Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger says, Chip Shortage risks expansion

By

-

May 26, 2022

Pat Gelsinger, CEO of semiconductor manufacturing giant Intel, says that a shortage of advanced equipment to make semiconductors could hold up global expansion plans.

According to him, supply timelines for chipmaking equipment for additional chip factories that the company expects to establish in the US and Europe have been significantly extended.

“To us, this is now the No. 1 issue, is, in fact, the delivery of equipment,” Gelsinger said during a press conference on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

He also stated that “the most important pinch point to the build-out of capacity today” is the supply of chipmaking equipment. Gelsinger is now urging authorities in the United States and Europe to speed up the implementation of their respective “Chips Acts” to boost national semiconductor production.

Earlier this year, Intel had announced its plans to invest $36 billion in microchip manufacturing in Europe, including a mega manufacturing facility in Germany. The announced German fabrication facilities, according to Intel, will build chips with the company’s most advanced capabilities, and the plants are expected to open in 2027. Moreover, Intel also has plans to invest heavily in Ohio to establish new facilities.

However, considering the current situation, it cannot be said that the project will end on time. “This broad initiative will boost Europe’s R&D innovation and bring leading-edge manufacturing to the region for the benefit of our customers and partners around the world,” said Gelsinger during the announcement.

Hugging Face and Microsoft to launch Hugging Face Endpoints on Azure

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 25, 2022

Hugging Face Microsoft Face Endpoints Azure

Open-source machine learning platform Hugging Face partners with global technology giant Microsoft to launch its new Hugging Face Endpoints on Azure.

According to the company, its Hugging Face Endpoints is a new Machine Learning inference service powered by Azure ML Managed Endpoints.

Hugging Face Endpoints, available through Azure Machine Learning Services, allows clients to leverage Hugging Face models with a few clicks or lines of Microsoft Azure SDK code, drastically increasing its usability.

Interested users can directly visit Azure Marketplace to test this new solution.

Corporate Vice President of Microsoft AI Platform, Eric Boyd, said, “Hugging Face has been on a mission to democratize good machine learning. With their Transformers open source library and the Hugging Face Hub, they are enabling the global AI community to build state-of-the-art machine learning models and applications in an open and collaborative way.”

Boyd further added that he is delighted that they are combining the best of Hugging Face with the Azure platform to provide clients with new integrated experiences that are built on the secure, compliant, and responsible AI foundation that AzureML, their MLops platform, provides.

United States-based ML platform provider Hugging Face was founded by Clement Delangue, Julien Chaumond, and Thomas Wolf in 2016. The company recently raised $100 million in its series C funding round led by Lux Capital and received participation from Sequoia and Coatue. The fresh funding raised Hugging Face’s market valuation to over $2 billion.

Co-founder and CEO of Hugging Face, Clément Delangue, said, “We’re striving to help every developer and organization build high-quality, ML-powered applications that have a positive impact on society and businesses.”

He also mentioned that they have made it easier than ever to deploy cutting-edge models with Hugging Face Endpoints, and they are excited to see what Azure customers will create with them.

Google Develops AI Text-to-image Generator Imagen

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 25, 2022

Global technology giant Google has developed a one-of-a-kind artificial intelligence-powered test-to-image generator named Imagen that can create realistic-looking pictures from the entered text.

The AI platform generates accurate images based on the description provided, which Google claims to have “an unprecedented degree of photorealism.”

Google’s Imagen platform follows in the footsteps of other text-to-image generators such as DALL-E, VQ-GAN+CLIP, and Latent Diffusion Models.

The AI generator’s capabilities include sketching, painting, creating oil paintings, and also producing CGI renders. People found Google’s algorithm surpassed competitors in accuracy and visual fidelity when comparing images made by Imagen and other text-to-image converters, according to Google.

Imagen’s diffusion technologies start with a noisy image and polish it to the point of perfection. The tool then generates a 64X64-pixel image, which scales to a 1024 x 1024-pixel image after two super-resolution steps.

