emerging technologies

Gartner: Top Wireless Tech Trends to Watch [Kelly]

On 08/22/2019, in 21st century, emerging technologies, engineering, internet, IT in HE, platforms, robotics, society, tools, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

Gartner: Top Wireless Tech Trends to Watch — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Excerpts:

The research firm identified 10 key wireless trends worth watching as the technology continues to develop over the next five years:

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) wireless. This is the technology that will allow conventional cars, self-driving cars and the road infrastructure to all share information and status data.
Wireless sensing. This involves using the absorption and reflection of wireless signals as sensor data for radar tracking purposes. As an example, Gartner pointed to wireless sensing as an indoor radar system for robots and drones.

Google brings AI to studying with Socratic — from zdnet.com by Stephanie Condon
Ahead of the new school year, Google is re-launching a mobile learning app it acquired last year.

Excerpt:

Google this week started rolling out a revamped version of a mobile learning app, called Socratic, that the tech giant acquired last year. The updated app, with new machine learning-powered features, coincides with the start of the school year, as well as other Google for Education initiatives.

Socratic aims to help both high school and university students in their studies outside of the classroom. If students need help answering a study question, they can now use the Socratic app to ask a question with their voice, or to take a picture of a question in their study materials. The app will then find relevant material from across the web.

Also see:

The School of Tomorrow Will Revolve Around AI — from datafloq.com
Excerpt:
We live in exponential times, and merely having a digital strategy focused on continuous innovation is no longer enough to thrive in a constantly changing world. To transform an organisation and contribute to building a secure and rewarding networked society, collaboration among employees, customers, business units and even things is increasingly becoming key.Especially with the availability of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, organisations now, more than ever before, need to focus on bringing together the different stakeholders to co-create the future. Big data empowers customers and employees, the Internet of Things will create vast amounts of data and connects all devices, while artificial intelligence creates new human-machine interactions. In today’s world, every organisation is a data organisation, and AI is required to make sense of it all.

Addendum on 8/23/19

Google: Gmail’s new AI spelling, grammar checks help you avoid email blunders — from zdnet.com by Liam Tung
Gmail on G Suite gains new AI-assisted spellcheck and grammar features.

AI is in danger of becoming too male — new research — from singularityhub.com by Juan Mateos-Garcia and Joysy John

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

But current AI systems are far from perfect. They tend to reflect the biases of the data used to train them and to break down when they face unexpected situations.
…
So do we really want to turn these bias-prone, brittle technologies into the foundation stones of tomorrow’s economy?
…
One way to minimize AI risks is to increase the diversity of the teams involved in their development. As research on collective decision-making and creativity suggests, groups that are more cognitively diverse tend to make better decisions. Unfortunately, this is a far cry from the situation in the community currently developing AI systems. And a lack of gender diversity is one important (although not the only) dimension of this.

A review published by the AI Now Institute earlier this year showed that less than 20 percent of the researchers applying to prestigious AI conferences are women, and that only a quarter of undergraduates studying AI at Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley are female.

From DSC:
My niece just left a very lucrative programming job and managerial role at Microsoft after working there for several years. As a single woman, she got tired of fighting the culture there.

It was again a reminder to me that there are significant ramifications to the cultures of the big tech companies…especially given the power of these emerging technologies and the growing influence they are having on our culture.

Addendum on 8/20/19:

Google’s Hate Speech Detection A.I. Has a Racial Bias Problem — from fortunes.com by Jonathan Vanian
Excerpt:
A Google-created tool that uses artificial intelligence to police hate speech in online comments on sites like the New York Times has become racially biased, according to a new study. The tool, developed by Google and a subsidiary of its parent company, often classified comments written in the African-American vernacular as toxic, researchers from the University of Washington, Carnegie Mellon, and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence said in a paper presented in early August at the Association for Computational Linguistics conference in Florence, Italy.
.
On the positive side of things:
Number of Female Students, Students of Color Tackling Computer Science AP on the Rise — from thejournal.com

Reflections on “Why AIoT Is Emerging As The Future Of Industry 4.0” [Janakiram MSV]

On 08/15/2019, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, emerging technologies, ethics, platforms, society, tools, by Daniel Christian

Why AIoT Is Emerging As The Future Of Industry 4.0 — from forbes.com by Janakiram MSV]

Excerpts:

“By combining AI with industrial IoT, we add an important ability 2connected systems – Act.”

