The first phase of the UNOSAT Challenge has just ended. The UNOSAT Challenge is the important Phi-Unet (ESA) contest for UNOSAT (United Nations) in partnership with ESA, RUS COPERNICUS, UNOSAT and with the technical support of CERN openlab.

The aim of the contest is to put artificial intelligence and Earth Observation data at the service of a humanitarian cause: support the Iraqi government in planning reconstruction activities.

71 teams of candidates (companies/startups and students) joined the competition.

In the first phase, candidates were asked to create an artificial intelligence model to identify urban areas in some Iraqi territories, working on data provided by ESA and the German Space Agency (DLR).

At the end of this phase, 5 teams were selected. These teams will enter Phase 2 and will continue in the competition.

The selection was made through an innovative artificial intelligence system for an automatic evaluation (quantitative criterion) of the projects together with the technical opinion of a jury of 21 experts coming from the prestigious partner organizations (qualitative criterion).

The AI evaluation system was developed by the Phi-Unet Team.

In addition to the 5 winners, the best student of the first phase was given the possibility of a traineeship in UNOSAT in Geneva.

The five winning teams of the first phase will have the opportunity not only to win a monetary prize but also to work on VHR (Very High Resolution) material provided directly by UNOSAT with the technical support of CERN openlab to build an artificial intelligence model that can extract automatically the building footprints in Iraq.

This request comes from a United Nations fund that supports the Iraqi government in the 2020 census, a precious source of information for planning reconstruction and development activities in the territory.

Related LinksUNOSAT ChallengeEarth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application

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The $750,000 donation will launch the Scotiabank AI & Society Initiative

OTTAWA , Jan. 29, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, Scotiabank announced a donation of $750,000 to the University of Ottawa to launch the Scotiabank AI & Society Initiative.

Scotiabank (CNW Group/Scotiabank)

The Scotiabank AI & Society Initiative will initiate two research projects. AI & Inclusion will support research focused on design ethics and inclusive AI systems, while AI & Regulation will explore global AI regulations and their impact on Canadian policy makers. Scotiabank's philanthropic investment will support educational opportunities such as postdoctoral fellowships, international internships, and research fellowships for students, and support experiential learning for students, as they learn to use artificial intelligence to transform life and work across multiple facets of industry and society. As the technology evolves, Scotiabank is committed to supporting communities of expertise for the ethical use of AI across society.

"At Scotiabank, our investment in AI goes beyond the implementation of new tools and technologies," saysLora Paglia, Senior Vice President of Global Risk Management, Analytics. "We are committed to being leaders in the development of principles, guidelines and training for the appropriate application of this powerful technology. This partnership with the University of Ottawa allows us to help our future leaders as they build the future of AI."

"uOttawa is pleased to accept this generous gift from Scotiabank, which will further strengthen our proven capacity to provide Canadians with leading-edge research and regulatory guidance for the ethical use of AI in business, in medicine and elsewhere in our daily lives," Says Jacques Frmont, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ottawa."As we shift more and more of our social decision-making to intelligent algorithms, it is vital that we also critically assess the implications of these tools to ensure that they are designed and managed for the benefit of all. By supporting this work, Scotiabank's gift will ultimately benefit all Canadians."

The Scotiabank AI & Society Initiative will help to identify solutions to essential issues related to ethical AI and technology development, and will offer students opportunities to gain experience in an emerging field that will have profound implications for Canadian society in the years to come.

Scotiabank believes that this investment in education is an investment in the long-term security, stability and growth in the future of our communities. Investments in academic institutions position young people to acquire the skills and resources necessary to support their success in the digital economy and Scotiabank looks forward to witnessing the resulting accomplishments and milestones in the years ahead.

"The rapid pace of AI development adds to the challenges facing modern societies, their citizens and raises multiple ethical, legal, and policy issues. For 20 years, uOttawa has been a global leader of the conversation technology law, ethics and policy for the benefits of Canadians and the rest of the world. Building on those previous successes, the new initiative will help shape a more inclusive digital society," says Dr. Florian Martin-Bariteau , who will lead the new AI + Society Initiative.

