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Watson could be the key to smarter manufacturing robots
Some reports predict that robots will replace 5 million jobs in the next couple of years. Bill Gates thinks we need a "robot tax" to compensate for those losses. A new partnership announced today between Swiss automation firm ABB and IBM's Watson initiative could hasten that future while it seeks to improve efficiency in on the manufacturing floor.
IBM's Watson looked into my soul and 'drew' my portrait
Since its introduction to the world in 2009, IBM's Watson supercomputer has been crushing humans in Jeopardy, helping chefs make food with unconventional recipes and even offering tech support. But what happens when the artificial intelligence machine puts its own spin on a photo booth? To find out, I checked out IBM's "Art with Watson: Hidden Portraits," an exhibit that's being displayed in New York City until May 7th. The gallery features portraits of historic personalities like Marie Curie and Nikola Tesla, which Watson helped artists create by feeding them data collected using its natural language and personality insights APIs.
IBM Watson offers tech support that never sleeps
If your company uses IBM's helpdesk services, don't be surprised if you find yourself talking to Watson next time you contact the IT department. IBM has added a Watson-powered concierge-like service to its helpdesk, and it can quickly solve your IT issues around the clock, wherever you are in the world and whatever device you're using. Unlike automated bots, you can talk to Watson about your issues like you're talking to another person. It can then customize its responses -- for instance, it can use layman's terms if you're not that tech-savvy or use jargons if you are.
Tiny liquid battery cools chips while powering them
Scientists from IBM and ETH Zurich university have built a tiny "flow" battery that has the dual benefit of supplying power to chips and cooling them at the same time. Even taking pumping into account, it produces enough energy to power a chip while dissipating much more heat than it generates. The result could be smaller, more efficient chips, solar cells that store their own energy or devices used for remote monitoring that don't require external power sources.
IBM inches toward human-like accuracy for speech recognition
The tech world has spent years trying to create speech recognition software that listens as well as humans. Now, IBM says it's achieved a 5.5 percent word error rate, down from its previous record of 6.9 percent -- an industry milestone that could eventually lead to improvements in voice assistants like Siri and Alexa.
IBM built an atomic hard drive
While the rush to keep pace with Moore's Law is getting rather "chaotic", researchers at IBM announced on Wednesday that they have drastically reduced the space required to store a bit of information down to that of a single atom.
Shipping giant tests IBM's blockchain tech to track cargo
Maersk Line, known as the world's largest container shipping company, has teamed up with IBM to start using blockchain to track its cargo. From the time the tech titan opened its Watson-powered blockchain service to enterprise customers last year, it has already signed up over 400 clients, including Walmart. It helps companies use blockchain -- a digital leader that logs transactions that can't be modified later -- in different ways, not just for financial transactions. For Maersk, it's to give buyers, sellers and customs officials a way to keep track of the goods it hauls as they make their way across the globe. Everybody involved can check where the shipment is at any point.
IBM plans to build a universal quantum computer
Companies can technically buy a quantum computer right now, but it's not really the same as a general-purpose computer. Even if you don't question whether or not it is quantum computing, it really amounts to specialized hardware. However, IBM hopes to change all that: it's planning to build the first commercially-oriented universal quantum computer. The plan is to build a system with roughly 50 quantum bits (the Quantum Experience started with 5 and now simulates 20) within the next few years. That may not sound like much, but 50 qubits could be more powerful than the best supercomputers when handling some calculations -- tasks that were impractical before would suddenly be within reach.
Tech titans back transgender student's Supreme Court case
Apple has officially signed an amicus brief in support of Gavin Grimm's case that's hitting the Supreme Court later this month. In addition, Cupertino has successfully helped convince other tech titans to support the transgender student's fight for the right to use the bathroom that matches his gender identity. According to TechCrunch, the company worked with non-profit org Human Rights Campaign to reach out to potential signatories in the tech industry. Their crusade was so successful, tech corporations ended up dominating the list of 53 companies that signed the brief.
IBM somehow got a patent for an Out-Of-Office email system
A month and a half ago, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted IBM Patent 9,547,842, which is an email system designed to automatically send messages informing inquiring bodies that said person is absent from their physical place of work... It's an Out Of Office email system. They patented OOO.
Apple, other tech giants will support transgender student's case
Several tech titans plan to sign an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of a 17-year-old transgender student's fight in court, according to Axios. Apple, Microsoft, IBM, PayPal, eBay, Airbnb, Box, Yelp, GitHub, Salesforce, Slack and Tumblr are expected to back Gavin Grimm's legal battle against his school board for the right to use the bathroom that matches his gender identity. The amicus brief, created by LGBT organization Human Rights Campaign, will be filed in favor of Grimm for the Supreme Court hearing scheduled to take place on March 28th.
