Apple

From chatbots to Einstein, artificial intelligence as a service — from infoworld.com by Yves de Montcheuil

Excerpt:

The recent announcement of Salesforce Einstein — dubbed “artificial intelligence for everyone” — sheds new light on the new and pervasive usage of artificial intelligence in every aspect of businesses.

Powered by advanced machine learning, deep learning, predictive analytics, natural language processing and smart data discovery, Einstein’s models will be automatically customized for every single customer, and it will learn, self-tune, and get smarter with every interaction and additional piece of data. Most importantly, Einstein’s intelligence will be embedded within the context of business, automatically discovering relevant insights, predicting future behavior, proactively recommending best next actions and even automating tasks.

…
Chatbots, or conversational bots, are the “other” trending topic in the field of artificial intelligence. At the juncture of consumer and business, they provide the ability for an AI-based system to interact with users through a headless interface. It does not matter whether a messaging app is used, or a speech-to-text system, or even another app — the chatbot is front-end agnostic.

Since the user does not have the ability to provide context around the discussion, he just asks questions in natural language to an AI-driven backend that is tasked with figuring this context and looking for the right answer.

IBM is launching a much-awaited ‘Watson’ recruiting tool — from eremedia.com by Todd Raphael

Excerpt:

For many months IBM has gone to recruiting-industry conferences to say that the famous Watson will be at some point used for talent-acquisition, but that it hasn’t happened quite yet.

It’s here.

IBM is first using Watson for its RPO customers, and then rolling it out as a product for the larger community, perhaps next spring. One of my IBM contacts, Recruitment Innovation Global Leader Yates Baker, tells me that the current version is a work in progress like the first iPhone (or perhaps like that Siri-for-recruiting tool).

There are three parts: recruiting, marketing, and sourcing.

Apple’s Siri: A Lot Smarter, but Still Kind of Dumb — from wsj.com by Joanna Stern
With the new MacOS and Apple’s AirPods, Siri’s more powerful than ever, but still not as good as some competitors

Excerpt:

With the new iOS 10, Siri can control third-party apps, like Uber and WhatsApp. With the release of MacOS Sierra on Tuesday, Siri finally lands on the desktop, where it can take care of basic operating system tasks, send emails and more. With WatchOS 3 and the new Apple Watch, Siri is finally faster on the wrist. And with Apple’s Q-tip-looking AirPods arriving in October, Siri can whisper sweet nothings in your inner ear with unprecedented wireless freedom. Think Joaquin Phoenix’s earpiece in the movie “Her.”

The groundwork is laid for an AI assistant to stake a major claim in your life, and finally save you time by doing menial tasks. But the smarter Siri becomes in some places, the dumber it seems in others—specifically compared with Google’s and Amazon’s voice assistants. If I hear “I’m sorry, Joanna, I’m afraid I can’t answer that” one more time…

IBM Research and MIT Collaborate to Advance Frontiers of Artificial Intelligence in Real-World Audio-Visual Comprehension Technologies — from prnewswire.com
Cross-disciplinary research approach will use insights from brain and cognitive science to advance machine understanding

Excerpt:

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y., Sept. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — IBM Research (NYSE: IBM) today announced a multi-year collaboration with the Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences at MIT to advance the scientific field of machine vision, a core aspect of artificial intelligence. The new IBM-MIT Laboratory for Brain-inspired Multimedia Machine Comprehension’s (BM3C) goal will be to develop cognitive computing systems that emulate the human ability to understand and integrate inputs from multiple sources of audio and visual information into a detailed computer representation of the world that can be used in a variety of computer applications in industries such as healthcare, education, and entertainment.

The BM3C will address technical challenges around both pattern recognition and prediction methods in the field of machine vision that are currently impossible for machines alone to accomplish. For instance, humans watching a short video of a real-world event can easily recognize and produce a verbal description of what happened in the clip as well as assess and predict the likelihood of a variety of subsequent events, but for a machine, this ability is currently impossible.

Satya Nadella on Microsoft’s new age of intelligence — from fastcompany.com by Harry McCracken
How the software giant aims to tie everything from Cortana to Office to HoloLens to Azure servers into one AI experience.

Excerpt:

“Microsoft was born to do a certain set of things. We’re about empowering people in organizations all over the world to achieve more. In today’s world, we want to use AI to achieve that.”

That’s Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, crisply explaining the company’s artificial-intelligence vision to me this afternoon shortly after he hosted a keynote at Microsoft’s Ignite conference for IT pros in Atlanta. But even if Microsoft only pursues AI opportunities that it considers to be core to its mission, it has a remarkably broad tapestry to work with. And the examples that were part of the keynote made that clear.

If you doubt that we are on an exponential pace of change, you need to check these articles out! [Christian]

On 09/22/2016, in 21st century, Amazon, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, Australia, business, Canada, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, community colleges, computer science, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, disruption, emerging technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, ethics, Europe, experimentation, faith, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, Google, health, hearts -- matters of the heart, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, India, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, internet, K-12 related, leadership, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, marketplaces, Microsoft, mobile technologies, Near Field Communication (NFC), new business models, organizational change, pace of change, platforms, political science, professional development, psychology, reinvent, relationships, religion, research, robotics, society, sociology, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, the downsides of how people use tech, training / L&D, trends, UK, United States, universities, web-based collaboration, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The articles listed in this PDF document demonstrate the exponential pace of technological change that many nations across the globe are currently experiencing and will likely be experiencing for the foreseeable future. As we are no longer on a linear trajectory, we need to consider what this new trajectory means for how we:

Educate and prepare our youth in K-12
Educate and prepare our young men and women studying within higher education
Restructure/re-envision our corporate training/L&D departments
Equip our freelancers and others to find work
Help people in the workforce remain relevant/marketable/properly skilled
Encourage and better enable lifelong learning
Attempt to keep up w/ this pace of change — legally, ethically, morally, and psychologically

PDF file here

One thought that comes to mind…when we’re moving this fast, we need to be looking upwards and outwards into the horizons — constantly pulse-checking the landscapes. We can’t be looking down or be so buried in our current positions/tasks that we aren’t noticing the changes that are happening around us.

From DSC:
The pace of technological development is moving extremely fast; the ethical, legal, and moral questions are trailing behind it (as is normally the case). But this exponential pace continues to bring some questions, concerns, and thoughts to my mind. For example:

What kind of future do we want?
Just because we can, should we?
Who is going to be able to weigh in on the future direction of some of these developments?
If we follow the trajectories of some of these pathways, where will these trajectories take us? For example, if many people are out of work, how are they going to purchase the products and services that the robots are building?

These and other questions arise when you look at the articles below.

This is the 8th part of a series of postings regarding this matter.
The other postings are in the Ethics section.