“Imagen consists of a text encoder that maps text to a sequence of embeddings and a cascade of conditional diffusion models that map these embeddings to images of increasing resolutions,” mentioned Google.

On its Imagen website, the company published many examples of text prompts and the AI’s accompanying graphics, including “A lovely corgi lives in a house made out of sushi.”

A few other examples include a photo of a Shiba Inu dog with a backpack riding a bike, wearing sunglasses, and a beach hat.

A high contrast portrait of a very happy fuzzy panda dressed as a chef in a high-end kitchen making dough, etc.

However, it should be mentioned that this is only a text-to-image diffusion model and is not intended for public use.

GitLab launches new Cybersecurity and AI growth features

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 25, 2022

DevOps platform GitLab launches its new cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) growth features.

#GitLab15 is here! Container scanning in all tiers, internal notes, better links to external organizations and contacts, and 40+ other improvements: https://t.co/LzGuBeDLaZ pic.twitter.com/67hKErmcvW
— 🦊 GitLab (@gitlab) May 22, 2022

GitLab 15 is the first release version (15.0), bringing forward new cutting-edge DevOps capabilities on a single platform.

GitLab 15’s complete DevOps capabilities help companies build and collaborate around business-critical code to deploy software securely and achieve targeted business goals.

Some of the features have been launched already, and the remaining will be available to the public soon. GitLab’s new platform release will improve the company’s offering, particularly in the field of cybersecurity.

The official press release mentions, “We believe upcoming releases will enhance the platform’s capabilities in solution areas including visibility and observability, continuous security and compliance, agile enterprise planning, and workflow automation and support for data science workloads.”

The release further cited that Airbus, a GitLab customer, was able to release feature updates in just 10 minutes after adopting GitLab, compared to the whole 24 hours required to set up for production and run manual testing before implementing GitLab.

Since the launch of GitLab last year, the platform has gained tremendous popularity and currently has a huge customer base of leading companies such as NVIDIA. GitLab’s latest release provides companies with a purpose-built, unified DevOps platform that empowers teams to concentrate on achieving business transformation.

“In today’s highly competitive landscape, organizations are under more pressure than ever to deliver software faster and more securely. They need a more mature, comprehensive platform to improve their time to market,” said David DeSanto, VP of Product at GitLab.

He also mentioned that the One DevOps Platform from GitLab solves this issue as organizations can replace their DIY DevOps toolchains with a single application that brings teams together from planning to a product.

Pony.ai loses permit to test autonomous vehicles with driver in California

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 25, 2022

Pony.ai loses permit test autonomous vehicles

Self-driving taxi developing company Pony.ai loses its permit to test its autonomous vehicles with onboard drivers in California, United States.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) recently canceled the issued license of Pony.ai, considering past incidents.

According to authorities, this decision was made as the company was unable to monitor the driving records of the safety drivers on its testing permit.

Earlier this year, Pony.ai also lost its permit to test driverless vehicles in the United States because of an accident that raised questions about the security of passengers. The decision was followed after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the US said that it plans to review the actions of robotaxi startup Pony.ai regarding crash reporting norms set up by the government.

A DMV spokesperson told TechCrunch, “While reviewing Pony.ai’s application to renew the testing permit, the DMV found numerous violations on the driving records of active Pony.ai safety drivers.”

The official further added that the DMV is canceling the permit, effective immediately, due to the vital role of safety drivers in facilitating the safe testing of autonomous technology and the requirement that these drivers have a clean driving record as outlined by the DMV’s autonomous vehicle standards. With this new development, Pony.ai no longer holds any permit to test its autonomous vehicles on the roads of the United States.

However, the good news is that the company recently received a taxi license for its robotaxis in China. The permit will allow Pony.ai to charge fees for its autonomous taxi services in some parts of China where it has been testing its robotaxi. Pony.ai has been granted permission to operate 100 self-driving vehicles in Guangzhou’s Nansha neighborhood, according to officials.