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About Scotiabank

Scotiabank isa leading bank in the Americas. We are here for every future. We help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than100,000 employeesand assets ofover $1 trillion(as atOctober 31, 2019), Scotiabank trades on theToronto Stock Exchange(BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (BNS). For more information, please visitand follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

About University of Ottawa

As the world's largest bilingual (French-English) university, the University of Ottawa is committed to academic and research excellence and values cultural diversity, equity and inclusion. With more than 24 interdisciplinary research centres, institutes and a hub, uOttawa promotes dynamic research collaboration and leverages Ottawa's government laboratories, industry and policymakers. The University of Ottawa is a leader in developing responsible AI through research, training and innovation that integrate disciplines and communities for the benefit of Canada and the world. For more information, please visit:https://research.uottawa.ca/special-projects/artificial-intelligence.

SOURCE Scotiabank

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Scotiabank Helps Shape the Future of Artificial Intelligence with Donation to the University of Ottawa - Yahoo Finance

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Are you likewise the one, considering making yourself something new a thankful when it jumps on your piece of pondering seeking after your energy in 2020.

On the off chance that this is so you, at that point we are certain while you are setting aside a few minutes for your own vocation and the innovation information move, you would be taking an interest in, ensure you find a good pace things in the correct manner and in this way, you will be taking assistance of the things to assist you with getting your profession propelled in the correct way.

With such a significant number of blasting profession choices in the innovation part, it is so astounding to take note of that things would be acceptable on the off chance that one considers ensuring, the means taken in the correct point of view are constantly more prominent and much better to consider.

All things considered, the most buzz making things of 2020 in the innovation area are Artificial Intelligence or the extremely popular AI, Machine learning and the information science advancements.

Yet, the most occurring of these three, the AI has been certainly taken into such huge numbers of possibilities while choosing to manufacture a cell phone and continue improving the different sorts of changes they could make in the different stuffs identified with AI and in this way they can think about the things to assist them with making the innovation, considerably additionally conciliating and savvier for the individuals around!

Things being what they are, what do you think when the word AI begins ringing?

Well for a large number of the shaft, when they contemplate AI, in the event that they are basic man, they can just include in their answers the correct sort of camera mode or the manner in which the machine respond and react to the human act or any sort of human need!

In any case, when one goes to the real state of what is Ai, it would be unquestionably right thing to make reference to that AI is tied in with making the machines so brilliant, they really pre-gain proficiency with the carry on of people in specific conditions and react as indicated by that.

How AI could be gainful to the individuals around?

Well with regards to the normal, man, the entirety of the advances are made useful for them to appreciate and carry on with a recreation life. This aides in ensuring that individuals would get it extremely simple way with regards to ensuring things would find a good pace of made basically simple and on the more prominent note of making things sifted through!

Indeed, with regards to the point of making a profession, it is appropriately said and done that one could take up the accompanying things when individuals would consider making a vocation in the innovation world, utilizing the open doors that comes roped in the conceivable outcomes of man-made brainpower courses.

Few are referenced beneath:

What are the benefits of Artificial Intelligence?

1) Time saving

Man-made reasoning helps manage tedious and overwhelming undertakings, for example, credit scoring, performing historical verifications, breaking down documentation and drafting ends, and so on.

High-preparing PC power, supported with productive calculations permit organizations to essentially improve their procedures. For instance, JP Morgans Contract Intelligence framework (COIN) can essentially abbreviate the time expected to decipher business credit understandings.

The bank uncovers that the 12 000 agreements that are being prepared on a yearly premise are presently broke down in only seconds, rather than the 360 000 hours that workers recently required so as to satisfy such errand.

The opportunity to dispose of such commonplace assignments from human remaining task at hand timetable helps increment efficiency and saves time for taking care of progressively complex errands.

2) Helps to improve forms

One of the most overwhelming procedures inside money related organizations is misrepresentation identification. Man-made reasoning enhances such tedious and complex undertakings by utilizing propelled systems, for example, design acknowledgment.

That way, oversight specialists and loan specialists can without much of a stretch recognize fakes and illegal tax avoidance.