Robot companions are coming into our homes – so how human should they be? — from theconversation.com

Excerpt:

What would your ideal robot be like? One that can change nappies and tell bedtime stories to your child? Perhaps you’d prefer a butler that can polish silver and mix the perfect cocktail? Or maybe you’d prefer a companion that just happened to be a robot? Certainly, some see robots as a hypothetical future replacement for human carers. But a question roboticists are asking is: how human should these future robot companions be?

A companion robot is one that is capable of providing useful assistance in a socially acceptable manner. This means that a robot companion’s first goal is to assist humans. Robot companions are mainly developed to help people with special needs such as older people, autistic children or the disabled. They usually aim to help in a specific environment: a house, a care home or a hospital.

The Next President Will Decide the Fate of Killer Robots—and the Future of War – from wired.com by Heather Roff and P.W. Singer

Excerpt:

The next president will have a range of issues on their plate, from how to deal with growing tensions with China and Russia, to an ongoing war against ISIS. But perhaps the most important decision they will make for overall human history is what to do about autonomous weapons systems (AWS), aka “killer robots.” The new president will literally have no choice. It is not just that the technology is rapidly advancing, but because of a ticking time bomb buried in US policy on the issue.

Your new manager will be an algorithm — from stevebrownfuturist.com

Excerpt:

It sounds like a line from a science fiction novel, but many of us are already managed by algorithms, at least for part of our days. In the future, most of us will be managed by algorithms and the vast majority of us will collaborate daily with intelligent technologies including robots, autonomous machines and algorithms.

Algorithms for task management
Many workers at UPS are already managed by algorithms. It is an algorithm that tells the humans the optimal way to pack the back of the delivery truck with packages. The algorithm essentially plays a game of “temporal Tetris” with the parcels and packs them to optimize for space and for the planned delivery route–packages that are delivered first are towards the front, packages for the end of the route are placed at the back.

Beware of biases in machine learning: One CTO explains why it happens — from enterprisersproject.com by Minda Zetlin

Excerpt:

The Enterprisers Project (TEP): Machines are genderless, have no race, and are in and of themselves free of bias. How does bias creep in?

Sharp: To understand how bias creeps in you first need to understand the difference between programming in the traditional sense and machine learning. With programming in the traditional sense, a programmer analyses a problem and comes up with an algorithm to solve it (basically an explicit sequence of rules and steps). The algorithm is then coded up, and the computer executes the programmer’s defined rules accordingly.

With machine learning, it’s a bit different. Programmers don’t solve a problem directly by analyzing it and coming up with their rules. Instead, they just give the computer access to an extensive real-world dataset related to the problem they want to solve. The computer then figures out how best to solve the problem by itself.

Technology vs. Humanity – The coming clash between man and machine — from futuristgerd.com by Gerd Leonhard

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

In his latest book ‘Technology vs. Humanity’, futurist Gerd Leonhard once again breaks new ground by bringing together mankind’s urge to upgrade and automate everything (including human biology itself) with our timeless quest for freedom and happiness.

Before it’s too late, we must stop and ask the big questions: How do we embrace technology without becoming it? When it happens—gradually, then suddenly—the machine era will create the greatest watershed in human life on Earth.

Digital transformation has migrated from the mainframe to the desktop to the laptop to the smartphone, wearables and brain-computer interfaces. Before it moves to the implant and the ingestible insert, Gerd Leonhard makes a last-minute clarion call for an honest debate and a more philosophical exchange.

Ethics: Taming our technologies
The Ethics of Invention: Technology and the Human Future — from nature.com by Sheila Jasanoff

Excerpt:

Technological innovation in fields from genetic engineering to cyberwarfare is accelerating at a breakneck pace, but ethical deliberation over its implications has lagged behind. Thus argues Sheila Jasanoff — who works at the nexus of science, law and policy — in The Ethics of Invention, her fresh investigation. Not only are our deliberative institutions inadequate to the task of oversight, she contends, but we fail to recognize the full ethical dimensions of technology policy. She prescribes a fundamental reboot.

Ethics in innovation has been given short shrift, Jasanoff says, owing in part to technological determinism, a semi-conscious belief that innovation is intrinsically good and that the frontiers of technology should be pushed as far as possible. This view has been bolstered by the fact that many technological advances have yielded financial profit in the short term, even if, like the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons once used as refrigerants, they have proved problematic or ruinous in the longer term.

Robotics is coming faster than you think — from forbes.com by Kevin O’Marah

Excerpt:

This week, The Wall Street Journal featured a well-researched article on China’s push to shift its factory culture away from labor and toward robots. Reasons include a rise in labor costs, the flattening and impending decrease in worker population and falling costs of advanced robotics technology.

Left unsaid was whether this is part of a wider acceleration in the digital takeover of work worldwide. It is.

Adidas will open an automated, robot-staffed factory next year — from businessinsider.com

Beyond Siri, the next-generation AI assistants are smarter specialists — from fastcompany.com by Jared Newman
SRI wants to produce chatbots with deep knowledge of specific topics like banking and auto repair.

Machine learning
Of prediction and policy — from economist.com
Governments have much to gain from applying algorithms to public policy, but controversies loom

Excerpt:

FOR frazzled teachers struggling to decide what to watch on an evening off (DC insert: a rare event indeed), help is at hand. An online streaming service’s software predicts what they might enjoy, based on the past choices of similar people. When those same teachers try to work out which children are most at risk of dropping out of school, they get no such aid. But, as Sendhil Mullainathan of Harvard University notes, these types of problem are alike. They require predictions based, implicitly or explicitly, on lots of data. Many areas of policy, he suggests, could do with a dose of machine learning.

Machine-learning systems excel at prediction. A common approach is to train a system by showing it a vast quantity of data on, say, students and their achievements. The software chews through the examples and learns which characteristics are most helpful in predicting whether a student will drop out. Once trained, it can study a different group and accurately pick those at risk. By helping to allocate scarce public funds more accurately, machine learning could save governments significant sums. According to Stephen Goldsmith, a professor at Harvard and a former mayor of Indianapolis, it could also transform almost every sector of public policy.
…
But the case for code is not always clear-cut. Many American judges are given “risk assessments”, generated by software, which predict the likelihood of a person committing another crime. These are used in bail, parole and (most controversially) sentencing decisions. But this year ProPublica, an investigative-journalism group, concluded that in Broward County, Florida, an algorithm wrongly labelled black people as future criminals nearly twice as often as whites. (Northpointe, the algorithm provider, disputes the finding.)

