Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related

Excerpts:

The 10 Megatrends Shaping Our World

Knowledge Economy
Global Silicon Valley
Digitization
Smart Everything
HomeWork
The Office has become optional but the Zoom Room has become essential. 88% of companies encouraged or required employees to work from home during the pandemic. A near term problem that is rapidly being solved is that only 1 in 4 people are set up currently to work efficiently from home but 99% of employees say they like that option. Overall, due to reducing commutes, office distractions etc., productivity on average rose for most knowledge workers up to 20% greater.It is expected that many knowledge workers will continue to work from home even post the pandemic.
Winner Take All
Data King
Sustainability
Everything is a Subscription
Mission Corp

2 items re: AI in 2021

On 12/30/2020, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, bots, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, MBA, technology (general), the downsides of how people use tech, trends, United States, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Artificial intelligence will go mainstream in 2021 — from manilatimes.net by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado; with thanks to Matthew Lamons for this resource

Excerpt:

In his December 21 Forbes website article, titled “Why Covid Will Make AI Go Mainstream In 2021,” data scientist Ganes Kesari predicts AI will transform 2021 by accelerating pharmaceutical drug discovery beyond Covid-19. He says the face of telecommuting would change, and that AI would transform edge computing and make devices around us truly intelligent.

Artificial Intelligence in 2021: Endless Opportunities and Growth — from analyticsinsight.net by Priya Dialani; with thanks to Matthew Lamons for this resource

Excerpts:

In 2021, the grittiest of organizations will push AI to new boondocks, for example, holographic meetings for telecommunication and on-demand, personalised manufacturing. They will gamify vital planning, incorporate simulations in the meeting room and move into intelligent edge experiences.

According to Rohan Amin, the Chief Information Officer at Chase, “In 2021, we will see more refined uses of machine learning and artificial intelligence across industries, including financial services. There will be more noteworthy incorporation of AI/ML models and abilities into numerous business operations and processes to drive improved insights and better serve clients.”

From DSC:
I’m a bit more cautious when facing the growth of AI in our world, in our lives, in our society. I see some very positive applications (such as in healthcare and in education), but I’m also concerned about techs involved with facial recognition and other uses of AI that could easily become much more negative and harmful to us in the future.

The Year TV Leaped Into The Future [Roettgers]

On 12/27/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future, game-changing environment, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, lifelong learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, platforms, reinvent, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, surviving, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, trends, TVs, United States, using teams, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

The Year TV Leaped Into The Future — from protocol.com by Janko Roettgers

The lockdowns this year have transformed our homes into offices, schools, concert halls, movie theaters and gyms. Our homes are working harder for us, but so is our technology. The device that is working the hardest is perhaps the TV—becoming our lifeline to a far more virtual world.

Addendums:

The Second Year of The MOOC: 2020 Saw a Rush to Large-Scale Online Courses — from edsurge.com by Dhawal Shah

Excerpt:

This was the year that more people learned what a MOOC is.

As millions suddenly found themselves with free time on their hands during the pandemic, many turned to online courses—especially, to free courses known as MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses. This phenomenon was compounded by media worldwide compiling lists of “free things to do during lockdown,” which tended to include MOOCs.

Within two months, Class Central had received over 10 million visits and sent over six million clicks to MOOC providers. These learners also turned out to be more engaged than usual. In April 2020, MOOC providers Coursera, edX and FutureLearn attracted as many new users in a single month as they did in the entirety of 2019.

.

From DSC:
The pieces continue to come together…

...team-based content creation and delivery will dominate in the future (at least for the masses). It will offer engaging, personalized learning and the AI-based systems will be constantly scanning for the required/sought-after skills and competencies. The systems will then present a listing of items that will help people obtain those skills and competencies.

#AI #LearningProfiles #Cloud #LearningFromTheLivingClassRoom #LearningEcosystems #LearningSpaces #21stCentury #24x7x365 #Reinvent #Surviving #StayingRelevant #LifeLongLearning and many more tags/categories are applicable here.

IT careers: 8 hot jobs in 2021 [Overby]

On 12/22/2020, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, IT in HE, strategy, United States, workplace, by Daniel Christian

IT careers: 8 hot jobs in 2021 — from enterprisersproject.com by Stephanie Overby
Both IT job seekers and hiring managers need to understand what’s in high demand. Cloud, security, data, and AI skills star on the list of 2021’s hottest jobs, say IT recruiters and leaders

Excerpts:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) specialists
Strategy-minded software developers and managers
Business-focused data scientists
Data engineers
AIOps analysts, engineers, and architects
Cybersecurity architects and engineers
Cloud architects
IT directors who demonstrate soft skills

AI: One positive article and one negative article

On 12/17/2020, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, digital audio, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, media/film, morals/values, platforms, society, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, vendors, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
An interesting, more positive use of AI here:

Deepdub uses AI to dub movies in the voice of famous actors — from protocol.com by Janko Roettgers
Fresh out of stealth, the startup is using artificial intelligence to automate the localization process for global streaming.

