Global HITSS and La Revolución Digital
Midway up an office tower in Plaza Carso—the sprawling retail, office, and residential space in Mexico City—Oscar Márquez is planning how to usher the Slim family empire (and, if possible, much of Latin America) safely through the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Márquez is chief technology officer for Global HITSS, a unit of América Móvil, the biggest […]
Product Management 2.0: Lessons from Google in Building AI Products in the Software 2.0 World
In November 2017, the Director of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Tesla wrote a post on Medium stating that neural networks “represent the beginning of a fundamental shift in how we write software.” Rather than coding rules line by line for each module, neural networks are trained on labeled data which they use to discern their […]
The Future of Protein: Crickets and Microlivestock
The first time Mohammed Ashour ate a cricket was on live TV. He was on air that morning in 2013 to represent his company, Aspire Food Group, whose model for farming bugs — or euphemistically, “microlivestock” — had landed in the finals for a million dollar social entrepreneurship prize. But Ashour had never actually eaten […]
Why Does This Robot Face Creep Me Out?
In a 1970 issue of a little-known Japanese magazine called Energy, roboticist Masahiro Mori first coined the term “bukimi no tani”—literally, “the uncanny valley.” He explained that objects, such as robots or toys, become more endearing as they become more human-like. However, at a certain threshold of human likeness, the object turns creepy and off-putting. […]
The Ethical Algorithm
AI’s calculating algorithms are often touted as the unbiased, exact answer, but recent cases of people failed by an automated system question this notion. How can we keep AI ethical? Artificial intelligence (AI) is often touted as the enlightened path to decision-making free of human bias. Whereas we humans are subject to favoritism, nostalgia, racism, […]
From the Reins of Cisco to Raising Unicorns
John Chambers knows how to spot them. Market transitions, great leaders, technological shifts, and promising companies—the “unicorns” set to become billion-dollar enterprises. In 20 years as CEO at Cisco, Chambers helped at least 10,000 of his employees become millionaires. He oversaw 180 acquisitions. He grew the company’s assets from the millions to the multi-billions. Along […]
AI Behind The Light Switch: The Future of Power Utility
The invention of the commercially viable light bulb is one of the iconic stories of 19th-century technology. Thomas Edison developed a personal and transformative vision, ran countless experiments, and emerged with not just a working prototype but also a lasting business empire that would serve as the model for the new utility industry. Today, however, […]
The Driverless Future of Racing
Since the beginning of auto racing, the stars of the sport have been the drivers, whose skill and fearlessness make them internationally famous and fabulously wealthy. But what happens as the world moves closer to self-driving cars? Will racing be the same without these daredevils behind the wheel? That’s what Roborace aims to find out. […]
Robot Soccer Offers a Peek Into AI’s Future
Messi Vs. Ronaldo …or Mr. Roboto? On a hot Central Texas afternoon in the middle of June, members of SparkCognition’s marketing and communications team were spectators during soccer practice at the University of Texas at Austin. The players weren’t running up and down the field and they hadn’t broken a sweat — they weren’t even […]
Robert Work Envisions the Path Forward for AI
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, dubbed Sputnik, into Earth’s orbit as the world watched in awe. This metal sphere, only the size of a beach ball, ended up spurring a technological “space race” between two competing adversaries and created a tension that has lingered for decades. The Sputnik […]