‘Software is eating the world’: How robots, drones and artificial intelligence will change everything — from business.financialpost.com

Thermostats can now get infected with ransomware, because 2016 — from thenextweb.com by Matthew Hughes

Who will own the robots? — from technologyreview.com by David Rotman
We’re in the midst of a jobs crisis, and rapid advances in AI and other technologies may be one culprit. How can we get better at sharing the wealth that technology creates

Police Drones Multiply Across the Globe — from dronelife.com by Jason Reagan

LinkedIn lawsuit may signal a losing battle against ‘botnets’, say experts — from bizjournals.com by Annie Gaus

China’s Factories Count on Robots as Workforce Shrinks — from wsj.com by Robbie Whelan and Esther Fung
Rising wages, cultural changes push automation drive; demand for 150,000 robots projected for 2018

Researchers Are Growing Living Biohybrid Robots That Move Like Animals — from slate.com by Victoria Webster

Addendums on 9/14/16:

The rise of robots: forget evil AI – the real risk is far more insidious — from theguardian.com
It’s far more likely that robots would inadvertently harm or frustrate humans while carrying out our orders than they would rise up against us
Governments and nation states are now officially training for cyberwarfare: An inside look — from techrepublic.com by Steve Ranger

Is the provision of dual cameras in Apple’s new iPhone 7 laying the foundation for mainstream AR?

On 09/10/2016, in Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, Mixed Reality (MR), photography, platforms, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From Apple:

iPhone 7 Plus doesn’t have just one entirely new camera system — it has two. The same 12MP wide-angle camera that’s on iPhone 7 works with a 12MP telephoto camera that can get even closer. That means you can get higher-quality zoom from farther away. And with an all-new depth-of-field effect (coming soon), portrait shots will look better than ever. Say hello to the world’s best photo op.
…
Depth-of-field effect.
Depth of field allows you to keep faces sharp while creating a blurred effect in the background. When you take a shot with iPhone 7 Plus, the dual-camera system uses both cameras and advanced machine learning to make your subject sharp while creating the same out-of-focus blur in the background — known as the bokeh effect — previously reserved for DSLR cameras. So no matter what’s behind your subject, it’s easy to create a great portrait.

Dual camera smartphones – the missing link that will bring augmented reality into the mainstream — from theconversation.com

Excerpt:

Smartphones boasting “dual cameras” are becoming more common, and news that they will feature on the just-announced iPhone 7 Plus indicates the arrival into the mainstream. But while dual cameras may stem from efforts to improve picture quality, it has the potential to lead us down much more interesting paths: the real story may be that Apple is using dual cameras to position itself for the augmented reality world ushered in by the Pokemon Go phenomenon.
…
The iPhone uses machine learning algorithms to scan objects within a scene, building up a real-time 3D depth map of the terrain and objects. Currently, the iPhone uses this to separate the background from the foreground in order to selectively focus on foreground objects. This effect of blurring out background details, known as bokeh, is a feature of DLSRs and not readily available on smaller cameras such as those in smartphones. The depth map allows the iPhone to simulate a variable aperture which provides the ability to display areas of the image out of focus. While an enviable addition for smartphone camera users, this is a gimmick compared to what the depth map can really do.

What Apple has is the first step toward a device like Microsoft’s HoloLens, an augmented reality head-mounted display currently in development.

Software that provides similar analysis of people’s poses and location within a scene for dual camera smartphones would provide a virtual window onto the real world. Using hand gesture recognition, users could naturally interact with a mixed reality world, with the phone’s accelerometer and GPS data detecting and driving changes to how that world is presented and updated.

Apple has not arrived here by accident. In addition to acquiring Linx, Apple also purchased augmented reality pioneer Metaio in 2015, suggesting a game plan to develop a mixed reality platform.

Dual camera smartphones: here’s why you should want one — from t3.com by Joseph Carey
The iPhone 7 Plus is meant to feature dual cameras, but why are two cameras better than one?

Excerpt:

One sensor for the main image and one for the detail – dual cameras never usually have two of the same sensor.

Today’s announcements from Apple

On 09/07/2016, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), collaboration, health, platforms, tools, vendors, wearables, by Daniel Christian

Here are the big announcements from Apple’s September 2016 event — from amp.imore.com

iPhone 7
Apple Watch Series 2
Apple AirPods
iOS 10
watchOS 3
iWork: Apple announced an update to its iWork productivity suite across iPhone, iPad, and Mac that allows for real-time collaboration within Pages, Keynote, and Numbers.
Super Mario Run

What Apple’s Dual Camera iPhone Means For Augmented Reality — from vrscout.com

Excerpt:

Although there weren’t drastic changes made to the physical design of the iPhone (minus that old thing called a headphone jack), Apple’s unveiling of a dual-lens camera points to a world where millions of consumers could one day put a powerful augmented reality device in their pocket.

Apple kills headphone jack (1878 – 2016). RIP. — from techcrunch.com

Apple Unveils Waterproof iPhone 7 with Dual Cameras — from interestingengineering.com

iPhone 7 FAQ: Everything you need to know!— from amp.imore.com

Apple adds real-time collaboration to iWork –– from engadget.com
Apple is taking on Google Docs in the education market. (From DSC: I’d like to think so, but we’ll see.)

After 500 Million Downloads, ‘Pokemon Go’ Is Coming To Apple Watch — from uploadvr.com

Excerpt:

A brief demonstration of the game was featured on-stage. The watch edition of the game will place a bigger focus on player fitness, tracking the calories you burn in play sessions along with distance.

Apple Watch bands FAQ: Everything you need to know! — from amp.imore.com

IdioT InTo IoT [Moe, Pampoulov, Jiang, Franco, Han, & Bartimer]

On 08/29/2016, in 21st century, Amazon, Apple, business, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, innovation, intelligent systems, internet, machine-to-machine communications, the downsides of how people use tech, vendors, by Daniel Christian

IdioT InTo IoT — from a2apple.com by Michael Moe, Luben Pampoulov, Li Jiang, Nick Franco, Suzee Han, Michael Bartimer

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

But an interesting twist to Negroponte’s paradigm is emerging. As we embed chips in physical devices to make them “smart,” bits and atoms are co-mingling in compelling ways. Collectively called the Internet of Things (IoT), connected devices are appearing in our homes, on the highway, in manufacturing plants, and on our wrists. Estimates vary widely but IDC has predicted that the IoT market will surpass $1.7 trillion by 2020.

Here again, Amazon’s arc is instructive. Its “Echo” smart speaker, powered by a digital assistant, “Alexa”, has sold over three million units in a little over a year. Echo enables users to play music with voice commands, as well as manage other integrated home systems, including lights, fans, door locks, and thermostats.

High-Profile Cyber Attacks on Physical Assets

From Dreams to Realities: AR/VR/MR in Education | A Q&A with Daniel Christian — from campustechnology.com by Mary Grush; I’d like to thank Jason VanHorn for his contributions to this article

Excerpt:

Grush: Is there a signpost you might point to that would indicate that there’s going to be more product development in AR/VR/MR?

