bots

Inside a radical new project to democratize AI [Heikkilä]

On 07/16/2022, in 21st century, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, emerging technologies, ethics, Europe, Google, Microsoft, morals/values, open courseware and systems, by Daniel Christian

Inside a radical new project to democratize AI — from technologyreview.com by Melissa Heikkilä
A group of over 1,000 AI researchers has created a multilingual large language model bigger than GPT-3—and they’re giving it out for free.

Excerpt:

PARIS — This is as close as you can get to a rock concert in AI research. Inside the supercomputing center of the French National Center for Scientific Research, on the outskirts of Paris, rows and rows of what look like black fridges hum at a deafening 100 decibels.

They form part of a supercomputer that has spent 117 days gestating a new large language model (LLM) called BLOOM that its creators hope represents a radical departure from the way AI is usually developed.

Unlike other, more famous large language models such as OpenAI’s GPT-3 and Google’s LaMDA, BLOOM (which stands for BigScience Large Open-science Open-access Multilingual Language Model) is designed to be as transparent as possible, with researchers sharing details about the data it was trained on, the challenges in its development, and the way they evaluated its performance. OpenAI and Google have not shared their code or made their models available to the public, and external researchers have very little understanding of how these models are trained.

Another item re: AI:

Not my job: AI researchers building surveillance tech and deepfakes resist ethical concerns — from protocol.com by Kate Kaye
The computer vision research community is behind on AI ethics, but it’s not just a research problem. Practitioners say the ethics disconnect persists as young computer vision scientists make their way into the ranks of corporate AI.

For the first time, the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference — a global event that attracted companies including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Tesla to recruit new AI talent this year — “strongly encouraged”researchers whose papers were accepted to the conference to include a discussion about potential negative societal impacts of their research in their submission forms.

We need to go beyond the focus on STEM (science, tech, engineering, math) towards HECI (humanity, ethics, creativity, imagination) — from futuristgerd.com by Gerd Leonhard
…an important realisation that recently dawned on me. What will our schools, colleges and universities do about this?

“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”

Gerd Leonhard

We need to go beyond the focus on STEM (science, tech, engineering, math) towards HECI (humanity, ethics, creativity, imagination)

Also see:

Radar Trends to Watch: June 2022 [O’Reilly]

On 06/03/2022, in 21st century, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, ethics, Facebook / Meta Platforms, Google, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, internet, IT in HE, NVIDIA, platforms, programming, robotics, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Radar Trends to Watch: June 2022 — from oreilly.com

Excerpt:

The explosion of large models continues. Several developments are especially noteworthy. DeepMind’s Gato model is unique in that it’s a single model that’s trained for over 600 different tasks; whether or not it’s a step towards general intelligence (the ensuing debate may be more important than the model itself), it’s an impressive achievement. Google Brain’s Imagen creates photorealistic images that are impressive, even after you’ve seen what DALL-E 2 can do. And Allen AI’s Macaw (surely an allusion to Emily Bender and Timnit Gebru’s Stochastic Parrots paper) is open source, one tenth the size of GPT-3, and claims to be more accurate. Facebook/Meta is also releasing an open source large language model, including the model’s training log, which records in detail the work required to train it.

12 examples of artificial intelligence in everyday life — from itproportal.com by Christopher Oldman

Excerpt:

4. Plagiarism
The college students’ (or is it professor’s?) nightmare. Whether you are a content manager or a teacher grading essays, you have the same problem – the internet makes plagiarism easier.

There is a nigh unlimited amount of information and data out there, and less-than-scrupulous students and employees will readily take advantage of that.

Indeed, no human could compare and contrast somebody’s essay with all the data out there. AIs are a whole different beast.

They can sift through an insane amount of information, compare it with the relevant text, and see if there is a match or not.

Furthermore, thanks to advancement and growth in this area, some tools can actually check sources in foreign languages, as well as images and audio.

Intel calls its AI that detects student emotions a teaching tool. Others call it ‘morally reprehensible.’ — from protocol.com by Kate Kaye
Virtual school software startup Classroom Technologies will test the controversial “emotion AI” technology.