Excerpt:

Tel Aviv-based startup Deepdub wants to help streaming services accelerate this kind of international rollout by using artificial intelligence for their localization needs. Deepdub, which came out of stealth on Wednesday, has built technology that can translate a voice track to a different language, all while staying true to the voice of the talent. This makes it possible to have someone like Morgan Freeman narrate a movie in French, Italian or Russian without losing what makes Freeman’s voice special and recognizable.

From DSC:
A much more negative use of AI here:

Re: college admissions: Hhmmm….here’s an interesting idea.

On 12/16/2020, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business side of he, colleges, community colleges, data related items, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, learner profiles, learning agents, learning preferences, liberal arts, universities, by Daniel Christian

Can Algorithms Save College Admissions? — from chronicle.com by Brian Rosenberg
We’ve tried a system based on competition long enough. It isn’t working.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Here is an alternative and much more radical proposal: What if we replaced the current and longstanding admissions process among private colleges with a match process, similar to what has for years been used to match medical-school graduates with residency and fellowship positions? What if, in other words, we used data and algorithms instead of travel, merit aid, and free food to drive college admissions?

From DSC:
Love the “What if…” thinking here and the spirit of innovation behind it. I wonder if AI and cloud-based learner profiles might play into something like this in the future…?

Also see:

7 Ways To Make College Admissions More Equitable — from stradaeducation.org by Patty Reinert Mason and Jeff Selingo
Is it time to reconsider early-decision applications, legacy preferences, and reliance on feeder high schools?
Selingo offers these practical steps colleges and universities can take to make admissions more equitable:

Eliminate early-decision applications.
Be upfront about what you’re looking for in this year’s incoming class so students and parents have the information they need.
Be transparent about what it costs to study at your school.
Look beyond traditional “feeder high schools” for recruitment, creating opportunity for a more diverse group of students.
Reduce preferences given to athletes and legacies.
Rethink application requirements to put more emphasis on high school coursework and grades and less on extracurriculars, recommendations, and essays.
Expand the size of freshman classes.

Also see:

Attention Administrators: More Flexibility in Online/Course Schedules Results in Higher Enrollment — from fierceeducation.comby Jacqueline Renfrow

Teaching with Amazon Alexa — from Sylvia Martinez

Excerpt:

Alexa is a voice-activated, cloud-based virtual assistant, similar to Siri on Apple devices, or Google Assistant. Alexa is an umbrella name for the cloud-based functionality that responds to verbal commands. Alexa uses artificial intelligence to answer questions or control smart devices, and has a range of “skills” — small programs that you can add to increase Alexa’s capabilities.

Many teachers are experimenting with using smart devices like Alexa in the classroom. Like most other Amazon features and products, Alexa is primarily designed for home use, anticipating that users will be household members. So in thinking about Alexa in a classroom, keeping this in mind will help determine the best educational uses.

Alexa is most often accessed in three ways…

23 Greatest Engineering Highlights from 2020 [McFadden]

On 12/15/2020, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, digital photography, emerging technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, future, game-changing environment, Google, health, photography, robotics, science, society, STEAM-related, telecommunications, by Daniel Christian

23 Greatest Engineering Highlights from 2020 — from interestingengineering.com by Christopher McFadden
These are some of the greatest engineering highlights from 2020.

Designed to Deceive: Do These People Look Real to You? [Hill & White]

On 12/12/2020, in Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, face-to-face, Facebook / Meta Platforms, human-computer interaction (HCI), social media, society, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

Designed to Deceive: Do These People Look Real to You? — from nytimes.com by Kashmir Hill and Jeremy White
These people may look familiar, like ones you’ve seen on Facebook or Twitter. Or people whose product reviews you’ve read on Amazon, or dating profiles you’ve seen on Tinder. They look stunningly real at first glance. But they do not exist. They were born from the mind of a computer. And the technology that makes them is improving at a startling pace.

Is this humility or hubris? Do we place too little value in human intelligence — or do we overrate it, assuming we are so smart that we can create things smarter still?

Report: There’s More to Come for AI in Ed [Schaffhauser]

On 12/12/2020, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, education, education technology, emerging technologies, ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, teachers, teaching & learning, the downsides of how people use tech, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

Report: There’s More to Come for AI in Ed — from thejournal.com by Dian Schaffhauser

Excerpts:

The group came up with dozens of “opportunities” for AI in education, from extending what teachers can do to better understanding human learning:

Using virtual instructors to free up “personalization time” for classroom teachers;
Offloading the “cognitive load” of teaching;
Providing “job aids” for teachers;
Identifying the links between courses, credentials, degrees and skills;
“Revolutionizing” testing and assessment;
Creating new kinds of “systems of support”;
Helping with development of “teaching expertise”; and
Better understanding human learning through “modeling and building interfaces” in AI.