Christian: There’s a significant one. Several major players — with very deep pockets — within the corporate world are investing in new forms of HCI, including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, Magic Leap, and others. In fact, according to an article on engadget.com from 6/16/16, “Magic Leap has amassed an astounding $1.39 billion in funding without shipping an actual product.” So to me, it’s just not likely that the billions of dollars being invested in a variety of R&D-related efforts are simply going to evaporate without producing any impactful, concrete products or services. There are too many extremely smart, creative people working on these projects, and they have impressive financial backing behind their research and product development efforts. So, I think we can expect an array of new choices in AR/VR/MR.
…

Just the other day I was talking to Jason VanHorn, an associate professor in our geology, geography, and environmental studies department. After finishing our discussion about a particular learning space and how we might implement active learning in it, we got to talking about mixed reality. He related his wonderful dreams of being able to view, manipulate, maneuver through, and interact with holographic displays of our planet Earth.

When I mentioned a video piece done by Case Western and the Cleveland Clinic that featured Microsoft’s Hololens technology, he knew exactly what I was referring to. But this time, instead of being able to drill down through the human body to review, explore, and learn about the various systems composing our human anatomy, he wanted to be able to drill down through the various layers of the planet Earth. He also wanted to be able to use gestures to maneuver and manipulate the globe — turning the globe to just the right spot before using a gesture to drill down to a particular place.

The next battleground: The 4th Era of Personal Computing — from stevebrownfuturist.com by Steve Brown

Excerpt:

I believe we are moving into the fourth era of personal computing. The first era was characterized by the emergence of the PC. The second by the web and the browser, and the third by mobile and apps.

The fourth personal computing platform will be a combination of IOT, wearable and AR-based clients using speech and gesture, connected over 4G/5G networks to PA, CaaS and social networking platforms that draw upon a new class of cloud-based AI to deliver highly personalized access to information and services.

So what does the fourth era of personal computing look like? It’s a world of smart objects, smart spaces, voice control, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.

How might these enhancements to Siri and tvOS 10 impact education/training/learning-related offerings & applications? [Christian]

On 07/14/2016, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adult learning, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Blockchain, business, career development, change, changing business models, communities of practice, competency-based learning/education, content development, aggregation, repositories, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, distance education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, formal learning, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, internet, K-12 related, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, microlearning, mirroring and/or multiple devices, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, pace of change, participation, passions, personalized/customized learning, platforms, reinvent, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, staying relevant, storytelling, streams of content, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, transmedia, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I read the article mentioned below. It made me wonder how 3 of the 4 main highlights that Fred mentioned (that are coming to Siri with tvOS 10) might impact education/training/learning-related applications and offerings made possible via tvOS & Apple TV:

Live broadcasts
Topic-based searches
The ability to search YouTube via Siri

The article prompted me to wonder:

Will educators and trainers be able to offer live lectures and training (globally) that can be recorded and later searched via Siri?
What if second screen devices could help learners collaborate and participate in active learning while watching what’s being presented on the main display/”TV?”
What if learning taken this way could be recorded on one’s web-based profile, a profile that is based upon blockchain-based technologies and maintained via appropriate/proven organizations of learning? (A profile that’s optionally made available to services from Microsoft/LinkedIn.com/Lynda.com and/or to a service based upon IBM’s Watson, and/or to some other online-based marketplace/exchange for matching open jobs to potential employees.)
Or what if you could earn a badge or prove a competency via this manner?

Hmmm…things could get very interesting…and very powerful.

More choice. More control. Over one’s entire lifetime.

Heutagogy on steroids.

Micro-learning.

Perhaps this is a piece of the future for MOOCs…

Apple TV gets new Siri features in tvOS 10 — from iphonefaq.org by Fred Straker

Excerpt:

The forthcoming update to Apple TV continues to bring fresh surprises for owners of Apple’s set top box. Many improvements are coming to tvOS 10, including single-sign-on support and an upgrade to Siri’s capabilities. Siri has already opened new doors thanks to the bundled Siri Remote, which simplifies many functions on the Apple TV interface. Four main highlights are coming to Siri with tvOS 10, which is expected to launch this fall.

Addendum on 7/17/16:

CBS News Launches New Apple TV App Designed Exclusively for tvOS — from macrumors.com

Excerpt:

CBS today announced the launch of an all-new Apple TV app that will center around the network’s always-on, 24-hour “CBSN” streaming network and has been designed exclusively for tvOS. In addition to the live stream of CBSN, the app curates news stories and video playlists for each user based on previously watched videos.

The new app will also take advantage of the 4th generation Apple TV’s deep Siri integration, allowing users to tell Apple’s personal assistant that they want to “Watch CBS News” to immediately start a full-screen broadcast of CBSN. While the stream is playing, users can interact with other parts of the app to browse related videos, bookmark some to watch later, and begin subscribing to specific playlists and topics.

Paper 53 is the ‘sketch-iPad’ you always wanted — from edtech4beginners.com

Excerpt:

Paper 53 is a brilliant app which combines drawings, notes, photos and sketches. It is available on the Appstore. The app is simple and user-friendly; just use your finger (or a stylus) to draw, paint, select colours, erase and lots more.

Google’s virtual reality field trips are available to everyone — from engadget.com by Jon Fingas
Students can also use Google Cast to share their screens across the classroom.

10 very good new educational web tools — from educatorstechnology.com

Excerpt:

Below is a collection of some new educational web tools and mobile apps to try out in your instruction. The purpose is to keep you updated about the new releases in the EdTech world and empower you with the necessary technology to take your teaching and learning to the next level. Some of the things you can do with these applications include: Learn English pronunciation from native speakers, easily save web content to Google, search YouTube without having to stop the video playing, learn basic math skills through challenging games and activities, unshare sent files in Gmail, create interactive and engaging videos by adding polls, short questions and quizzes, create beautiful presentations and animations using drawn images and stick figures and many more.

Teaching with digital timelines — from Derek Bruff

Excerpt:

This year the Center for Teaching hosted a few educational technology working groups for faculty, staff, and students interested in exploring ways particular technologies might meet their instructional goals. One of the groups investigated the use of digital timeline tools, like Tiki-Toki and TimelineJS, that facilitate the creation of online, multimedia, interactive, and collaborative timelines. I had used such tools in my own teaching, having asked my 2010 writing seminar students to create a class timeline on the history of cryptography, and I was eager to talk with other instructors about the potential of student-produced timelines.

Top 5 AI virtual assistants: Now and into the future — from interestingengineering.com

Excerpt:

In Silicon Valley and elsewhere there’s currently an AI arms race going on. The first wave of this race is centered around artificial virtual assistants that are poised to become our new digital best friends in the very near future. While many people are familiar with Apple’s popular AI virtual assistant, Siri, there are four other main players in the AI virtual assistant space.

