AI & RoboticsNews

PETA wants to replace Punxsutawney Phil with an animatronic AI

When we imagine the future of artificial intelligence, we tend to think of the technology making most human jobs obsolete. But if PETA has its way, an AI could also take over for the world’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. In a letter signed by PETA founder and president Ingrid Newkirk, the organization calls on the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, the group that takes care of the…
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AI & RoboticsNews

Amazon details AI that answers questions more reliably

Might natural language models improve in their ability to answer questions on the fly? That’s what a team of Amazon researchers set out to answer in a study scheduled to be presented at the 2020 Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in New York. They…
AI & RoboticsNews

Google researchers release audit framework to close AI accountability gap

Researchers associated with Google and the Partnership on AI have created a framework to help companies and their engineering teams audit AI systems before deploying them. The framework, intended to add a layer of quality assurance to businesses launching AI, translates into practice values often espoused in AI ethics principles and tackles an accountability gap authors say exists in corporate AI…
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AI & RoboticsNews

Robotic finger can sweat like a human to cool down

Robots can already do lots of things people can including gymnastics, but a new type of soft robot has one of the most human traits of all. Researchers have a developed a finger-like appendage that can break into sweat to prevent overheating, much like we do during hot days or physical exertion. Soft robots are already useful because they can resist damage and grasp slippery things, but sweating…
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AI & RoboticsNews

Nest is testing detecting HVAC problems with AI

Owners of Nest-branded thermostats will soon see their systems improved with a new feature designed to detect problems in heating and cooling (HVAC) systems. Google today announced that it’s testing algorithms tailored to identify “unusual patterns” related to HVAC systems controlled by Nest, which can then alert users to issues and put them in touch with a maintenance professional. Based on…
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