Delta Air Lines plans an initial launch of a new artificial intelligence machine learning tool for spring 2020. Photo: Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian used his keynote speech at the annual Consumer Electronics Show to discuss a new 2020s operational structure for the international carrier that will be driven by the use of a new artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning tool.

Under development at Deltas operations and customer center, Bastian did not provide a specific product name for the technology, but instead called it a proprietary tool that will mainly be focused on helping passengers and flight crews overcome weather occurrences that impact the routes they fly on a daily basis. The keynote speech is a familiar strategy across all of the divisions of Delta, including their maintenance team whose predictive maintenance leadership gave a speech on how the airline is shifting towards the adoption of AI at the 2019 AEEC/AMC annual conference.

Weve cancelled cancellations, but we still have to deal with weather variables like hurricanes or a nasty Noreaster, and thats why the team in our operations and customer center is developing the industrys first machine learning platform to help ensure a smooth operation even in extreme conditions. The system uses operational data to run scenarios and project future outcomes while simulating all the variables of running a global airline with more than 1,000 planes in the sky, Bastian said.

Initial launch of Deltas use of the new tool is scheduled for the spring, with the airline describing it as being capable of creating hypothetical outcomes for decision-making that occurs in anticipation of large-scale disruptions caused by weather or other environmental factors beyond their control. A key aspect of the tool is its ability to use machine learning, and learn from the impact of weather disruption so that airline personnel can make better decisions when the same situation occurs in the future.

Neither Bastian or the airlines media team provided major specific details about what types of specific algorithms their new tool will employ or what types of onboard aircraft systems will help fuel them, however Bastians keynote and Deltas development activity in recent years helps explain how theyre using artificial intelligence. The chief executives reference to cancelling cancellations can be traced back to Deltas improvement in avoiding maintenance cancellations, with the airline noting in an October 2019 press release that in 2010 it had more than 5,600 cancellations versus just 55 in 2018 through an internal shift to predictive maintenance.

In 2018 a multi-year agreement was signed between Delta and Airbus for the use of the Skywise Core Platform and Predictive Maintenance Application. Skywise is the data analytics platform Airbus uses to improve flight operational efficiency for airlines, enabled by the Collins Aerospace flight operations and maintenance exchanger (FOMAX) secure server router and compact connectivity unit that gathers aircraft maintenance and performance data and automatically sends it to an airlines maintenance control center engineers and technicians.

When an aircraft lands, FOMAX uses 4G antennas to transmit all of the performance data about every system on the aircraft to the Skywise analytics platform where it is analyzed and used to develop modeling to predict upcoming system failures. That process can help Delta understand when to replace certain parts before they fail and cause an aircraft on ground situation. In 2019, through November, Delta reported a completion factor of 99.8 percent, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data, including the lowest rate of aircraft maintenance-related cancels in its history.

Deltas pilots have also developed a flight weather viewer tablet application that gives them a three-dimensional view of their flight path with a prediction of where turbulence will occur. Initial use of turbulence avoidance first emerged for Delta in 2016, when their fiscal year annual report noted pilots were beta testing the use of algorithms developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Bastian said the airline is still improving on its use of turbulence avoidance and that it will be a major focus of their overall AI and machine learning driven operational structure moving forward.

Another focus we have is turbulence, were seeing more and more instances of it, and it has a very real impact on our customers and on our employees. We have been able to reduce the impact of turbulence with a flight weather viewer, which is an app developed by our very own Delta pilots. It visualizes turbulence and other weather hazards along the flight path. Using it, pilots can adjust their course more precisely, Bastian said. It also helps our pilots give real time updates to travelers while theyre in the air in advance of encountering turbulence and can also let them know how long we expect it to last.

A key aspect of the new AI tool is that it is proprietary, using Deltas internally held historical operational data to simulate the outcomes of certain environmental impacts on flight operations in real time.Erik Snell, senior vice president of Deltas operations and customer center, said in a statement that the carrier is adding a machine learning platform to our array of behind-the-scenes tools so that the more than 80,000 people of Delta can even more quickly and effectively solve problems even in the most challenging situations.

Among the variables considered by the machine learning algorithm of the new tool range from aircraft placement and crew restrictions to geopolitical constraints. Their smartphone mobile application will also play a major role in their adoption of AI, according to Snell.