From DSC:
Twitter is also a tool that you should consider putting in your toolbox — or in your students’ toolboxes. Consider how it was used here –> This Henry VIII Twitter Account Is The Best Way To Learn About Brexit | @KngHnryVIII tells it like it is (and like how it was in the 1500s).

Heuristic Media is working on 37 apps, 1 for each Shakespeare play — with The Tempest as its pilot app.

Addendum on 6/30/16:

A Good Infographic Featuring 30 Web Tools for Teacher Librarians — from educatorstechnology.com
.
7 Apps for Student Creators — from edutopia.org by Monica Burns
.
Introducing the new mobile app for Microsoft Flow — from flow.microsoft.com with thanks to Mr. Michael Haan, Technology Integration Specialist/Purchasing w/ Calvin Information Technology, for this resource

We can do nothing to change the past, but we have enormous power to shape the future. Once we grasp that essential insight, we recognize our responsibility and capability for building our dreams of tomorrow and avoiding our nightmares.

–Edward Cornish

From DSC:
This posting represents Part VI in a series of such postings that illustrate how quickly things are moving (Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and to ask:

How do we collectively start talking about the future that we want?
How do we go about creating our dreams, not our nightmares?
Most certainly, governments will be involved….but who else should be involved in these discussions? Shouldn’t each one of us participate in some way, shape, or form?

Artificial Intelligence’s White Guy Problem — from nytimes.com by Kate Crawford

Excerpt:

But this hand-wringing is a distraction from the very real problems with artificial intelligence today, which may already be exacerbating inequality in the workplace, at home and in our legal and judicial systems. Sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination are being built into the machine-learning algorithms that underlie the technology behind many “intelligent” systems that shape how we are categorized and advertised to.
…
If we look at how systems can be discriminatory now, we will be much better placed to design fairer artificial intelligence. But that requires far more accountability from the tech community. Governments and public institutions can do their part as well: As they invest in predictive technologies, they need to commit to fairness and due process.

Facebook is using artificial intelligence to categorize everything you write — from futurism.com

Excerpt:

Facebook has just revealed DeepText, a deep learning AI that will analyze everything you post or type and bring you closer to relevant content or Facebook services.

March of the machines — from economist.com
What history tells us about the future of artificial intelligence—and how society should respond

Excerpt:

EXPERTS warn that “the substitution of machinery for human labour” may “render the population redundant”. They worry that “the discovery of this mighty power” has come “before we knew how to employ it rightly”. Such fears are expressed today by those who worry that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) could destroy millions of jobs and pose a “Terminator”-style threat to humanity. But these are in fact the words of commentators discussing mechanisation and steam power two centuries ago. Back then the controversy over the dangers posed by machines was known as the “machinery question”. Now a very similar debate is under way.

After many false dawns, AI has made extraordinary progress in the past few years, thanks to a versatile technique called “deep learning”. Given enough data, large (or “deep”) neural networks, modelled on the brain’s architecture, can be trained to do all kinds of things. They power Google’s search engine, Facebook’s automatic photo tagging, Apple’s voice assistant, Amazon’s shopping recommendations and Tesla’s self-driving cars. But this rapid progress has also led to concerns about safety and job losses. Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and others wonder whether AI could get out of control, precipitating a sci-fi conflict between people and machines. Others worry that AI will cause widespread unemployment, by automating cognitive tasks that could previously be done only by people. After 200 years, the machinery question is back. It needs to be answered.

As technology changes the skills needed for each profession, workers will have to adjust. That will mean making education and training flexible enough to teach new skills quickly and efficiently. It will require a greater emphasis on lifelong learning and on-the-job training, and wider use of online learning and video-game-style simulation. AI may itself help, by personalising computer-based learning and by identifying workers’ skills gaps and opportunities for retraining.

In Wisconsin, a Backlash Against Using Data to Foretell Defendants’ Futures — from nytimes.com by Mitch Smith

Excerpt:

CHICAGO — When Eric L. Loomis was sentenced for eluding the police in La Crosse, Wis., the judge told him he presented a “high risk” to the community and handed down a six-year prison term.

The judge said he had arrived at his sentencing decision in part because of Mr. Loomis’s rating on the Compas assessment, a secret algorithm used in the Wisconsin justice system to calculate the likelihood that someone will commit another crime.
…
Compas is an algorithm developed by a private company, Northpointe Inc., that calculates the likelihood of someone committing another crime and suggests what kind of supervision a defendant should receive in prison. The results come from a survey of the defendant and information about his or her past conduct. Compas assessments are a data-driven complement to the written presentencing reports long compiled by law enforcement agencies.

Google Tackles Challenge of How to Build an Honest Robot — from bloomberg.com by

Excerpt:

Researchers at Alphabet Inc. unit Google, along with collaborators at Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, and OpenAI — an artificial intelligence development company backed by Elon Musk — have some ideas about how to design robot minds that won’t lead to undesirable consequences for the people they serve. They published a technical paper Tuesday outlining their thinking.

The motivation for the research is the immense popularity of artificial intelligence, software that can learn about the world and act within it. Today’s AI systems let cars drive themselves, interpret speech spoken into phones, and devise trading strategies for the stock market. In the future, companies plan to use AI as personal assistants, first as software-based services like Apple Inc.’s Siri and the Google Assistant, and later as smart robots that can take actions for themselves.

But before giving smart machines the ability to make decisions, people need to make sure the goals of the robots are aligned with those of their human owners.

Policy paper | Data Science Ethical Framework — from gov.uk
From: Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service and The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP
First published: 19 May 2016
Part of: Government transparency and accountability

This framework is intended to give civil servants guidance on conducting data science projects, and the confidence to innovate with data.

Detail: Data science provides huge opportunities for government. Harnessing new forms of data with increasingly powerful computer techniques increases operational efficiency, improves public services and provides insight for better policymaking. We want people in government to feel confident using data science techniques to innovate. This guidance is intended to bring together relevant laws and best practice, to give teams robust principles to work with. The publication is a first version that we are asking the public, experts, civil servants and other interested parties to help us perfect and iterate. This will include taking on evidence from a public dialogue on data science ethics. It was published on 19 May by the Minister for Cabinet Office, Matt Hancock. If you would like to help us iterate the framework, find out how to get in touch at the end of this blog.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

We need to update the New Deal for the 21st century and establish a trainee program for the new jobs artificial intelligence will create. We need to retrain truck drivers and office assistants to create data analysts, trip optimizers and other professionals we don’t yet know we need. It would have been impossible for an antebellum farmer to imagine his son becoming an electrician, and it’s impossible to say what new jobs AI will create. But it’s clear that drastic measures are necessary if we want to transition from an industrial society to an age of intelligent machines.
…
The next step in achieving human-level ai is creating intelligent—but not autonomous—machines. The AI system in your car will get you safely home, but won’t choose another destination once you’ve gone inside. From there, we’ll add basic drives, along with emotions and moral values. If we create machines that learn as well as our brains do, it’s easy to imagine them inheriting human-like qualities—and flaws.