Excerpts:

But Intel and Classroom Technologies, which sells virtual school software called Class, think there might be a better way. The companies have partnered to integrate an AI-based technology developed by Intel with Class, which runs on top of Zoom. Intel claims its system can detect whether students are bored, distracted or confused by assessing their facial expressions and how they’re interacting with educational content.
…
But critics argue that it is not possible to accurately determine whether someone is feeling bored, confused, happy or sad based on their facial expressions or other external signals.
…
The classroom is just one arena where controversial “emotion AI” is finding its way into everyday tech products and generating investor interest. It’s also seeping into delivery and passenger vehicles and virtual sales and customer service software.

MIT’s FutureMakers programs help kids get their minds around — and hands on — AI — from news.mit.edu by Kim Patch
The programs are designed to foster an understanding of how artificial intelligence technologies work, including their social implications.

Excerpt:

During one-week, themed FutureMakers Workshops organized around key topics related to AI, students learn how AI technologies work, including social implications, then build something that uses AI.

“AI is shaping our behaviors, it’s shaping the way we think, it’s shaping the way we learn, and a lot of people aren’t even aware of that,” says Breazeal. “People now need to be AI literate given how AI is rapidly changing digital literacy and digital citizenship.”

AI can now kill those annoying cookie pop-ups — from thenextweb.com by Thomas Macaulay
The notifications have been put on notice

Excerpt:

After years of suffering this digital torture, a new AI tool has finally offered hope of an escape.

Named CookieEnforcer, the system was created by researchers from Google and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The system was created to stop cookies from manipulating people into making website-friendly choices that put their privacy at risk. Yet it could also end the constant hassle of navigating the notices.

Using machine learning to improve student success in higher education — from mckinsey.com
Deploying machine learning and advanced analytics thoughtfully and to their full potential may support improvements in student access, success, and the overall student experience.

Excerpt:

Yet higher education is still in the early stages of data capability building. With universities facing many challenges (such as financial pressures, the demographic cliff, and an uptick in student mental-health issues) and a variety of opportunities (including reaching adult learners and scaling online learning), expanding use of advanced analytics and machine learning may prove beneficial.

Below, we share some of the most promising use cases for advanced analytics in higher education to show how universities are capitalizing on those opportunities to overcome current challenges, both enabling access for many more students and improving the student experience.

Artificial intelligence (AI): 7 roles to prioritize now — from enterprisersproject.com by Marc Lewis
Which artificial intelligence (AI) jobs are hottest now? Consider these seven AI/ML roles to prioritize in your organization

Excerpt:

Rather than a Great Resignation, this would suggest a Great Reallocation of the workforce. As a global search consultant, we are seeing this precipitous shift in positions, with great demand for skills in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML).

With that in mind, here are seven artificial intelligence (AI)-related roles to consider prioritizing right now as the workforce reallocates talent to new jobs that drive economic value for leading companies…

4 ways AI will be a great teaching assistant — from thetechedvocate.org by Matthew Lynch

The amazing opportunities of AI in the future of the educational metaverse [Darbinyan]

On 04/29/2022, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, Facebook / Meta Platforms, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, library / librarians, lifelong learning, Metaverse, Michigan, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, Natural Language Processing (NLP), NVIDIA, online learning, personalized/customized learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, United States, universities, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, wearables, web-based collaboration, Web3, by Daniel Christian

The amazing opportunities of AI in the future of the educational metaverse — from forbes.com by Rem Darbinyan

Excerpt:

Looking ahead, let’s go over several potential AI-backed applications of the metaverse that can empower the education industry in many ways.

Multilingual Learning Opportunities
Language differences may be a real challenge for students from different cultures as they may not be able to understand and keep up with the materials and assignments. Artificial intelligence, VR and AR technologies can enhance multilingual accessibility for learners no matter where they are in the world. Speech-to-text, text-to-speech and machine translation technologies enrich the learning process and create more immersive learning environments.
…
AI can process multiple languages simultaneously and provide real-time translations, enabling learners to engage with the materials in the language of their choice. With the ability to instantly transcribe speech across multiple languages, artificial intelligence removes any language barriers for students, enabling them to be potentially involved, learn and communicate in any language.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education Market size exceeded USD 1 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 40% between 2021 and 2027. (source)

Along the lines of innovation within our educational learning ecosystems, see:

3 Questions for Coursera’s Betty Vandenbosch & U-M’s Lauren Atkins Budde on XR — from insidehighered.com by Joshua Kiim
How might extended reality shape the future of learning?