Amazon installs AI Cameras in UK delivery vehicles

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 25, 2022

Global eCommerce and technology giant Amazon installs artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cameras in its delivery vehicles deployed in the United Kingdom, reports The Telegraph.

The cameras will record video footage of both inside and outside of the vehicles to effectively detect traffic norms violations and poor driving practices. The collected footage will then be analyzed by the company to determine the quality of its services.

When the vehicle’s ignition is turned off, the cameras are supposed to turn off automatically. Additionally, drivers will also receive a score based on the analysis of the captured videos.

Last year, Amazon announced that it planned to install these cameras, but it has come to an effect recently. However, this new development has been condemned by people stating it to be “intrusive” and “creepy.”

“We are against cameras being pointed in the face of the drivers every second of every day that they are working. This is surveillance, it does not aid driver safety,” said a GMB Union spokesman.

In 2021, more than 200 Amazon employees signed a petition demanding that the company halt its “labor surveillance.”

The aim of implementing this technology, according to an Amazon official, is to keep drivers and communities safe; there is no other reason.

Silkie Carlo, the director of Big Brother Watch, said, “Amazon has a terrible track record of intensely monitoring their lowest wage earners using Orwellian, often highly inaccurate, spying technologies, and then using that data to their disadvantage.”

She further added that this kind of surveillance might actually distract drivers, demoralize them, and it is harmful to employees’ rights and bad for privacy in the UK.

Meta’s Myosuite can create Realistic Musculoskeletal Models

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 24, 2022

Meta’s researchers have developed a one-of-a-kind artificial intelligence-powered platform named Myosuite that can create realistic musculoskeletal models efficiently.

Mark Zuckerberg just announced MyoSuite, a new AI platform we developed to build realistic musculoskeletal simulations to help accelerate development of prosthetics. It could also help us build avatars that move more realistically in the metaverse. https://t.co/Q4gVboQGSa pic.twitter.com/T27CAbXBg5
— Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) May 23, 2022

Meta collaborated with the University of Twente to develop Myosuite. The newly launched AI and ML-enabled platform can facilitate applications with real-life implications, such as rehabilitation, surgery, and shared autonomy assistive devices.

MyoSuite’s musculoskeletal models are up to 4,000 times faster than other simulators when it comes to addressing the data needs of modern machine learning algorithms.

Meta says that Apart from Myosuite, Meta is also releasing open-sourcing a set of comprehensive benchmarks for the ML community. This release will aid the community in continuing research in the field.

The newly launched platform can also be used to develop avatars for virtual worlds such as Horizon Worlds. “As we build for the metaverse, these models will help developers build avatars that move more realistically, making the experience more expressive and immersive,” mentioned Meta in a blog.

The advent of MyoSuite’s new technology, which intends to support modern-day features, will aid bioengineering and other related features in practice.

“We can train these models to perform complex movements like twirling a pen or rotating a key. We’re going to open source these models so researchers can use them to advance the field further,” said the CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg.

The physiologically accurate musculoskeletal models developed by MyoSuite are orders of magnitude more computationally efficient and scalable than previous models. A set of well-tuned, physiologically correct musculoskeletal models that facilitate temporal interaction-rich musculoskeletal dynamics are included in the MyoSuite ecosystem.

The company hopes that its MyoSuite will become the pioneer platform for integrating motor and neural intelligence.

Maruti Suzuki to acquire AI company Sociograph Solutions

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 24, 2022

Maruti Suzuki acquire Sociograph Solutions

India’s largest automobile manufacturing company Maruti Suzuki announces its plan to acquire artificial intelligence (AI) firm Sociograph Solutions.

With this acquisition deal, Maruti Suzuki will acquire more than a 12% stake in Sociograh Solutions for a sum of around Rs 2 crores.

The acquisition will allow Maruti Suzuki to further strengthen its technological capabilities to provide a better customer experience.

According to the company, this investment will help Maruti Suzuki in enhancing its customer offering by developing customized sales experiences on the web, virtual reality, and augmented reality.

