Shamayita Acharya

By Lance Eliot, the AI Trends Insider Norfolk Southern Corp is doing a makeover of some rather convoluted trainyards. Turns out there are freight railroads that funnel into hubs that have been run the same way for over a century. Generally, freight trains roll into these hectic hubs, the workhorse trains sit around idly waiting for their cargo, and when things seem to reach a suitable readiness of loaded trains ready to roll, the freight trains then head-out on their treks. It is reportedly a remarkably ad hoc activity and overseen by a seat-of-the-pants approach. The hope by several of the major train firms, acting as freight haulers, will be to transform this seemingly chaotic hub activity into a precision of scheduling and efficiency. By revamping the freight train operations, there are intentions to make this complicated dance into one that is tightly woven with specific entry and exit times, predicted in-advance, and carefully tracked schedules. Presumably, this will allow f...

By AI Trends Staff AI is being employed in a wide range of efforts to explore and study space, including the study of exoplanets by NASA, the support of satellites by ESA, development of an empathic assistant for astronauts and efforts to track space debris. NASA scientists are partnering with AI experts from companies including Intel, IBM and Google to apply advanced computer algorithms to problems in space science. Machine learning is seen as helping space scientists to learn from data generated by telescopes and observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope, according to a recent account from NASA. “These technologies are very important, especially for big data sets and in the exoplanet field,” stated Giada Arney, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. (Exoplanets are beyond the solar system.)  “Because the data we’re going to get from future observations is going to be sparse and noisy, really hard to understand So using these kind...

By AI Trends Staff Barclays Bank is emerging as an innovator in the use of AI in financial services. The UK bank, ranked 20th on the S&P Global’s list of the top 100 banks, works with suppliers of AI products and services more than it develops AI applications in house, according to a recent account from  emerj . Here are three AI initiatives underway at Barclays and the industry partners working on each one: Risk Modeling with Simudyne, employs predictive analytics to assess loan risk Voice Recognition for Authentication, with Nuance, aims to apply verification and authentication using voice recognition; Business Process Automation with IBM, a project to automate debit card deactivation, and analyze customer feedback. London-based Simudyne , founded in 2007, offers simulation software that models complex transactions with large data sets. The company uses “agent-based modeling” to execute banking tasks using simulated transactions and customers, resulting in detailed p...

By John P. Desmond, AI Trends Editor AI is being incorporated into architecture in a range of ways today, from evaluations of the efficiency of construction to simulations of human movement in the space. Some examples of how AI is being incorporated into architecture shed light on where things are now and where they are headed. Philips Lighting Headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands, is experimenting with lighting as the center point of a design project, according to a recent account in archdaily.com . The project proposal describes a parametric designed “tree” which is made up of 1,500 “leaves” that hang suspended from the ceiling. AI is incorporated in the programming of the panels to deliver different lighting scenarios in a non-repetitive way. The Amaro Stores in Brazil were founded on a concept of combining in-person physical shopping and an online experience. The Sao Paulo-based firm, founded in 2012 as an e-commerce website, started opening “Guide Shops” in Rio De Janeiro ...

By AI Trends Staff The worldwide fight against COVID-19 continues to challenge AI experts. The Pope issued a challenge for AI experts to develop an “ethical algorithm” that would ensure fairness; Some new AI research shows how people are feeling about the virus. Other researchers are experimenting with the use of sound to detect the virus. Shortly before the Vatican closed due to the virus, members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, which researches bioethics and Catholic moral theology, worked on getting a commitment from AI developers to write an “ethical” algorithm in each AI system, according to an account in SSPX.news , the communication agency of the Society of St. Pius, based in Paris. “Following the example of electricity, AI is not necessary to perform a specific action, it is rather intended to change the way, the mode with which we carry out our daily actions,” stated Fr. Paolo Benanti, a professor of moral theology and bioethics at the Pontifical Gregorian University i...