Because of the high productivity of the utilized calculations, the few components (source/goal of the installment, client name, business element subtleties, history and so forth.) that ought to be taken as a top priority for fake exercises to be recognized, are handled in a snappy and upgraded way.

3) Reduces blunders

As humans outstanding burden expands, the effectiveness and precision of the performed undertakings diminishes, hence making the persons work progressively inclined to blunders. With machines, there is no such hazard as everything works precisely as modified.

This is a significant preferred position for high-exactness works in segments, for example, space investigation, where there are no edges for blunder.

4) A less expensive arrangement in the long haul

The mechanization of procedures inside foundations decreases costs and improve activities. By designating low-level errands to PCs, organizations can decrease their staff and cut their compensation bill.

Man-made brainpower adds to the money related soundness of the organization in the respect that the main venture that is required is the underlying one for the improvement and the combination of the framework. Then again, if similar undertakings were performed by people, the costs will be progressing every month.

5) Contributes to worldwide development

Figures from Stanford Universitys Annual Artificial Intelligence Index Report feature the exceptional ongoing blast in the AI specialty with 14x progressively dynamic US new companies concentrated on AI improvement since 2000.

Aside from that, the investigation calls attention to that today there are 6x progressively yearly VC speculations into U.S. Man-made reasoning new businesses since 2000, just as 4.5x more employments requiring Artificial insight aptitudes, when contrasted with the most recent 5 years.

What are the disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence?

1) Lack of job roles

The significant disadvantage of man-made reasoning is related with work misfortunes. Specialists propose as a main contention that PCs will gradually, however without a doubt overwhelm people in numerous parts.

Also, in all actuality this has just begun to occur with PCs turning out to be ever-present in production lines, monetary organizations, papers, shops, and so forth.

In spite of the fact that for the time being, A.I. is capable for the most part for essential, clear assignments, for example, running sequential construction systems, arranging and breaking down information, and so forth., sooner rather than later it is relied upon to deal with far progressively natural and urgent procedures.

Indeed, PCs are as of now equipped for composing articles and preparing installments in self-administration shops which implies that when more positions are lost because of the advancement in AI may not be so inaccessible.

2) Risk of sweeping off the humankind

Such a situation has motivated bunches of Hollywood preparations. In spite of the fact that it is very overstated to accept that PCs will turn into our foes, it is increasingly sensible to dread of circumstances where we cant clarify the purposes for the choices machines are making.

For instance, a couple of months back, the CEO of a $97 billion man-made brainpower multifaceted investments, uncovered that even the designers of their appropriateness framework couldnt comprehend and clarify its exchanging choices, despite the fact that they lead to colossal benefits.

On the off chance that such situations mean different ventures, the outcomes might be dreadfully eccentric.

3) Lack of suitable judgment abilities

What separates PCs and people (and will keep on doing as such sooner rather than later) is AIs absence of judgment aptitudes. PCs cant contextualize data and take sensible activities as per a particular circumstance.

They are modified to settle on decisions upon pre-customized rules and situations. In any case, in reality, a few circumstances require for the data and the conditions to be removed from the specific situation and be investigated in a progressively untraditional manner.

This, for the time being, stays a difficult to-increase quality.

4) Same repetitive mode!

Truly we are yet to uncover how our cerebrum takes a shot at training. In any case, the one thing that we are sure of is the way that innovativeness is regular just for people.

PCs, then again, cant act in an inventive and startling approach to comprehend a specific issue. What they will do is follow normal advances and a pre-characterized philosophy, which in phenomenal circumstances, will turn out insufficient.

Despite the fact that PCs can learn by improving time, their capacity to respond in strange circumstances wont get fundamentally improved. Innovativeness remains and will keep on outstanding the primary concern that separates people from machines.

5) AI stays restricted to the nature of the information it is nourished with

The effectiveness of the AI calculations behind AI-put together arrangements is intensely trustworthy with respect to the nature of data that they are bolstered with.

Much the same as the case with money related information, in numerous ventures, the information can in some cases be insufficient, one-sided or fragmented. This frequently influences contrarily the finishes of AI-based arrangements. In spite of the fact that this isnt an issue brought about by AI knowledge legitimately, it despite everything limits its proficiency.