As the Fly Delta app transforms into a day-of-travel digital concierge, we expect our quicker game-time decisions to play an even greater role in providing a more stress-free travel experience for our customers, Snell said.

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Delta Develops Artificial Intelligence Tool to Address Weather Disruption, Improve Flight Operations - Aviation Today

Most companies will do anything to promote diversity short of implementing the systemic changes required to become diverse. And for brands looking to appear diverse without doing any of the pesky work of becoming diverse, AI-generated images offer all the appearances of including POC and women without the headache of including living humans in businesses.

According to the Washington Post, machine-generated compilations of human faces are coming to a brochure near you thanks to newer, cheaper AI technology that uses thousands of photos of human faces in order to create convincing mock-ups. These images are then available for sale to anyone who needs a human-esque shape to create advertising content, diverse-looking brochures, or a fake Facebook profile to convince your Aunt Mary that Russia is paying Elizabeth Warren to hide Hillarys servers in the basement of a pizza restaurant in Washington D.C.

One Argentinian AI startup called Icons8 sells a subscription package for fake images that employs filters that offer photos ranging from infant to elderly, and offers ethnicity options such as White, Latino, Asian and Black as well as emotions from joy to despair.

The attempts to fake instead of make diversity have already begun. In June 2019, GQ ran a photo of a bunch of tech dudes in an Italian villa to which a woman (who is an actual living CEO) had dutifully been added for the sake of appearances.

Aside from the questionable ethics of using fake images to sell products to actual peopleone AI image startup boasts a dating site as a clientis the source of these images. The technology cant just conjure up a human face from nowhere. Instead, many of these companies rely on models who werent told ahead of time what their photos would be used for and arent paid extra for the fact that bits and pieces of their faces are being used thousands of times for purposes they never consented to.

Perhaps the only good thing about the coming days in which humans will no longer be able to trust their eyes is that we are due for some terrifying new monsters:

But the systems are imperfect artists, untrained in the basics of human anatomy, and can only attempt to match the patterns of all the faces theyve processed before. Along the way, the AI creates an army of what [Ivan Braun, co-founder of Icons8] calls monsters: Nightmarish faces pocked with inhuman deformities and surreal mutations. Common examples include overly fingered hands, featureless faces and people with mouths for eyes.

Currently, the law has not caught up to the technology, and fakes are not required to have any watermarks to distinguish them from images of real people. Transparency is left up to companies discretion. Here is my proposal: for every passable human image, companies should be required to have one monster. Then, that fake diversity pamphlet becomes fun for everyone. And imagine the exciting possibilities for Tinder matches. Under my system, at least the scary future has an accurate face.

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Artificial Intelligence Offers Companies a New Way to Fake Diversity - Jezebel

08 Jan 2020, 01:32PM ISTSource: AP

It is the time of year again when cute little robots become global superstars. At the CES unveil event these little robots, called Lovots, are charming the crowd, and the hundreds of gathered journalists. They are here for the first time as a real product that is about to hit the market in Japan. Previous versions that have been shown have been prototypes. The Lovot has a camera with facial recognition software, so when you walk in to a room it knows who you are. The updated Lovot can also learn how your home has been set up, for example where the front door is, so it can rush to you when you come home. Robots that act as friends, or as pets, instead of just performing repetitive tasks are becoming increasingly mainstream. Several other robots were shown at the Unveiled events, like the Mobile Arm Robot system from Industrial Technology Research Institute that can see the objects it needs to move. Most robots now also come with some sort of Artificial Intelligence function, like the ability to answer questions and hold a basic conversation. But AI can also be found in other devices, from voice assistants to smart city solutions like traffic management.

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Robots, artificial intelligence highlight CES expo - Times of India

Many companies are vying to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) space. The market is worth billions, and its only going to keep getting bigger. According to Grand View Research, by 2025 the global AI market is estimated to hit a stunning $390.9 billion! So, its no surprise that tech companies want a piece of the pie, and as big a piece as they can get.

Source: Shutterstock

Not surprisingly, two leaders of the AI sector are ones youre already probably well-acquainted with: Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). But neither are the winners. No, that title now goes to Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), known as the Google of China, which is beating its competitors in a big way.

On December 11, Baidus AI machine, Ernie, received top marks and broke records during the General Language Understanding Evaluation (GLUE) test. Put simply, this test determines how well an AI machine can understand human language. Ernie scored a 90.1 out of 100 the first A.I. system to score above 90 and beat out Microsofts score of 89.9 and Googles score of 89.7.

