Kenshoo, a provider of a platform for managing marketing campaigns, yesterday announced its intent to acquire Signals Analytics, which provides a service for collecting unstructured consumer data that allows marketers to model campaigns using AI technologies. Signals Analytics counts organizations including Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Roche, and Mars as its…
An AI is livestreaming a never-ending bass solo on YouTube
December 23, 2020
Even the most dedicated musicians have to put down their instruments sometimes, but on YouTube, you can listen to a bass solo that keeps going and going. Dadabots, which is also behind an endless death metal stream, used a recurrent neural network (RNN) to create a YouTube…
Dubber acquires Speik to expand its AI call-recording service
December 22, 2020
Dubber Corporation Ltd., a provider of unified call recording and analytics software based in Australia, revealed that it’s acquiring Speik, a U.K.-based maker of call recording software that complies with Payment Card Industry (PCI) security mandates.
Valued at $38…
When the new Mercedes EQS sedan hits the road next year, it will feature a new and improved version of the automaker’s MBUX infotainment called the MBUX Hyperscreen as an optional upgrade. The company says the ultrawide screen spans the entire front dashboard of the upcoming EV and adds AI to the mix to make using the system more intuitive.
The automaker will detail the infotainment at its…
RingCentral acquires conversational AI startup DeepAffects
December 21, 2020
RingCentral, a company that creates cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for the enterprise, has acquired conversational AI intelligence startup DeepAffects.
Founded in 2003, Belmont, California-based RingCentral develops a range of cloud products for…
How to create space for ethics in AI
December 19, 2020
In a year that has seen decades’ worth of global shocks, bad news, and scandals squeezed into 12 excruciatingly long months, the summer already feels like a distant memory. In August 2020, the world was in the throes of a major social and racial justice movement, and I…
Skype's latest update uses AI to make group calls less awkward
December 19, 2020
Back in July, Microsoft added a feature called Together Mode to its Teams workplace messaging app. The tool uses an AI-powered segmentation technology to put everyone in a video call in the same virtual space. Even if you don’t use Microsoft Teams, you’ve probably seen Together Mode in action. The NBA turned to the feature when it tried to recreate the atmosphere of a packed arena without any…
This week, BuzzFeed News, citing sources familiar with the matter, wrote that Facebook is developing an AI tool that summarizes news articles so that users don’t have to read them. The tool — codenamed “TLDR” in reference to the acronym “too long, didn’t read”…
Fable Studio unveils two AI-based virtual beings who can talk to you
December 19, 2020
Fable Studio has announced two new conversational AI virtual beings, or artificial people. Their names are Charlie and Beck, and they will be able to hold conversations as if they were real people.
The new characters are a blend of storytelling and artificial intelligence, a…
AI controlled a US military aircraft for the first time
December 19, 2020
As much as the US military relies on drones to bolster its aerial arsenal, it has still relied on human operators to guide its aircraft — until now. Air Force Assistant Secretary Dr. Will Roper has revealed to Popular Mechanics that AI controlled a US military aircraft (and really, military system) for the first time, serving as the “co-pilot” aboard a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane during a…