Conclusion

None of the technological change is easy to be digested with people. But there are loads of changes that come along and are not at all easy to get rid of or get adjusted in an easy way.

When one thinks of having the right kind of artificial intelligence certification, it is definitely not about making sure that things are going in the right manner from the start itself, but it is a lot about making the right kind of option, when it comes to the part of attaining an artificial Intelligence training.

Author Bio:- My name is Priyanka Srivastava, currently working as a Digital Marketing Manager in IgmGuru. I handle all the digital marketing strategies like Blogging, SEO, SMO, PPC. I have 5 years of experience in Blogging on latest technology. This will help people gather some information and an amazing kind of settlement that could be brought in ones career graph.

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Pros And Cons Of Artificial Intelligence - TechBullion

Radiflow, a provider of cybersecurity solutions for industrial automation networks, and the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation (Fraunhofer IOSB), a prominent research institute for applied science in Germany, today announced the launch of a joint research project for applying advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to cybersecurity for industrial automation networks.

For this research project, Radiflow and Fraunhofer IOSB will collaborate on developing machine learning methods and artificial intelligence techniques for allowing the autonomous detection of non-compliant and anomalous behaviors on industrial automation networks. This applied research will involve evaluating graph-based and semantic approaches for event correlation and context awareness in order to develop these new machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities.

The outcome of this research will be the development of a prototype for an Autonomous Industrial Cybersecurity Assistance System (AICAS) that expands on existing approaches for detecting deviations and anomalies to a baseline of network behaviors on OT networks. This prototype will be designed to self learn the underlying behaviors an of industrial automation networks and the functions of the connected assets in order to dynamically detect new and unknown cyberthreats.

The question of how AI can enhance industrial cybersecurity to better respond to changing OT environments and new attack techniques is timely and essential, said Dr.-Ing. Christian Haas, Group Manager at Fraunhofer IOSB. Radiflow and its extensive experience working with industrial enterprises and critical infrastructure operators make the company the ideal research partner for applying AI to the industrial cybersecurity domain.

The funding for this research project, which is scheduled to last two years, was granted by the Innovation Authority in Israel and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany.

At the conclusion of this research project, Radiflow intends to incorporate the new capabilities of this AICAS prototype into itsiSID industrial threat detection system.

Determining if abnormal behavior has been caused by normal operational activities or by cyber-attackers is critical for understanding and securing an OT network, explained Yehonatan Kfir, CTO of Radiflow. AI holds the potential to improve the situational awareness of OT networks by efficiently distinguishing between abnormal behavior that was caused by normal operations and abnormal behavior that is connected to a cyberattack.

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Joint Research on Applying Artificial Intelligence to Industrial Cybersecurity - Novus Light Technologies Today

WINNIPEG -- The lead singer of the Canadian rock group Moist and four-time Juno winner David Usher was a in Winnipeg Thursday, but not for his music.

The rocker is also a tech entrepreneur in the area of artificial intelligence and he was showing off his new artificial being.

"I was born six months ago. I'm a child really," said Ophelia, an artificial intelligence created by Usher.

Ophelia isn't much different from other artificial intelligence systems like Siri or Alexa, but her purpose is.

Usher said while other AI is used to collect data, Ophelia is used to have a conversation. Every time she talks with someone, she learns more about how to communicate.

"We're really concerned about the conversation cloud that really is much more about human emotions and human contact. Those kind of things, life and death and love and feeling and birth," said Usher, who is the founder of Reimagine AI.

Usher said this sort of tech can be used for thing such as greeting guests at hotels, acting as a host at museums or helping people in hospitals.

In collaboration with Sheldon Memory Lab at McGill University, Usher is helping develop a companion bot for Alzheimer patients.

"Our AIs can come on and recognize them by name and initiate engagement to do some of those things that they've forgotten that they like to do."

Kathy Knight, CEO of Tech Manitoba, said the use of AI is growing in Manitoba and with it, so is automation.