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

[Lauren Atkins Budde] “Being able to embed quality, effective extended reality experiences into online courses is exponentially a game-changer. One of the persistent constraints of online learning, especially at scale, is how do learners get hands-on practice? How do they experience specific contexts and situations? How do they learn things that are best experienced? XR provides that opportunity for actively doing different kinds of tasks, in various environments, in ways that would otherwise not be possible. It will open up Lauren Atkins Buddeboth how we teach online and also what we teach online.”
…
These courses are really exciting and cover a broad range of disciplines, which is particularly important. To choose the right subjects, we did an extensive review of insights from industry partners, learners and market research on in-demand and emerging future-of-work skills and then paired that with content opportunities where immersive learning is really a value-add and creates what our learning experience designers call “embodied learning.”

Addendum on 5/1/22:
Can the Metaverse Improve Learning? New Research Finds Some Promise — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young

“The findings support a deeper understanding of how creating unique educational experiences that feel real (i.e., create a high level of presence) through immersive technology can influence learning through different affective and cognitive processes including enjoyment and interest,” Mayer and his colleagues write.

Radar trends to watch: April 2022 — from oreillky.com by Mike Loukides
Developments in Programming, Biology, Hardware, and More

5 Digital Transformation Themes for Higher Education — from
Explore key topics and event recordings from our latest deep dive into Digital Transformation in Higher Education.

The semiconductor decade: A trillion-dollar industry — from mckinsey.com by Ondrej Burkacky, Julia Dragon, and Nikolaus Lehmann

Drilling down into individual subsegments, about 70 percent of growth is predicted to be driven by just three industries: automotive, computation and data storage, and wireless.

Addendum later on 4/8/22:

10 Legal Tech Trends for 2022 and Beyond…with Thought Leaders’ Insights! — from netdocuments.com

The Future of ID in an AI World [Bernhardt & Quinn]

On 03/30/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, future, instructional design, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, training / L&D, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

The Future of ID in an AI World — from learningsolutionsmag.com by Markus Bernhardt and Clark Quinn

Excerpt:

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are promising great things for learning. The potential here is impressive, but there also exist many questions and insecurities around deploying AI technology for learning: What can AI do? Where is it best utilized? What are the limits? And particularly: What does that leave for the instructional designer and other human roles in learning, such as coaching and training?

We want to suggest that these developments are for the benefit of everyone—from organizational development strategy devised in the C-suite, via content creation/curation by instructional designers, right through to the learners, as well as coaches and trainers who work with the learners.

Reflections on “AI-powered chatbots, designed ethically, can support high-quality university teaching”

On 01/14/2022, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, Canada, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, ethics, Europe, faculty/staff, India, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Natural Language Processing (NLP), teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, user experience (UX), user interface design, using teams, vendors, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

DC: The staff from Teaching & Learning Centers as well as the IT/AV staff would likely collaborate on creating/maintaining this type of database.#teachingandlearning #AV #IT #AI #NLP #highereducation https://t.co/Vs3RQJwrrH

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) January 13, 2022

What’s ahead for AI, VR, NFTs, and more? [Loukides]

On 01/13/2022, in 21st century, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, career development, collaboration, copyright/ownership/NFTs, emerging technologies, Facebook / Meta Platforms, future, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, United States, universities, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

What’s ahead for AI, VR, NFTs, and more? — from oreilly.com by Mike Loukides
Here are some predictions for tech in 2022.

Excerpt:

Just as we saw new professions and job classifications when the web appeared in the ’90s, we’ll see new professions and services appear as a result of AI—specifically, as a result of natural language processing. We don’t yet know what these new professions will look like or what new skills they’ll require. But they’ll almost certainly involve collaboration between humans and intelligent machines.

