Machine Learning’s Rise, Applications, And Challenges – VentureBeat
“The terms “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning” are often used interchangeably, but there’s an important difference between the two. AI is an umbrella term for a range of techniques that allow computers to learn and act like humans. Put another way, AI is the computer being smart. Machine learning, however, accounts for how the computer becomes smart. But there’s a reason the two are often conflated: The vast majority of AI today is based on machine learning. Enterprises across sectors are prioritizing it for various use cases across their organizations, and the subfield tops AI funding globally by a significant margin. In the first quarter of 2019 alone, a whopping $28.5 billion was allocated to machine learning research. Overall, the machine learning market is expected to grow from around $1 billion in 2016 to $8.81 billion by 2022. When VentureBeat collected thoughts from the top minds across the field, they had a variety of predictions to share. But one takeaway was that machine learning is continuing to shape business and society at large.” This article breaks down the future of machine learning.
Bitcoin Plunges as China's Sichuan Province Pulls Plug on Crypto Mining – Gizmodo
“Bitcoin continued its dramatic plunge to $32,281 Monday morning, down 17.65% from a week earlier as some of China’s largest bitcoin mining farms were shut down over the weekend. The bitcoin mining facilities of Sichuan Province received an order on Friday to stop doing business by Sunday, according to Chinese state media outlet the Global Times. The Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Sichuan Energy Bureau issued an order to all electricity companies in the region on Friday to stop supplying electricity to any known crypto mining organizations, including 26 firms that had already been publicly identified, according to the Global Times. It seems that some local miners were optimistic that Sichuan’s abundant hydroelectric energy would insulate the region from a cryptocurrency crackdown by authorities, but that optimism was obviously misplaced.”
Tesla unveiled its new supercomputer and it is already the 5th largest in the world and not even at the scale of its rumored project Dojo supercomputer Elon still claims will be ready to go toward the end of the year. The latest in-house supercomputer is primarily used to train models toward the goal of self-driving. The latest machine was unveiled at a conference for computer vision and pattern recognition
Apple And Google’s AI Wizardry Promises Privacy—At A Cost – Wired
“Apple and Google both say on-device machine learning offers more privacy and snappier apps. Not transmitting personal data cuts the risk of exposure and saves time spent waiting for data to traverse the internet. At the same time, keeping data on devices aligns with the tech giants' long-term interest in keeping consumers bound into their ecosystems. People that hear their data can be processed more privately might become more willing to agree to share more data. Michael Veale, a lecturer in digital rights at University College London, says on-device data processing can be a good thing but adds that the way tech companies promote it shows they are primarily motivated by a desire to keep people tied into lucrative digital ecosystems. "Privacy gets confused with keeping data confidential, but it's also about limiting power," says Veale. "If you're a big tech company and manage to reframe privacy as only confidentiality of data, that allows you to continue business as normal and gives you license to operate."