That's a one of the topics of conversation going on at a tech conference at the RBC Convention Centre Thursday and Friday, which is entitled, Disrupted.

"To actually get people to think about the human side of tech and think about how all of this change is affecting the people we live with and work with everyday, and how do we bring them along," said Knight.

While Usher said there are concerns about what people will do with AI in the future, he chooses to look at the good instead.

"You don't have to build the smartest AI, you just have to build something that can help," said Usher.

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Lead singer of Moist has created an artificial intelligence named Ophelia - CTV News

As technology continues to advance, it gives cybercriminals more tools to defraud consumers and in turn, companies are fighting back with artificial intelligence (AI). This gives disruptive-focused ETFs more prominence as AI sets out to fight the good fight.

In response, many financial sector companies are adopting AI to combat both staff and customer fraud, wrote Jeff Palmer in IT Pro Portal. Banks already use AI to detect and prevent payment fraud and employ image-recognition systems for security. What is less widely known is that some companies are also now successfully using AI to comb call records for GDPR breaches or even monitor live calls to flag mis-selling and rogue trading in real-time.

Among the variety of applications of AI in the financial sector is speech recognition, which offers numerous possibilities, including voice-based account servicing, robo-advice, autonomous analysis of audio archives and live sentiment analysis of customer calls as well as the real-time transcription of any audio feed to allow instant decisions to be made, Palmer added. Giants such as Deloitte are now using AI to help enforce compliance and mine their audio data for additional business insights. For instance, automated speech recognition (ASR) technology in audio monitoring can set live triggers on chosen keywords, which can include major financial announcements and other announcements that can have an impact on share prices. This monitoring capability can also detect potential issues, signs of insider trading and patterns of misconduct such as rogue trading.

As AI continues to become a major component of the intelligence community, security-focused ETFs can benefit further, such as theFirst Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (NYSEArca: CIBR)and theETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (NYSEArca: HACK).

First up, CIBR seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield f an equity index known as the Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity IndexSM. The index is comprised of securities of companies classified as cybersecurity companies by the CTA.

Next, HACK seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Prime Cyber Defense Index. The index tracks the performance of the exchange-listed equity securities of companies across the globe that (i) engage in providing cybersecurity applications or services as a vital component of its overall business or (ii) provide hardware or software for cybersecurity activities as a vital component of its overall business.

For a broad play in disruptive tech, investors can look at theGlobal X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic ETF (NasdaqGM: BOTZ). BOTZ seeks to invest in companies that potentially stand to benefit from increased adoption and utilization of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), including those involved with industrial robotics and automation, non-industrial robots, and autonomous vehicles.

For more market trends, visit ETF Trends.

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As Cyber Fraud Increases, Its Artificial Intelligence to The Rescue - ETF Trends

Conversational AI Market Research Report: By Component (Platform, Service), Deployment (Cloud, On-Premises), Type (Chatbot, IVA, IVR), Industry (BFSI, Retail and E-Commerce, Healthcare, Hospitality, Telecom, Media and Entertainment), Technology (Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Automated Speech Recognition), Application (Customer Support , Personal Assistant, Branding and Advertisement, Customer Engagement and Retention, Onboarding and Employee Engagement), Geographical Outlook (U.

New York, Jan. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Conversational AI Market" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05842913/?utm_source=GNW S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Russia, Italy, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Turkey, South Africa) - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2024