DARPA to Build “Virtual Data Scientist” Assistants Through A.I. — from inverse.com by William Hoffman
A.I. will make up for the lack of data scientists.

Excerpt:

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced on Friday the launch of Data-Driven Discovery of Models (D3M), which aim to help non-experts bridge what it calls the “data-science expertise gap” by allowing artificial assistants to help people with machine learning. DARPA calls it a “virtual data scientist” assistant.

This software is doubly important because there’s a lack of data scientists right now and a greater demand than ever for more data-driven solutions. DARPA says experts project 2016 deficits of 140,000 to 190,000 data scientists worldwide, and increasing shortfalls in coming years.

Robot that chooses to inflict pain sparks debate about AI systems — from interestingengineering.com by Maverick Baker

Excerpt:

A robot built by roboticist Alexander Reben from the University of Berkeley, California has the ability to decide using AI whether or not to inflict pain.

The robot aims to spark a debate on if an AI system can get out of control, reminiscent of the terminator. The robot design is incredibly simple, designed to serve only one purpose; to decide whether or not to inflict pain. The robot was engineered by Alexander Reben of the University of Berkeley and was published in a scientific journal aimed to spark a debate on whether or not artificial intelligent robots can get out of hand if given the opportunity.

The NSA wants to spy on the Internet of Things. Everything from thermostats to pacemakers could be mined for intelligence data. — from engadget.com by Andrew Dalton

Excerpt:

We already know the National Security Agency is all up in our data, but the agency is reportedly looking into how it can gather even more foreign intelligence information from internet-connected devices ranging from thermostats to pacemakers. Speaking at a military technology conference in Washington D.C. on Friday, NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett said the agency is “looking at it sort of theoretically from a research point of view right now.” The Intercept reports Ledgett was quick to point out that there are easier ways to keep track of terrorists and spies than to tap into any medical devices they might have, but did confirm that it was an area of interest.

The latest tool in the NSA’s toolbox? The Internet of Things — from digitaltrends.com by Lulu Chang

Excerpt:

You may love being able to set your thermostat from your car miles before you reach your house, but be warned — the NSA probably loves it too. On Friday, the National Security Agency — you know, the federal organization known for wiretapping and listening it on U.S. citizens’ conversations — told an audience at Washington’s Newseum that it’s looking into using the Internet of Things and other connected devices to keep tabs on individuals.

Addendum on 6/29/16:

Military | A.I. Downs Expert Human Fighter Pilot In Dogfight Simulation — from popsci.com by Coby McDonald
Superhuman reflexes

Addendums on 6/30/16

New research paper from Google reveals what the company fears most about AI — from digitaltrends.com by Luke Dormehl
.
The Partnership of the Future | Microsoft’s CEO explores how humans and A.I. can work together to solve society’s greatest challenges. — from slate.com by Satya Nadella

Addendum on 7/1/16

Humans are willing to trust chatbots with some of their most sensitive information — from businessinsider.com by Sam Shead
Excerpt:
A study has found that people are inclined to trust chatbots with sensitive information and that they are open to receiving advice from these AI services. The “Humanity in the Machine” report —published by media agency Mindshare UK on Thursday — urges brands to engage with customers through chatbots, which can be defined as artificial intelligence programmes that conduct conversations with humans through chat interfaces.

How chatbots and deep learning will change the future of organizations — from forbes.com by Daniel Newman

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Don’t let the fun, casual name mislead you. Chatbots—software that you can “chat with”—have serious implications for the business world. Though many businesses have already considered their use for customer service purposes, a chatbot’s internal applications could be invaluable on a larger scale. For instance, chatbots could help employees break down siloes and provide targeted data to fuel every department. This digital transformation is happening, even in organizational structures that face challenges with other formats of real-time communication.

Still unclear on what chatbots are and what they do? Think of a digital assistant—such as iPhone’s Siri or Alexa, the Artificial Intelligence within the Amazon Echo. A chatbot reduces or eliminates the need for many mobile apps, as the answers are stored inside the chatbot. Need to know what the weather’s like in LA? Ask your chatbot. Is your flight running on time? Ask your chatbot. Is the package you ordered going to be delivered while you’re away? You get the gist.

From DSC:
How might institutions of higher education as well as K-12 school districts benefit from such internal applications of chatbots? How about external applications of chatbots? If done well, such applications could facilitate solid customer service (i.e., self-service knowledgebases) and aid in communications.

Hold Tight: The Chatbot Era Has Begun — from chatbotsmagazine.com by
Chatbots: What they are, and why they’re so important for businesses

Excerpt:

Imagine being able to have your own personal assistant at your fingertips, who you can chat with, give instructions and errands to, and handle the majority of your online research — both personally and professionally.

That’s essentially what a chatbot does.

Capable of being installed on any messenger platform, such as Facebook messenger or text messages, a chat bot is a basic artificial intelligence computer software program that does the legwork for you — and communicates in a way that feels like an intelligent conversation over text or voice messaging.

Once-in-a-decade paradigm shift: Messaging — from chatbotsmagazine.com by Beerud Sheth
In the history of the personal computing industry, we have had a paradigm shift about once every decade.

Smart assistants and chatbots will be top consumer applications for AI over next 5 years, poll says — from venturebeat.com by Blaise Zerega

Excerpt:

Virtual agents and chatbots will be the top consumer applications of artificial intelligence over the next five years, according to a consensus poll released today by TechEmergence, a marketing research firm for AI and machine learning.

The emphasis on virtual agents and chatbots is in many ways not surprising. After all, the tech industry’s 800-pound gorillas have all made big bets: Apple with Siri, Amazon with Alexa, Facebook with M and Messenger, Google with Google Assistant, Microsoft with Cortana and Tay. However, the poll’s data also suggests that chatbots may soon be viewed as a horizontal enabling technology for many industries.

From DSC:
Might this eventually affect students’ expectations? Blackboard’s partnership with IBM and Amazon may come into play here.

Some like it bot: Why chatbots could be the start of something big — from business.sprint.com
Chatbots are on the rise. With Google, Facebook and Microsoft competing to be the caring voice your customers turn to, what does this mean for your enterprise?

Excerpt:

The most prevalent indicator that the artificial intelligence-driven future is rapidly becoming reality is the rise of the chatbot – an A.I. software program designed to chat with people. Well, more accurately, the re-emergence of the bot. Basically, robots talking to humans talking to robots is the tech vision for the future.