Since the results were released, the stock has made a nice move higher running up as much as 21%. Given the positive news and positive trading action, does this make Baidu a good AI investment?

MyPortfolio Gradersays no. In fact, it gives BIDU a solid F for its Total Grade, making this stock a Strong Sell.

It receives poor marks for its Sales Growth, Operating Margins Growth, Earnings Growth and Earnings Momentum. And even worse, it receives an F-rating for its Quantitative Grade. So, even though the stock has moved higher over the past month, theres been no significant increase in buying pressure. This tells us that the smart money is still staying far, far away.

So how do you play this growing AI trend? Well, its not with Microsoft or Google, either. Yes, they rate higher in Portfolio Grader Microsoft receives an A-rating and Google holds a C-rating but the real money isnt going to be made there. Its going to be made with the company that providesthe A.I. technology forallof them.

I call this theAI Master Key.

It is the company that makes the brain that all AI software needs to function, spot patterns, and interpret data.

Its known as the Volta Chip and its what makes the AI revolution possible.

Some of the biggest players in elite investing circles have large stakes in theAI Master Key:

Ron Baron, billionaire money manager with one of the biggest estates in the Hamptons.

Ken Fisher, author ofThe Ten Roads to Richesand other bestsellers, whos made theForbes400 Richest Americans list.

Mario Gabelli, namesake of the Gabelli Funds, with a salary of $85 million for one year Wall Streets highest paid CEO.

And some of the biggest companies are also its customers, including Google, Microsoft,Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Baidu, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Alibaba(NYSE:BABA).

So it doesnt really matter which competitor wins the AI race, because this companys technology is used by all of them; therefore, its investors will profit off of all the AI success.

Ill tell you everything you need to know, as well as my buy recommendation, in my special report forGrowth Investor, The AI Master Key. The stock is currently sitting pretty with a 40% return on myGrowth InvestorBuy List, but it still under my buy limit price so youll want to sign up now; that way, you can get in while you can still do so cheaply.

Click here for a free briefing on this groundbreaking innovation.

Louis Navellier had an unconventional start, as a grad student who accidentally built a market-beating stock system with returns rivaling even Warren Buffett. In his latest feat, Louis discovered the Master Key to profiting from the biggest tech revolution of this (or any) generation. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.

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AI Stocks: The Real Winner of the Artificial Intelligence Race - Investorplace.com

HoloAsh is developing an AI friend to reduce your stress. Yoshua Kishi, an entrepreneur diagnosed with ADHD, founded the startup to create a safe space for people who dont fit in a society organized for the average.

Recently, HoloAsh got accepted into 500Startups in Kobe and will be launching its new product, LeaVoice, at the upcoming CES2020 event. The showcase will be at CES2020 Las Vegas Convention Center between Jan 7 Jan 10. For more information, please visit: https://bit.ly/leavoicecom

About LeaVoice:LeaVoice is a voice chat with an AI friend for stressed and anxious people. If youre in a bad mood and need someone to talk to, your AI friend is always here. LeaVoice is judgment-free, and available 24/7.Sometimes, you feel like no one cares about you, that you dont fit in. Many social services provide basic communication but wont relieve you of these feelings. Chatbots are one-dimensional. But LeaVoice is listening to you 24/7, analyzing your voice to detect emotions that a text chat cannot convey. said Yoshua Kishi, CEO of HoloAsh.

About HoloAshHoloAsh was founded in 2018, creating an AI friend for people with stress and anxiety. Founded by Serial entrepreneur with Former Amazon Data Scientist, NLG specialist, and former Stanford Researcher. Unlike current chatbot, our AI friend will detect emotion from the sound of someones voice to provide the best possible response. Weve got accepted into 500 startups in Kobe and Plug and Play Kyoto as well.

Additional Information:Website: https://holoash.com/Press Kit download: https://brand.sparkamplify.com/holoashFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/holoash/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeaVoice_AI

Media contact: Yoshua Kishi, Marysia RomaszkanEmail: yoshua@holoash.com, marysia@holoash.com

Disclaimer: This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. The information on this website or in emails is designed for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. Please consult a doctor with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your medical health. The news site hosting this press release is not associated with LeaVoice or HoloAsh. It is merely publishing a press release announcement submitted by a company, without any stated or implied endorsement of the person, product or service.