But contributors also offered just as many barriers to success:

Differences in the way teachers teach would require “different job aids”;
Teachers would fear losing their jobs;
Data privacy concerns;
Bias worries;
Dealing with unrealistic expectations and fears about AI pushed in “popular culture”;
Lack of diversity in gender, ethnicity and culture in AI projects; and
Smart use of data would require more teacher training.

Some items from Andreessen Horowitz’ “Social strikes back” series

On 12/09/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, curriculum, digital video, distance education, education technology, emerging technologies, Facebook / Meta Platforms, future, game-changing environment, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, marketplaces, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, remote teaching and learning, social learning / networks, social media, society, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

Social strikes back — from a16z.com
Social Strikes Back is a series exploring the next generation of social networks and how they’re shaping the future of consumer tech. See more at a16z.com/social-strikes-back.

Excerpt:

Until recently, it was commonly accepted that “social” was done. The market had been fully saturated, the thinking went, dominated by the holy trinity of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Turns out, rumors of social’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Not only are we seeing the rise of innovative new social networks—from the earshare of Clubhouse to the seamless interactivity of cloud gaming—but having a social component has become a powerful acquisition and retention tool for every consumer product, across education, shopping, fitness, food, entertainment, and more. In this series, we reveal what new social looks like, the forces that are driving it, and how to build it.

Meet Me in the Metaverse — from a16z.com by Jonathan Lai

Excerpts:

There are many competing visions for how we’ll build the Metaverse: a persistent, infinitely-scaling virtual space with its own economy and identity system.
…
New social modalities will emerge in the Metaverse. Advances in cloud streaming and AI will enable new forms of engagement with friends—for example, the ability to pop into a persistent virtual world and discover new people and experiences together, entirely unplanned.

Live, Social, and Shoppable: The Future of Video — from a16z.com by Connie Chan

Excerpt:

Now, we’re about to enter a whole new era of video-first products that extend far beyond entertainment and gaming. If phase one of video was a laid-back experience, video 2.0 will be far more interactive and participatory, with users engaging with the platform, giving direct feedback on the content, and fundamentally shaping the experience in real time.

Also see:

Edtech’s Answer to Remote Learning Burnout — from a16z.com by Anne Lee Skates and Connie Chan

Excerpt:

While previous generations of edtech largely focused on in-school content distribution, more recently founders have turned their attention to after-school and out-of-school education. There’s a lot left to build. We believe post-COVID online education will differ from the past in key ways.

What might this new concept/setup look like in smart classrooms of the future? [Christian]

On 12/09/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, blended learning, Canvas - and other Instructure-related items, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, face-to-face, future, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, telecommunications, telelegal, telemedicine / telehealth / virtual health, telepresence, television, tools, training / L&D, TVs, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

A new category of devices from Cisco -- the Webex Desk Hub

From DSC:
In yesterday’s webexone presentations, Cisco mentioned a new device category, calling it the Webex Desk Hub. It gets at the idea of walking into a facility and grabbing any desk, and making that desk you own — at least for that day and time. Cisco is banking on the idea that sometimes people will be working remotely, and sometimes they will be “going into the office.” But the facilities will likely be fewer and smaller — so one might not have their own office.

In that case, you can plug in your smart device, and things are set up the way they would be if you did have that space as a permanent office.

Applying this concept to the smart classrooms of the future, what might that concept look like for classrooms? A faculty member or a teacher could walk into any room that supports such a setup, put in their personal smart device, and the room conditions are instantly implemented:

The LMS comes on
The correct class — based on which day it is and then on the particular time of day it is — is launched
The lights are dimmed to 50%
The electric window treatments darken the room
The projector comes on and/or the displays turn on
Etc.

Survey: Employee Success is Becoming Increasingly Dependent on Automation Skills

On 12/04/2020, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, career development, change, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, society, staying relevant, surviving, technology (general), trends, United States, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Survey: Employee Success is Becoming Increasingly Dependent on Automation Skills — from uipath.com by Toni Iafrate; with thanks to Ryan Craig for this resource

Excerpt:

Since the start of the pandemic in particular, digital adoption has accelerated to solve for evolving market conditions, new customer needs and changed employee circumstances. In fact, a new McKinsey study found that 85% of C-suite executives reported a significant acceleration of digitization and automation during the pandemic in an effort to stay agile and maintain continuity amid business disruptions.

Two items re: AI: The good & the not so good

On 12/03/2020, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, health, innovation, society, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
The good…

London A.I. lab claims breakthrough that could accelerate drug discovery — from nytimes.com by
Researchers at DeepMind say they have solved “the protein folding problem,” a task that has bedeviled scientists for more than 50 years

This long-sought breakthrough could accelerate the ability to understand diseases, develop new medicines and unlock mysteries of the human body.

…and the not so good…

Hmmm…can’t imagine anyone slipping on this slippery slope in the future. https://t.co/h2lZcpAh02

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) December 3, 2020

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