Transgender protection rollback sparks opposition from tech
On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that it would roll back federal protections for transgender citizens and require states and local school boards to decide how (or, more accurately, whether) they would enforce these people's civil rights. Given that Silicon Valley tech companies routinely portray themselves as paragons of diversity and tolerance, these companies would surely be equally incensed at the government's current attempts to regulate where children can pee. However, the responses so far have failed to directly address the president's recent actions, instead generally relying on passive statements that extol their valuation of diversity and inclusion.
Watson helps treat heart disease by looking at medical images
IBM's Watson technology has helped doctors before, but usually by poring through databases before offering its advice. Now, it's ready to look at the patients themselves -- or rather, their body scans. It's following up on past promises by launching Watson Clinical Imaging Review, its first picture-based cognitive computing solution. The AI platform can sift through ultrasounds, x-rays and other medical data to both fill out health records and identify patients who might need critical care.
Scientists hold the first quantum computer face-off
For the first time ever, two quantum computers have faced off against each other in a series of experiments to determine which technology reigns supreme. A team of researchers from the University of Maryland have pitted their own quantum computer against IBM's creation, running the same algorithms on both at the same time. The winner? Well, it's kind of a tie. IBM's is faster than Maryland's, but it's also much less accurate. In one test, Maryland got 77.1 percent in accuracy, while IBM only got 35.1 percent. IBM's, however, was up to 1,000 faster than its competitor.
Crowdsourced research predicts what molecules smell like
As of now, the only way to tell how something smells is to actually take a sniff. That is to say, there's no observable, scientific measure we know of that can predict how we'll perceive a specific odor. In comparison, things are a little more cut and dried with sights and sounds; because humans use wavelengths to process what they see and hear, we generally agree on, say, how we expect a specific color to look. But scientists now seem to be making progress on the olfactory front: New crowdsourced research has brought scientists closer to predicting a molecule's smell based solely on its chemical properties.
Watson-based cancer project paused after running aground
It's tempting to treat IBM's Watson as a cure-all: just throw some cognitive computing at the problem and you'll make everything better. That can only happen if it's well-implemented, however, and we've just seen what happens when things go awry. The University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center has put its highly-touted Watson project (the Oncology Expert Advisor) on hold after an audit discovered both spending issues and an unfocused strategy that didn't meet goals.
IBM's new weather app sends emergency alerts without a network
What good is a weather app when the network is down? Not much -- typically. But with an upcoming Weather Channel app for Android, IBM is offering one solution for emerging markets: "Mesh Network Alerts," a new technology that can transmit notifications from phone to phone via Bluetooth and WiFi. It's potentially much more useful than typical emergency alerts from governments, because those don't work when cellular networks go down. The app offers much more than just a mere weather update, in some places it could up saving lives during emergencies.
IBM and Indiegogo are bringing Watson's smarts to the masses
IBM sees a big future in the Internet of Things. The company unveiled its $200 million IoT headquarters in Munich this week as part of its planned $3 billion investment in the connected devices industry. So far, however, the tech behemoth has mostly lent Watson's brains to larger companies and research projects. That's about to change thanks to a new partnership from IBM, Indiegogo and Arrow Electronics that promises to give independent developers and entrepreneurs access to those same machine learning tools.
IBM's Watson-powered voice assistant is built for security pros
If it wasn't already clear that AI-powered voice assistants are ready for the workplace, it is now. IBM is not only launching Watson for Cybersecurity, a cognitive computing service that parses legions of security reports to extract relevant info, but is unveiling an experimental voice helper to go along with it. Havyn lets digital defense experts ask for threat updates and recommended solutions when it would otherwise be too time-consuming. If security analysts are already hip-deep in work, they don't have to sidetrack themselves with a new research path when Havyn can produce a useful answer in seconds.
IBM's Watson will help you file your taxes
Tax experts can find deductions that you might otherwise miss, but they're only human -- they can only find so many potential savings, let alone paint a larger picture of your finances. They're about to get a helping hand, though. IBM is partnering with H&R Block to make Watson a part of the tax filing process at locations across the US starting on February 6th. After you participate in an initial interview, the artificial intelligence will offer suggestions to Tax Pros (read: experts) looking for deductions, and illustrate the bigger picture for you on a dedicated client screen. Ideally, Watson's ability to understand context and intent will turn your statements into tangible data that leads to bigger tax breaks.