Maybe one of the most obvious uses for this technology would be in service. If you can incorporate your self-service knowledge base into a bot that responds directly to questions and uses customer data to provide the most relevant answers, it’s more convenient for customers…

Chatbot lawyer overturns 160,000 parking tickets in London and New York — from theguardian.com by Samuel Gibbs
Free service DoNotPay helps appeal over $4m in parking fines in just 21 months, but is just the tip of the legal AI iceberg for its 19-year-old creator

Excerpt:

An artificial-intelligence lawyer chatbot has successfully contested 160,000 parking tickets across London and New York for free, showing that chatbots can actually be useful.

Dubbed as “the world’s first robot lawyer” by its 19-year-old creator, London-born second-year Stanford University student Joshua Browder, DoNotPay helps users contest parking tickets in an easy to use chat-like interface.

Addendum on 6/29/16:

A New Chatbot Would Like to Help You With Your Bank Account — from wired.com by Cade Metz

Excerpt:

People in Asia are already using MyKai, and beginning today, you can too. Because it’s focused on banking—and banking alone—it works pretty well. But it’s also flawed. And it’s a bit weird. Unsettling, even. All of which makes it a great way of deconstructing the tech world’s ever growing obsession with “chatbots.”
…
MyKai is remarkably adept at understanding what I’m asking—and that’s largely because it’s focused solely on banking. When I ask “How much money do I have?” or “How much did I spend on food in May?,” it understands. But when I ask who won the Spain-Italy match at Euro 2016, it suggests I take another tack. The thing to realize about today’s chatbots is that they can be reasonably effective if they’ve honed to a particular task—and that they break down if the scope gets to wide.

If the future of TV is apps, and if bots are the new apps, does that mean that the future of TV is bots…?

On 06/16/2016, in 21st century, Apple, bots, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, ideas, Microsoft, smart/connected TV, tools, trends, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
If the future of TV is apps > and if bots are the new apps > does that mean that the future of TV is bots…?

bots-are-loving-you-9-638

7 items re: bots; bots will be relevant to K-12, higher ed, corporate training & business/retail as a whole

On 06/16/2016, in Amazon, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, data related items, digital audio, digital learning, education, education technology, emerging technologies, Facebook / Meta Platforms, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, tools, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The rise of the chatbots: Is it time to embrace them? — from knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

Excerpt:

The tech world is all agog these days about chatbots. These are automated computer programs that simulate online conversations with people to answer questions or perform tasks. While chatbots have been around in various rudimentary forms for years — think of Clippy, Microsoft’s paper clip virtual assistant — they have been taking off lately as advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence make them more versatile than ever. Among the most well-known chatbots: Apple’s Siri.

In rapid succession over the past few months, Microsoft, Facebook and Google have each unveiled their chatbot strategies, touting the potential for this evolving technology to aid users and corporate America with its customer-service capabilities as well as business utility features like organizing a meeting. Yahoo joined the bandwagon recently, launching its first chatbots on a chat app called Kik Messenger.

Bill Gates says the next big thing in tech can help people learn like he does — from businessinsider.com by Matt Weinberger

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

In a new interview with The Verge, Microsoft cofounder and richest man in the world Bill Gates explained the potential for chatbots — programs you can text with like they’re human — in education.

Gates lauds the potential for what he calls “dialogue richness,” where an chatbot can really hold a conversation with a student, essentially making it into a tutor that can walk them through even the toughest, most subjective topics.

It’s actually similar to how Gates himself likes to learn, he tells The Verge…

The complete beginner’s guide to chatbots — from chatbotsmagazine.com by Matt Schlicht
Everything you need to know.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What are chatbots? Why are they such a big opportunity? How do they work? How can I build one? How can I meet other people interested in chatbots?

These are the questions we’re going to answer for you right now.
…
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a service, powered by rules and sometimes artificial intelligence, that you interact with via a chat interface. The service could be any number of things, ranging from functional to fun, and it could live in any major chat product (Facebook Messenger, Slack, Telegram, Text Messages, etc.).
…

A chatbot is a service, powered by rules and sometimes artificial intelligence, that you interact with via a chat interface.

Examples of Chat Bots
Weather bot. Get the weather whenever you ask.
Grocery bot. Help me pick out and order groceries for the week.
News bot. Ask it to tell you when ever something interesting happens.
Life advice bot. I’ll tell it my problems and it helps me think of solutions.
Personal finance bot. It helps me manage my money better.
Scheduling bot. Get me a meeting with someone on the Messenger team at Facebook.
A bot that’s your friend. In China there is a bot called Xiaoice, built by Microsoft, that over 20 million people talk to.

Chatbots explained: Why Facebook and other tech companies think they’re the biggest thing since the iPhone — from businessinsider.com by Biz Carson

Excerpt:

Chatbots are the future, whether we’re ready for them or not.

On Tuesday (April 5, 2016) , Facebook launched Bots for Messenger, a step that could define the next decade in the same way that the Apple App Store launch paved the path for companies like Uber to build a business off your phone. Its new messaging platform will help businesses build intelligent chatbots to let them communicate in Messenger.

“Today could be the beginning of a new era,” said Facebook Messenger chief David Marcus.

So what are these chatbots, and why is everyone obsessed?

Facebook wants to completely revolutionize the way you talk to businesses — from businessinsider.com by Jillian D’Onfro

Bot wars: Why big tech companies want apps to talk back to you — from fastcompany.com by Jared Newman
Can a new wave of chatbots from Facebook and Microsoft upend apps as we know them, or is that just wishful thinking?

Excerpt:

The rise of conversational “chatbots” begins with a claim you might initially dismiss as preposterous. “Bots are the new apps,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared during the company’s Build developers conference last month. “People-to-people conversations, people-to-digital assistants, people-to-bots, and even digital assistants-to-bots. That’s the world you’re going to get to see in the years to come.”

Microsoft CEO Nadella: ‘Bots are the new apps’

Excerpt:

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella kicked off the company’s Build developers conference with a vision of the future filled with chatbots, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“Bots are the new apps,” said Nadella during a nearly three-hour keynote here that sketched a vision for the way humans will interact with machines. “People-to-people conversations, people-to-digital assistants, people-to-bots and even digital assistants-to-bots. That’s the world you’re going to get to see in the years to come.”

Onstage demos hammered home those ideas. One involved a smartphone conversing with digital assistant Cortana about planning a trip to Ireland, which soon found Cortana bringing in a Westin Hotels chatbot that booked a room based on the contents of the chat.