IT Outsourcing is one of the most flourishing fields in the world. IT outsourcing is nothing new, but it is continuously growing. More and more businesses have realized the importance of outsourcing and have consulted various outsourcing companies for the services. However, amidst this tough situation, the pandemic, the IT outsourcing industry has been affected as well. COVID-19 has impacted almost everything in the world, including the IT outsourcing industry. However, the impact isn’t as predictable or expected as it was supposed to be. In some places, the impact has been severe, however, in some areas, the impact hasn’t been much. It depends on a lot of factors. In this article, we will discuss a few things that have impacted the industry, both positively and negatively. The positive impact First, let’s talk about the positive impact of IT Outsourcing. The world is accepting the new way of working, and therefore, a lot of demand for the IT industry. IT industry has been working tire...

Throughout human history, it is safe to say that we have put the planet through more than our fair share of grief and turmoil. Through unprecedented revolutions set in stone with the aim of furthering our own progress and longevity as a dominant species, we have changed the world time and again. Some of these changes have proven to be positive, while others have proven to be quite the opposite. It all depends not on the intent of the initial actions that spur on the evolution, but on the consequences, on how the chips fall. In recent months, we have seen one of the worst evolutions in a long time. In fact, for many of us, this is the first (and hopefully the last) time we have lived to see a pandemic rise and play out around the globe. The ongoing now-global Coronavirus pandemic has drastically revolutionised the world as we know it in just about every possible way. Believe it or not, we can become more digitally and technologically inclined (or obsessed, if you will). We have never se...

As technology advances, traditional financial assets like insurance policies will have to change if they want to compete in our world. Other financial sectors have embraced blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies while insurance lags behind — leaving the industry saddled with expensive, inefficient processes.Customers and clients in the insurance world want to know how blockchain technology can improve their experience with insurance. Does it get cheaper? Faster? Will this make car insurance companies non-existent? Here’s what you need to know.Blockchain and insuranceInsurance processes are very antiquated. Paper contracts and brokers acting as middlemen are just two examples of how the insurance industry is stuck in the past.Every extra step in the process is another place where information can be tampered with or lost. When contracts are processed on paper, unnecessary steps are taken to set up a policy; this leaves more room for error and fraud. The FBI estimates that fraud accou...

In the tech industry, not many businesses consider their brand strategy too profoundly. This failing means that instead of standing out in an already saturated field, they just form part of the background. A brand strategy focuses on promoting the company's image to the consumer. As The Balance SMB notes, a brand is an item or characteristic that marks a particular business as unique. A brand doesn't necessarily have to be as recognizable as Dermani Medspa, for example, but it helps to connect to clients when they are. Tech companies need a brand strategy because they're trying to connect their userbase to their product. They're trying to leverage their core audience's loyalty to market their services. Doing so requires breaking down the elements of the brand's image.Getting the Value Proposition RightOne of the things that marketing students learn early on is how important branding is for a company's success. Information Week notes a concept known as functi...

The onslaught of data security breaches today is relentless, with thousands of major breaches each year and 50 percent more breaches in 2019 vs. 2018, according to a report by Risk Based Security. The costs for each breach have burgeoned as well, with the average cost of a data breach at about $3.92 million.Securing data from breaches not only spares bottom line and publicity, it's now also a basic legal requirement to comply with rapidly growing data privacy laws.While organizations have long had to comply with industry-specific standards, such as HIPAA in healthcare and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), you now also face new consumer privacy regulations. Including:GDPR from the European UnionCalifornia Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).Protecting data starts with data governance, the process of creating and enforcing rules & policies to ensure information is formally and prop...

Big Data has filled an essential role in healthcare. It's immediately apparent applications as a means of storing and recalling patient medical history pales in comparison to what else that data can be used for. Big Data, from an enterprise perspective, deals with the collection of multiple streams of information from various sources. These data packets are collected and processed (usually in real-time) to offer insights based on that data. However, patient medical data is confidential, or at least it should be. As The Guardian informs us, the total collected worth of the British NHS's client data is in the billions. It raises the questions as to whether utilizing Big Data is more of a curse than a blessing.Who Has Your Data?Big Data is a double-edged sword for the healthcare industry. Not only is patient data a sensitive issue, but recent leaks in other sectors have raised doubts in the safety of user data overall. According to Forbes, in July 2019, the British Parliament agre...