Bengaluru-based AI company Sociograph Solutions was founded by Ananthakrishnan Gopal, Ashok Balasundaram, and Sriram P H in 2016. The company is best known for developing a patent-pending artificial intelligence platform named DaveAI.

The platform introduces the concept of Empathetic AI to assist organizations in efficiently managing their sales processes and augmenting customers’ product discovery experience. DaveAI can drastically boost conversion rates, optimizes product mix, and raises average order value per customer.

Moreover, DaveAI’s Interactive Infinite Virtual Aisle(IVA) (c) delivers advanced hyper-real time recommendations customized to each customer through digital assets in-store.

“AI is beneficial to the industry in applying insight gained over millions of purchases across the spectrum into creating design strategies that would increase key KPIs for the products,” said Dr. AnanthaKrishnan Gopal, co-founder & CTO of Sociograph Solutions.

Clearview AI fined in UK for Illegally storing Images

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 24, 2022

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the UK fined United States-based facial recognition firm Clearview AI £7.5 million for illegally storing images.

The much controversial company has been facing such issues for some time, and this new development is yet another hit for Clearview AI.

This fine has been imposed on the company for its practice of collecting and storing images of citizens from social media platforms without their consent, which is a severe threat to privacy according to several countries.

Moreover, the ICO has also ordered the US firm to remove UK citizens’ data from its systems. According to the ICO, Clearview AI has stored more than 20 billion pictures of people in its database.

“The company not only enables identification of those people but effectively monitors their behavior and offers it as a commercial service. That is unacceptable,” said John Edwards, the UK information commissioner.

He further added that that is why they have taken action in the UK to protect people by fining the company and issuing an enforcement notice.

Earlier this year, Italy’s privacy watchdog also fined Clearview AI €20 million. The fine was imposed for a similar reason, the company’s much-criticized artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition system that collects users’ information from public databases and stores them.

In its defense, Clearview AI’s CEO Hoan Ton-That said, “I am deeply disappointed that the UK Information Commissioner has misinterpreted my technology and intentions. We collect only public data from the open internet and comply with all standards of privacy and law.”

He also mentioned that he is disheartened by society’s misinterpretation of Clearview AI’s technology. Lawyers for Clearview AI stated that the company is not under the ICO’s authority, and it currently does not do business in the United Kingdom.

CryptoSmartlife to simplify Crypto investing in India with Thematic Coin Baskets

By

Dipayan Mitra

-

May 24, 2022

CryptoSmartlife India Thematic Coin Baskets

Artificial intelligence-powered end-to-end crypto investment platform CryptoSmartlife announces its plans to simplify crypto investing in India with the company’s thematic coin baskets.

According to the company, it is a Crypto Thematic Basket Investment platform that uses artificial intelligence to group the top 100 market capitalization coins into baskets based on past returns, price volatility, coin correlations, and other fundamental variables.

CryptoSmartlife offers its customers multiple one-of-a-kind features that set the company apart from its competitors.

The features include instant KYC and 24*7 customer-centric support, easy withdrawal and deposit, Crypto Recurring Basket Investment Plan in one click, auto rebalancing of coin portfolios based on changing market conditions, and many more.

Founder and CEO of CryptoSmartlife, Vishnu Tadepalli, said, “Current crypto exchanges are very complex, and many wanna-be crypto investors are missing out due to lack of education, unfriendly exchange interfaces & other technology barriers. We harness the power of advanced data science to present facts to users, as data never lies.”

He further added that their back-tested algorithm creates crypto smart baskets based on popular themes, providing customers with a simple and easy-to-use crypto investing experience that is smart and secure based on their preferences.

Singapore-based crypto investment platform CryptoSmartlife was founded by Vishnu Tadepalli in 2021. CryptoSmartlife was founded to be at the forefront of crypto innovation and drive crypto acceptance through an “easy to use” and “crypto learn” interface.

This is India’s first Cryptocurrency investment platform that allows users to make one-time and recurring investments in Crypto coin baskets based on popular themes like Blockchain, Metaverse, NFT, Green Crypto, Web3, etc.