In 2018, the conversational artificial intelligence (AI) market generated $3.2 billion and is predicted to reach $15.0 billion in 2024, advancing at a 30.2% CAGR during 20192024. The market is growing due to the rising demand for AI-powered customer support services, positive return on investment (ROI) for companies deploying conversational AI solutions, and increasing number of solution providers in the market. Conversational AI refers to the application of intelligent virtual assistants (IVA), intelligent interactive voice response (IVR), and chatbots in different industries for automating interactions with the customer and creating a personalized customer experience. On the basis of technology, the conversational AI market is divided into automated speech recognition, natural language processing, machine learning, and others (which include cognitive computing, computer vision, image processing, and video recognition). During the forecast period, the machine learning division is predicted to witness the fastest growth. The reason for this is that the conversational AI solutions are able to learn from previous responses to several queries, with the help of this technology, which further increases the ability of machines in answering questions. In terms of application, the conversational AI market is categorized into onboarding and employee engagement, branding and advertisement, customer support, customer engagement and retention, and personal assistant. The personal assistant category is predicted to grow at the fastest CAGR, of 31.0%, during the forecast period. This is because of the conversational AI solutions, such as IVA and chatbots, that act as a personal assistant and are able to control ones schedule and organize social and business meetings on behalf of the person. The technology further conveys such details to the person through webpage, calendar, and inbox.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05842913/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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The conversational artificial intelligence (AI) market generated $3.2 billion and is predicted to reach $15.0 billion in 2024, advancing at a 30.2%...

The vast majority of what we do will disappear into the regular tools agents use every day, Compass CTO Joseph Sirosh said on stage at Inman Connect New York.

Amid all the market place disruption, news-making acquisitions and lawsuits Joseph Sirosh, the chief technology officer at the well-funded brokerage Compass, believes the companys goal and mission are pretty straightforward.

Joseph Sirosh | Photo credit: Compass

Compass, to me, is an idea, Sirosh said at Inman Connect in New York on Thursday. Agents grow their business and we invest as much as possible in agents growing their business with technology.

Compass has grown its technology team massively in the past year, nearly tripling it since Sirosh took the role. The company has pulled in talent from some of the worlds top technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and Google.

Among the key areas Compass has focused is artificial intelligence (AI), Sirosh, the former CTO of AI at Microsoft and the CTO of consumer at Amazon, told Clelia Peters, the president of Warburg Realty and Inmans editor-at-large, atInman Connectat the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

AI in real estate, according to Sirosh, is going to empower both the consumer and the agent. Compass, right now, is incorporating predictive AI into its search tools.

With even a few letters being typed, you pick the right search query, Sirosh said.

Eventually, the search will be smarter, thanks to AI. Consumers will be able to search by picture, like throwing a photo of a craftsman-style home into a reverse image search to bring up photos of other craftsman homes on the market, whereas right now, most home searches are limited to geographical locations, and numbers of beds or bathrooms.

Compass is also powering its customer relationship management tool (CRM) with artificial intelligence, by helping agents stay on top of their sphere.

Staying in touch with your sphere of influence is hard work, you have thousands of contacts, Sirosh said. Lots of agents tell me they have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because they didnt follow up. Consistency of follow up is one of the most challenging things.

Eventually, artificial intelligence will power the platform experience in real estate, Sirosh explained, where the entire ecosystem of what the agent and consumer needs will be connected in one place. The platform begins with listings, where the agents can acquire a listing, make it searchable, price it and market it. Then on the other side, the agent can organize listings for consumers, schedule tours and the consumer can even make an offer.

It sounds all obvious but the reality is, this is done in a fragmented way, Sirosh said.

Sirosh compared it to the experience of listening to music. It used to be recorded in an analog way from a guitar, then pressed into a record and youd go to the record store and buy a physical record by word of mouth or someone elses recommendation. Now, AI pushes recommendations right to an app on your phone and your music listening and discovery journey is guided by AI.

Getting agents to adopt technology is always a challenge, of course, but Sirosh explained that the best technology is the technology you dont even know is there.

The vast majority of what we do will disappear into the regular tools agents use every day, Sirosh said. [Those tools] will become more simple and effective.

Email Patrick Kearns

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Heres how Compass uses artificial intelligence to support its agents - Inman

Last November, Brookings published a report on artificial intelligences impact on the workplace that immediately raised eyebrows. Many readers, journalists, and even experts were perplexed by the reports primary finding: that, for the most part, it is better-paid, better-educated white-collar workers who are most exposed to AIs potential economic disruption.

This conclusionby authors Mark Muro, Robert Maxim, and Jacob Whitonseemed to fly in the face of the popular understanding of technologys future effects on workers. For years, weve been hearing about how these advancements will force mainly blue-collar, lower-income workers out of jobs, as robotics and technology slowly consume those industries.