The worlds of business and retail never stay still for very long. New innovations and technologies appear that can turn entire industries on their head in a moment and if you are not paying attention to them, you can quickly get left behind by your rivals and competitors.3D printing is one of these new technologies looking to revolutionise the sector and it will affect every industry around the world. However, one of it’s more significant effects is that it is currently playing a key role in transforming the supply chain. It is impacting every stage of the product development lifecycle, from the inception of the product itself to the very nature of the packaging, presentation and delivery processes associated with it. Firstly, if you are unaware, 3D printing is a process of using a three-dimensional digital model to create a physical object by adding many thin layers of material in succession. So let’s take a look at how 3D printing affects supply chain and just what is the role of 3D ...

Understanding Dedicated ServersWhen we consider the web hosting business, a dedicated server depicts the rental and exclusive usage of a computer that comprises a web server and its related software along with an Internet connection. Usually, the dedicated servers connected to the Internet are present at the web hosting company’s premises only. A business needs dedicated servers for websites that may drive quite significant traffic volume in a day. However, the dedicated servers can also be configured and operated remotely from the client’s end as well. While renting out a dedicated server, the client might need a single system or a cluster of similar operating systems. A rented dedicated server has a static amount of memory, hard disk space along with bandwidth.Types of BackupsNow that we have understood what dedicated servers are let’s understand what are the different types of backups that you can have-RAID BackupsRAID is a simple method that can be introduced for enhancing the data...

With the technological advances in big data and how we collect, process, and analyze it, marketing as we know it has changed through the years. Data-driven strategies have pushed the envelope when it comes to predicting customer behavior and adapting approaches accordingly. It allows for the creation of relevant experiences that are tailor-made to address customer demands and expectations.Data-driven marketing is considered the next generation of marketing because it provides insights into customers that were very hard to come by before. While marketing instinct is helpful, it’s just intelligent guessing at best, if not backed by relevant data. A data-driven marketing strategy involves the collection and processing of large data sets to help predict customer behavior in relation to market positioning, brand perception, and new products or feature launches.Why Choose Data-driven Marketing?In today’s always-connected, always-online world, customer expectation has jumped and businesses ha...

How does an insurance company determine who is and who isn’t eligible for a policy? How do they decide on the premium that must be paid? How do they know which claims should be settled and which are fraudulent? The answers to all these questions can be unlocked using data.As we all know, insurance is a customer centric industry and highly dependent on data. It would be fair to call data the foundation for the industry. Just as how a house built on a weak foundation will collapse, an insurance company that uses poor quality data cannot be expected to be successful. Let’s find out how data quality can make or break your insurance business. 4 Ways poor data quality affect the insurance industry?Well, improving data quality is a fundamental challenge for this sector. Some of the ways it can create roadblocks for the insurance industry are:1. It Compromises Customer ExperienceApart from the policies offered, it’s the ease of applying for an insurance policy and the customer experience that ...

It is the successive wave of development in the arena of technology that has redefined the world with myriad of marvels. The business world is harnessing the benefits of cloud and IoT security. Cloud is going to influence and dominate the business world for quite a few years with its wonderful features such as pay-per-use pricing, cheap storage, on-demand resources, and disaster recovery. With the convenience and promising features of advanced tech, the incidents of security breaches are increasing every single day. An upsetting number of data breaching incidents have been recorded in recent times which jeopardized the efficacy of the cloud technology, the most innovative infrastructure advancement of contemporary times. To secure the efficiency of the cloud security solution, a new approach has emerged known as Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP). Definition of Software-Defined Perimeter Software-Defined Perimeter is an innovative approach to the security of computer systems in...

By John P. Desmond, AI Trends Editor A three-year effort by hundreds of engineers worldwide resulted in the publication in March of 2019 of Ethically Aligned Design (EAD) for Business, a guide for policymakers, engineers, designers, developers and corporations. The effort was headed by the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (A/IS), with John C. Havens as Executive Director, who spoke to AI Trends for an Executive Interview. We recently connected to ask how the effort has been going. Here is an update. EAD First Edition , a 290-page document which Havens refers to as “applied ethics,” has seen some uptake, for example by IBM, which referred to the IEEE effort within their own resource called Everyday Ethics for AI  The IBM document is 26 pages, easy to digest, structured into five areas of focus, each with recommended action steps and an example. The example for Accountability involved an AI team developing applications for a hotel. Among the ...