Addendums on 6/17/16:

Facebook’s head of AI wants to teach chatbots common sense — from wired.com by Bryan Derballa
Microsoft’s new acquisition can enhance Cortana’s chat bots
Wand Labs’ expertise could help Microsoft beat Facebook and Google at the AI game.

Announcements from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

On 06/14/2016, in Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, computer science, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, human-computer interaction (HCI), mobile learning, platforms, programming, tools, trends, by Daniel Christian

Keynote address:

From Apple:

Apple previews iOS 10, the biggest iOS release ever
Introduces Massive Update to Messages, New Home App, All-New Photos, Music and News & Opens Siri, Maps, Phone and Messages to Developers
Apple previews major update with macOS Sierra
Use Siri on the Mac, Access Your Desktop from Anywhere, Copy and Paste Between Devices & Rediscover Favorite Memories in Photos
Powerful new Siri capabilities and single sign-on are coming to Apple TV
Apple previews watchOS 3; faster, simpler with breakthrough health features
Swift Playgrounds app makes learning to code easy and fun
New iPad App Teaches Coding Concepts & Encourages Creative Experimentation

These are Apple’s big announcements from WWDC 2016 — from imore.com by Joseph Keller

Excerpt:

Apple made several interesting announcements today during its WWDC 2016 keynote. Here are the major announcements from the event.

iOS 10 — the big focus with this release is on Siri.
macOS Sierra — The next version of Apple’s operating system for desktops and laptops is dropping the ‘X’, opting instead for the new ‘macOS’ branding. With macOS, Siri makes its debut on Apple’s traditional computers for the first time.
watchOS
tvOS — The next major version of the Apple TV’s software will offer single sign-on for cable logins, along with its own dark mode. There will also be a number of Siri enhancements, as well as improvements for watching live TV.

Highlights from Apple’s WWDC 2016 Keynote — from fastcompany.com
From Messages to Music, and Siri to Apple Pay on the web, here are the most important announcements from Apple’s event today.

Apple launches Swift Playgrounds for iPad to teach kids to code — from techcrunch.com by Frederic Lardinois

Excerpt:

Apple today announced Swift Playgrounds for the iPad, a new project that aims to teach kids to code in Swift.

When you first open it, Swift Playground presents you with a number of basic coding lessons, as well as challenges. The interface looks somewhat akin to Codecademy, but it’s far more graphical and playful, which makes sense, given that the target audience is kids. Most of the projects seem to involve games and fun little animations to keep kids motivated.

To make coding on the iPad a bit easier, Apple is using a special keyboard with a number of shortcuts and other features that will make it easier to enter code.

Also see:

What’s new in iOS 10: Siri and Maps open to developers, machine learning and more — from arc.applause.com

Excerpts:

The biggest news for Siri from the WWDC keynote: Apple’s assistant is now open to third party developers.
…
Apple is now opening Siri to all of those potential interactions for developers through SiriKit. Siri will be able to access messaging, photos, search, ride booking through Uber or Lyft etc., payments, health and fitness and so forth. Siri will also be incorporated into Apple CarPlay apps to make it easier to interact with the assistant while driving.

Photos is getting a machine learning boost and automatic ‘Memories’ albums — from imore.com by Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Excerpt:

Speaking at WWDC 2016, Apple announced that it is bringing the power of machine learning to the Photos app in iOS 10. With machine learning, the Photos app will include object and scene recognition thanks to what Apple calls “Advanced Computer Vision.” For example, the app will be able to automatically pick out specific animal, features and more. Facial recognition is also available, all done locally on the iPhone with automatic people albums.

Home is a new way to control all of your HomeKit-enabled accessories — from imore.com by Jared DiPane

Excerpt:

Apple has announced its newest and easiest way to control any and all HomeKit accessories that you may have in your house: Home. With Home, you’ll be able to control all of your accessories, including Air Conditioners, cameras, door locks and other new categories. 3D Touch will be able to give you deeper controls at just a press, and notifications from these will also have 3D Touch functionality as well.

Here’s what Apple is bringing to the Apple TV — from fastcompany.com
tvOS is taking a step forward with updates to Siri, and new features such as single sign on, dark mode, and more.

Excerpt:

Less than nine months after the first version of tvOS, there are now over 6,000 native apps for the Apple TV. Of those apps, 1,300 are for streaming video. Popular over-the-top Internet television service Sling TV arrives on the Apple TV today. Live Fox Sports Go streaming will come this summer. Speaking of apps: Apple is introducing a new Apple TV Remote app for iOS that allows people to navigate tvOS using Siri from their iPhone and iPad.
…
Download apps on iPhone and get them on Apple TV
Now when you download an app on your iPad or iPhone, if there is an Apple TV version of the app, it will download to your Apple TV automatically.

tvOS 10 FAQ: Everything you need to know! — from imore.com by Lory Gil Mo

Apple iOS 10 “Memories” turns old photos into editable mini-movies — from techcrunch.com by Josh Constine
Using local, on-device facial recognition and AI detection of what’s in your images, it can combine photos and videos into themed mini-movies complete with transitions and a soundtrack.

Apple announces iOS 10 — from techcrunch.com

Apple launches iMessage Apps so third-party devs can join your convos — from techcrunch.com by Jordan Crook

Don’t brick your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch by installing developer betas — from imore.com by Serenity Caldwell

Excerpt:

As a reminder: You shouldn’t install developer betas on your primary devices if you want them to work.

This is our yearly reminder, folks: Unless you’re a developer with a secondary iPhone or Mac, we strongly, strongly urge you to consider not installing developer betas on your devices.

It’s not because we don’t want you to have fun: iOS 10, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS have some phenomenal features coming this Fall. But they’re beta seeds for a reason: These features are not fully baked, may crash at will, and probably will slow down or crash your third-party applications.

You already have the ultimate Apple TV remote, and it’s in your pocket — from techradar.com by Jon Porter

Apple quietly outs ‘next-generation’ file system destined for full product lineup — from imore.com by Dan Thorp-Lancaster

watchOS 3 FAQ: Everything you need to know — from imore.com by Mikah Sargent

Addendum on 6/15/16:

Apple’s 7 Most Immediately Useful New OS Features — from fastcompany.com
Apple announced a boatload of new mobile and desktop OS features at WWDC on Monday. These are the ones that stood out.

Learning Ecosystems

Is the provision of dual cameras in Apple’s new iPhone 7 laying the foundation for mainstream AR?

Today’s announcements from Apple

IdioT InTo IoT [Moe, Pampoulov, Jiang, Franco, Han, & Bartimer]

High-Profile Cyber Attacks on Physical Assets

From Dreams to Realities: AR/VR/MR in Education [C-Level View Q&A with Mary Grush & Daniel Christian]

If the future of TV is apps, and if bots are the new apps, does that mean that the future of TV is bots…?

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