AI & RoboticsNews

Hyundai confirms its $1.1 billion acquisition of Boston Dynamics

December 12, 2020
Boston Dynamics is now officially part of Hyundai Motor Group. The Korean conglomerate has struck a deal with Softbank to acquire a controlling interest — an 80 percent stake — in the robotics company for $1.1 billion. Softbank will retain a 20 percent stake through one of its affiliates. The companies have been in talks since at least early November, and the deal is expected to be finalized…
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AI & RoboticsNews

Teachable AI will help Alexa users set up preferences

December 11, 2020
Amazon today detailed a capability coming to Alexa called Teachable AI that will enable the assistant to ask questions to fill gaps in its understanding. First announced during the company’s September virtual press event, Teachable AI leverages machine learning to…
AI & RoboticsNews

JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot launches internal game studio headed with Left 4 Dead creator

December 10, 2020
JJ Abrams’ film company Bad Robot has launched its own game development studio, Bad Robot Games Studio. The entertainment company run by the Star Wars filmmaker has hired Michael Booth, a veteran game creator behind titles such as Valve’s Left 4 Dead. Booth will be the general manager of the internal studio, and he will report to former Valve and Oculus leader Anna Sweet, who was recently…
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AI & RoboticsNews

Salesforce claims its AI can spot signs of breast cancer with 92% accuracy

December 10, 2020
Salesforce today peeled back the curtains on ReceptorNet, a machine learning system researchers at the company developed in partnership with clinicians at the University of Southern California’s Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC. The system, which can determine a critical biomarker for oncologists when deciding on the appropriate treatment for breast cancer…
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AI & RoboticsNews

SoftBank has reportedly sold Boston Dynamics to Hyundai

December 10, 2020
Hyundai Motors is acquiring Boston Dynamics, according to The Korea Economic Daily. The publication says Softbank has agreed to sell the robot maker for 1 trillion won (US$917 million) and that the acquisition will be finalized at a board meeting today, December 10th. The…
AI & RoboticsNews

Columbia researchers find white men are the worst at reducing AI bias

December 10, 2020
Bias in AI is pervasive. From dermatological models that discriminate against patients with dark skin to exam-scoring algorithms that disadvantage public school students, one needn’t look far for examples of prejudice encoded in AI systems. But how do these biases arise in the first place? Researchers at Columbia University sought to uncover this by tasking 400 AI engineers with creating…
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