In an article about the November report, The Mercury News outlined this discrepancy: The study released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution seems to contradict findings from previous studiesincluding Brookings ownthat showed lower-skilled workers will be most affected by robots and automation, which can involve AI.

One of the previous studies that article refers to is likely Brookingss January 2019 report (also written by Muro, Maxim, and Whiton) titled Automation and Artificial Intelligence: How machines are affecting people and places. And indeed, in apparent contradiction of the AI report, the earlier study states, The impacts of automation in the coming decades will be variable across occupations, and will be visible especially among lower-wage, lower-education roles in occupations characterized by rote work.

So how do we square these two seemingly disparate conclusions? The key is in distinguishing artificial intelligence and automation, two similar-sounding concepts that nonetheless will have very different impacts on the future of work here in the U.S. and across the globe. Highlighting these distinctions is critical to understanding what types of workers are most vulnerable, and what we can do to help them.

The difference in how we define automation versus AI is important in how we judge their potential effects on the workplace.

Automation is a broad category describing an entire class of technologies rather than just one, hence much of the confusion surrounding its relationship to AI. Artificial intelligence can be a form of automation, as can robotics and softwarethree fields that the automation report focused on. Examples of the latter two forms could be machines that scurry across factory floors delivering parts and packages, or programs that automate administrative duties like accounting or payroll.

Automation substitutes human labor in tasks both physical and cognitiveespecially those that are predictable and routine. Think machine operators, food preparers, clerks, or delivery drivers. Activities that seem relatively secure, by contrast, include: the management and development of people; applying expertise to decisionmaking, planning and creative tasks; interfacing with people; and the performance of physical activities and operating machinery in unpredictable physical environments, the automation report specified.

In the more recent AI-specific report, the authors focused of the subset of AI known as machine learning, or using algorithms to find patterns in large quantities of data. Here, the technologys relevance to the workplace is less about tasks and more about intelligence. Instead of the routine, AI theoretically substitutes for more interpersonal duties such as human planning, problem-solving, or perception.

And what are some of the topline occupations exposed to AIs effects, according to Brookings research? Market research analysts and marketing specialists (planning and creative tasks, interfacing with people), sales managers (the management and development of people), and personal financial advisors (applying expertise to decisionmaking). The parallels between what automation likely wont affect and what AI likely will affect line up almost perfectly.

Machine learning is especially useful for prediction-based roles. Prediction under conditions of uncertaintyis a widespread and challenging aspect of many information-sector jobs in health, business, management, marketing, and education, wrote Muro, Maxim, and Whiton in a recent follow-up to their AI report. These predictive, mostly white-collar occupations seem especially poised for disruption by AI.

Some news outlets grasped this difference between the AI and the automation report. In The New York Timess Bits newsletter, Jamie Condliffe wrote: Previously, similar studies lumped together robotics and A.I. But when they are picked apart, it makes sense that A.I.which is about planning, perceiving and so onwould hit white-collar roles.

A very clear way to distinguish the impacts of the two concepts is to observe where Brookings Metro research anticipates those impacts will be greatest. The metros areas where automations potential is highest include blue-collar or service-sector-centric places such as Toledo, Ohio, Greensboro, N.C., Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla. and Las Vegas.

The top AI-exposed metro area, by contrast, is the tech hub of San Jose, Calif., followed by other large cities such as Seattle and Salt Lake City. Places less exposed to AI, the report says, range from bigger, service-oriented metro areas such as El Paso, Texas, Las Vegas, and Daytona Beach, Fla., to smaller, leisure communities including Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Ocean City, N.J.

AI will also likely have different impacts on different demographics than other forms of automation. In their report on the broader automation field, Muro, Maxim, and Whiton found that 47% of Latino or Hispanic workers are in jobs that couldin part or whollybe automated. American Indians had the next highest automation potential, at 45%, followed by Black workers (44%), white workers (40%), and Asian Americans (39%). Reverse that order, and youll come very close to the authors conclusion on AIs impact on worker demographics: Asian Americans have the highest potential exposure to AI disruption, followed by white, Latino or Hispanic, and Black workers.

