this benefited crores of people across the nation.

At the event, PM Modi announced the results of the MSME Idea Hackathon launched on March 10, 2022. The Hackathon aimed to support and encourage individuals’ untapped creativity, latest technologies, and inventions among MSMEs. The chosen innovations will be given funding support of up to Rs. 15 lakh per approved idea.

India’s first AI art festival to take place in Bangalore

By

Sahil Pawar

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July 5, 2022

India’s first artificial intelligence (AI) art festival ‘FutureFantastic’ is all set to take place in Bangalore. The festival, a Season of Culture initiative, aims to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen UK-India ties.

The festival is conceptualized by Jaaga’s BeFantastic in association with FutureEverything.

FutureFantastic will provide a platform to bring together a host of international artists and creative technologists with an intent to contemplate the nuances of climate emergency.

The festival will display cutting-edge art practices that utilize AI to create engaging artworks. The main motive is to spread awareness about climate change by promoting curiosity.

Using machine learning and artificial intelligence, emerging visual and performing artists will develop ideas and co-create artworks through a fellowship program. This will result in a series of artistic commissions at the AI art festival.

The Season of Culture, to be organized nationwide to celebrate India’s 75th anniversary, has a unique series of experiments in transmedia storytelling, which artists bring together from Crossover Labs and Antariksha Studio. The festival is a physical manifestation of the bridge between the UK and India.

Barbara Wickham, Director of the British Council in India, said the Season of Culture would boost creative collaborations of emerging Indian and British artists and art organizations. It will do so by juxtaposing art with social dialogue and exploring shared global challenges such as environmental sustainability, gender equality, and empowering young leaders of the future through the arts, she added.

Zomato Releases a hyper-localized Deepfake Ad Starring Hrithik Roshan

By

Disha Chopra

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July 5, 2022

zomato deepfake ad starring hrithik roshan

The food delivery and restaurant aggregator Zomato released a localized ad for YouTube using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology. YouTube viewers can see a surprising Zomato ad starring Hrithik Roshan. The ad seems to feature him mentioning specific cravings from popular restaurants. These specific “cravings” and the “restaurants” vary from viewer to viewer based on his/her respective choices and their phone’s GPS.

This localized ad, powered by Gan.ai, is made using deepfake’s capability to modify a video of someone making an utterance and making it look like they said something else instead. AI learns the protagonist’s speech patterns and facial expressions and then alters the speech output based on the viewer. For instance, if a viewer is viewing the ad in Sushant Lok, Gurugram; Hrithik Roshan will seemingly say that he was craving a burger from How I Met Your Burger, a locally famous food joint.

Zomato’s ad, made by the creative agency Enormous Creative, follows Cadbury’s ‘Not Just a Cadbury Ad’ starring actor Shah Rukh Khan. The ad got recognition at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Cadbury’s ad was developed by Ogilvy and Wavemaker powered by Rephrase.ai. This ad, released around Diwali, also used location targeting to name local sweet stores based on their GPS locations.

Ashray Malhotra, founder of Rephrase.ai says that ML and AI can offer a lot of advertising potential to increase brand efficacy. The technologies like deepfake also offer personalization to make these ads more interesting and relatable.

Aalap Desai, CEO of Isobar India and Taproot Dentsu said that the actual creativity in AI-based ads is how and where technology is used. He pointed out that Zomato’s ad will reinforce the fact that Zomato delivers everywhere.

According to him, the Zomato ad’s resemblance to the Cadbury ad is simply an indication of the company’s willingness to experiment with new formats and technology rather than a reflection of India’s level of originality.