About SparkAmplify Distribution

SparkAmplify was founded in 2016. It is a SaaS company based in California and Taipei, specializing in media outreach and influencer engagement. The team consists of a group of passionate data scientists, engineers, designers and marketers looking to reshape digital marketing via machine learning and influencer social network analysis. SparkAmplify was selected as one of the Top 50 startups among 6,000+ startups from 80 countries at the 2017 Startup Grind Global Conference and a Top 100 startup at the Echelon 2019 Asia Summit.

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LeaVoice an Artificial Intelligence made to reduce your stress and anxiety will showcase at CES2020 - PRUnderground

Facebook says it is banning deepfake videos, the false but realistic clips created with artificial intelligence and sophisticated tools, as it steps up efforts to fight online manipulation. But the policy leaves plenty of loopholes.

Facebook logo Source: Associated Press

The social network said yesterday that it's beefing up its policies for removing videos edited or synthesised in ways that aren't apparent to the average person, and which could dupe someone into thinking the video's subject said something he or she didn't actually say.

Created by artificial intelligence or machine learning, deepfakes combine or replace content to create images that can be almost impossible to tell are not authentic.

While these videos are still rare on the internet, they present a significant challenge for our industry and society as their use increases, Facebook's vice president of global policy management, Monika Bickert, said in a blog post.

However, she said the new rules won't include parody or satire, or clips edited just to change the order of words. The exceptions underscore the balancing act Facebook and other social media services face in their struggle to stop the spread of online misinformation and "fake news," while also respecting free speech and fending off allegations of censorship.

The US tech company has been grappling with how to handle the rise of deepfakes after facing criticism last year for refusing to remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slurring her words, which was viewed more than 3 million times. Experts said the crudely edited clip was more of a cheap fake than a deepfake.

Then, a pair of artists posted fake footage of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg showing him gloating over his one-man domination of the world. Facebook also left that clip online. The company said at the time that neither video violated its policies.

The problem of altered videos is taking on increasing urgency as experts and lawmakers try to figure out how to prevent deepfakes from being used to interfere with the U.S. presidential election in November.

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The technology is called "deepfake" and it's already causing major problems overseas with experts fearing itll do the same here. Source: 1 NEWS

The new policy is a strong starting point," but doesn't address broader problems, said Sam Gregory, program director at Witness, a nonprofit working on using video technology for human rights.

The reality is there arent that many political deepfakes at the moment," he said. "They're mainly nonconsensual sexual images.

The bigger problem is videos that are either shown without context or lightly edited, which some have dubbed shallow fakes, Gregory said.

These include the Pelosi clip or one that made the rounds last week of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden that was selectively edited to make it appear he made racist remarks.

Gregory, whose group was among those that gave feedback to Facebook for the policy, said that while the new rules look strong on paper, there are questions around how effective the company will be at uncovering synthetic videos.

Facebook has built deepfake-detecting algorithms and can also look at an account's behavior to get an idea of whether it's intention is to spread disinformation. That will give the company an edge over users or journalists in sniffing them out, Gregory said.

But those algorithms haven't been used widely for deepfakes in the wild. "So it is an open question how effective detection will be," he said. This is an algorithmic kind of game of cat and mouse, where the forgeries will get better alongside the detection.

Facebook said any videos, deepfake or not, will also be removed if they violate existing standards for nudity, graphic violence or hate speech.

Those that aren't removed can still be reviewed by independent third-party fact-checkers and any deemed false will be flagged as such to people trying to share or view them, which Bickert said was a better approach than just taking them down.

If we simply removed all manipulated videos flagged by fact-checkers as false, the videos would still be available elsewhere on the internet or social media ecosystem, Bickert said. By leaving them up and labeling them as false, were providing people with important information and context.

Twitter, which has been another hotbed for misinformation and altered videos, said it's in the process of creating a policy for synthetic and manipulated media, which would include deepfakes and other doctored videos. The company has asked for public feedback on the issue.

The responses it's considering include putting a notice next to tweets that include manipulated material. The tweets might also be removed if they're misleading and could cause serious harm to someone.

YouTube, meanwhile, has a policy against deceptive practices that the company says includes the deceptive uses of manipulated media" that may pose serious risk of harm. For instance, the company removed the Pelosi video last year. Google, which owns YouTube, is also researching how to better detect deepfakes and other manipulated media.

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Facebook to ban deepfake videos created with artificial intelligence technology - TVNZ