For all of these differences, one important similarity does exist for both AI and broader automations impact on the workforce: uncertainty. Artificial intelligences real-world potential is clouded in ambiguity, and indeed, the AI report used the text of AI-based patents to attempt to foresee its usage in the workplace. The authors hypothesize that, far from taking over human work, AI may end up complementing labor in fields like medicine or law, possibly even creating new work and jobs as demand increases.

As new forms of automation emerge, it too could end up having any number of potential long-term impactsincluding, paradoxically, increasing demand and creating jobs. Machine substitution for labor improves productivity and quality and reduces the cost of goods and services, the authors write. This maythough not always, and not foreverhave the impact of increasing employment in these same sectors.

As policymakers draw up potential solutions to protect workers from technological disruption, its important to keep in mind the differences between advancements like AI and automation at largeand who, exactly, theyre poised to affect.

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Automation and AI sound similar, but may have vastly different impacts on the future of work - Brookings Institution

The 2020 Railway Forum, organised by the Saudi Railway Company (SAR) under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, concluded its sessions today. Participants discussed railway security and safety, the future of digital railways and the concept of the integration of security and safety elements, and the role of artificial intelligence and "5G" technology in the sector.

Talal AlAnazi, director corporate HSE & industrial security at Maaden, spoke about security and safety in transportation, explaining that Maaden adopts the concept of improving industrial safety and security, given its importance in the work environment. He said: "We aspire to move from a culture of research and fix, in industrial safety and security, to a culture of expectation and prevention of risks before they occur." He referred to the application of Maadens "safety steps" initiative, which aims to reduce risks by replacing the culture of "reaction" with a culture of "proactivity" throughout all of the company's business.

Abdullah Al-Yousef, Engineering support services director at SAR, talked about the most important challenges facing the railway sector in the Kingdom. He explained that the immaturity and lack of culture in dealing with trains is among the most important of such challenges, drawing attention on the need to work in order to raise awareness about safety, whether for employees and workers in the sector, or the general public.

Al Yousef also highlighted the need to possess engineering and technical solutions, but at the same time deal intelligently with such technology, and employ it in the correct framework. He pointed out that SAR launched a series of awareness campaigns related to safety, in all villages, cities and areas close to the railways, in addition to engaging in social networking platforms to raise awareness, as well as sending text messages to citizens and residents. He said that many workshops and lectures have been held for employees and workers at SAR to raise awareness about the importance of safety and security in the sector.

SARs Engineering support services Director expressed the company's readiness to receive any technical ideas from forum participants, to support the security and safety of the railways.

For her part, Kai Taylor, from French group Thales, underlined the need to invest in youths creative energies in transferring technology and making great use of it. He pointed out that we will have bright days, if we predict the future, and develop the right technologies, and use them in various sectors, especially transport and communications. He also insisted on the need to have trains reach remote areas, and the use of 5G technology.

Matthias Schubert, executive vice president Mobility at TV Rheinland Group, said that the innovation sector is one of the important sectors that have made progress in the field of automation, pointing to the need to implement the important standards of security and safety in transportation, since it is impossible to sacrifice passenger safety.

For his part, Engineer Abdul Jabbar bin Salem, regional operations director Mena Infrastructure for the Middle East and North Africa at SNC Lavalin, talked about the importance of cyber security in the transport sector and railways, which has become more sophisticated and smarter according to him.

During the "Future of Railways" session, the Business Development Transport Solutions of at "Huawei" stressed the importance of using fifth-generation technology in railways, as it contributes to reducing costs and energy, while increasing efficiency. He added that "digital transformation is an opportunity, to provide a unified system of controls for safety and security".

Javier de la Cruz Garca Dihinx, CAF Rail Digital Services managing director, explained that digital transformation is an urgent and important issue in the transport and railway sector, through which systems can be integrated with each other.

And Andres De Leon, CEO of HyperLoopTT, spoke about hyperloop trains, explaining that they are fast, human-focused, sustainable, profitable, and have returns, indicating that through them Europe can be interlinked in a few hours.

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Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security: modern concepts that ensure the safety of rail transportation - Logistics Middle East