Also see:

How A.I. is set to evolve in 2022 — from cnbc.com by Sam Shead
Key Points:
* AI can excel at specific narrow tasks such as playing chess but it struggles to do more than one thing well.
* While AI still has a long way to go before anything like human-level intelligence is achieved, it hasn’t stopped the likes of Google, Facebook and Amazon investing billions of dollars.

What does the legal realm need to know here? [Christian]

On 12/08/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, change, computer science, copyright/ownership/NFTs, corporate / business world, cryptocurrencies, Daniel S. Christian, economics, law schools, Legal operations, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, privacy, programming, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
When I ran across the items below, I couldn’t help but wonder…”What does the legal realm need to know here?”

The Ultimate List Of Crypto Lending Platforms — from 101blockchains.com by Diego Geroni

Know The Vulnerabilities And Security Concerns Associated With NFT — from 101blockchains.com by Diego Geroni

Radar trends to watch: December 2021 — from oreilly.com by Mike Loukides
Developments in Programming, Quantum Computing, Cryptocurrency, and More

NFT sales reached $27 billion this year — from protocol.com by Nat Rubio-Licht
OpenSea dominated the business.

UNISWAP – Know Everything About The Largest Decentralized Exchange (DEX) — from 101blockchains.com by Diego Geroni

AI bots to user data: Is there space for rights in the metaverse? [Elks]

On 11/17/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, data related items, Facebook / Meta Platforms, innovation, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Metaverse, platforms, policy, by Daniel Christian

AI bots to user data: Is there space for rights in the metaverse? — from reuters.com by Sonia Elks

Summary

Facebook’s ‘metaverse’ plans fuel debate on virtual world
Shared digital spaces raise privacy, ownership questions
Rights campaigners urge regulators to widen safeguards

Excerpt from “Use of digital technologies in judicial reform and access to justice cooperation — from HiiL (The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law)

Supporting Student Accessibility: Digital Equity | Special Needs & More [Tech & Learning]

On 11/09/2021, in accessibility / UDL, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), bots, digital learning, digital textbooks, distance education, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), e-readers, education, education technology, ethics, experimentation, face-to-face, funding / grants, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, neurodivergent/special needs, remote teaching and learning, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Supporting Student Accessibility: Digital Equity | Special Needs & More — from Tech & Learning | November 2021

Americans Need a Bill of Rights for an AI-Powered World — from wired.com by Eric Lander & Alondra Nelson
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is developing principles to guard against powerful technologies—with input from the public.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Soon after ratifying our Constitution, Americans adopted a Bill of Rights to guard against the powerful government we had just created—enumerating guarantees such as freedom of expression and assembly, rights to due process and fair trials, and protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Throughout our history we have had to reinterpret, reaffirm, and periodically expand these rights. In the 21st century, we need a “bill of rights” to guard against the powerful technologies we have created.

Our country should clarify the rights and freedoms we expect data-driven technologies to respect. What exactly those are will require discussion, but here are some possibilities: your right to know when and how AI is influencing a decision that affects your civil rights and civil liberties; your freedom from being subjected to AI that hasn’t been carefully audited to ensure that it’s accurate, unbiased, and has been trained on sufficiently representative data sets; your freedom from pervasive or discriminatory surveillance and monitoring in your home, community, and workplace; and your right to meaningful recourse if the use of an algorithm harms you.

In the coming months, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (which we lead) will be developing such a bill of rights, working with partners and experts across the federal government, in academia, civil society, the private sector, and communities all over the country.

Technology can only work for everyone if everyone is included, so we want to hear from and engage with everyone. You can email us directly at ai-equity@ostp.eop.gov.

DC: Saw it last night w/ our daughters. This would a great movie for middle schoolers & high schoolers to see & discuss. I enjoyed it. The impact of social media, algorithms, Silicon Valley personalities/dynamics, privacy & data-related issues, friendship. https://t.co/LAqvNuqUnk

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) October 25, 2021

Learning Ecosystems

Excerpt from “Use of digital technologies in judicial reform and access to justice cooperation — from HiiL

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