AI & Robotics

In his book, “T-Minus AI,” Michael Kanaan calls attention to the need for the U.S. to wake up to AI in the same way that China and Russia have — as a matter of national importance amid global power shifts. In 1957, Russia launched the Sputnik satellite into orbit. Kanaan writes that it was both a technological and a military feat. As Sputnik orbited Earth, suddenly the U.S. was confronted by…

In the big data domain, researchers need to ensure that conclusions are consistently verifiable. But that can be particularly challenging in medicine because physicians themselves aren’t always sure about disease diagnoses and treatment plans. To investigate how machine learning research has historically handled medical uncertainties, scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas; the…

Cloud-based identity verification and fraud prevention startup Socure today closed a $35 million round. CEO Tom Thimot told VentureBeat the funds will bolster Socure’s R&D efforts and help it expand its customer base. Javelin Strategy reported that 6.64% of consumers — or about 16.7 million people — fell victim to identity fraud in 2017, up 1 million from 2016. In 2018, over 2.6 billion…

Colin Angle no longer believes that full autonomy is the right approach to home robotics. That’s a remarkable statement from the CEO of iRobot, a company that for years touted its carpet-sweeping, floor-dusting Roomba’s automation as a selling point. “In my belief, the perfect robot was one you’d never have to touch — it would just go into the world and do the right thing,” Angle told…