AI goes beyond the visualizations by acting on the patterns and correlations from the telemetry data. It plugs the critical gap by taking appropriate actions based on the data. Instead of just presenting the facts to humans to enable them to act, AI closes the loop by automatically taking an action. It essentially becomes the brain of the connected systems.

The future of industrial automation lies in the convergence of AI and IoT. Artificial Intelligence of Things will impact almost every industry verticle including automotive, aviation, finance, healthcare, manufacturing and supply chain.

From DSC:
I’ve often wondered which emerging technologies will be combined with each other to produce something powerful. According to the article referenced above, AI + IoT = AIoT is something to put on the radar. I’m not at all crazy about the word “lethal” being used in this article/context though — I certainly hope that’s not the case.

Also relevant/see:

The list of ethical guidelines for AI is growing rapidly — from eiuperspectives.economist.com

Artificial intelligence (AI) has, of late, been the subject of so many announcements, proclamations, predictions and premonitions that it could occupy its own 24-hour cable news channel. In technology circles, it has become a kind of holy grail, akin to fire, the wheel or the steam engine in terms of world-changing potential. Whether these forecasts come to pass is still an open question. What is less in doubt are the vast ethical ramifications of AI development and use, and the need to address them before AI becomes a part of everyday life.

5 important AI predictions (for 2019) everyone should read [Marr]

On 08/13/2019, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, change, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, platforms, society, workplace, by Daniel Christian

5 important artificial intelligence predictions (for 2019) everyone should read — from forbes.com by Bernard Marr

Excerpts:

AI increasingly becomes a matter of international politics
A move towards “transparent AI”
AI and automation drilling deeper into every business
More jobs will be created by AI than will be lost to it (for the next year at least)
AI assistants will become truly useful

“…these tensions could compromise the spirit of cooperation between academic and industrial organizations across the world.”

“AI solutions for managing compliance and legal issues are also likely to be increasingly adopted. As these tools will often be fit-for-purpose across a number of organizations, they will increasingly be offered as-a-service…”

(VR/XR) How tech is helping courtroom newbies become virtual pros [Lowrey]

On 08/10/2019, in 21st century, education technology, emerging technologies, law schools, legal technologies, student-related, teaching & learning, tools, United States, user experience (UX), Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

How tech is helping courtroom newbies become virtual pros — from law360.com by Brandon Lowrey

Excerpt:

You walk into a courtroom and a woman strides toward you with an outstretched hand, rattling off details about a new case. There’s a settlement conference this afternoon, you learn — and you’re going to be there representing your new client.

If you don’t know who this person is, just look at the words hovering over her head: “Supervising Attorney.” Nervous because you’ve never been in a courtroom before? Don’t worry — you still haven’t.

This is how a virtual-reality training video begins for some attorneys who have volunteered to handle pro bono renter-landlord cases through the San Francisco Bar Association.

They don virtual reality goggles to prepare for their first courtroom experiences. Harvard Law Access to Justice Lab researchers hope that the program will embolden attorneys who’ve only worked in front of a computer screen rather than a judge to volunteer at pro bono clinics to help out in the courtroom.

This can be a terrifying prospect for some attorneys, and it’s a big reason why many wash out when they discover what’s expected of them.

The program in San Francisco is one of several planned studies to see whether a 15-minute virtual reality experience might make attorneys usually holed up in cubicles more willing to take on pro bono work and, when they do, win better outcomes for their clients. If it works, it could become a more widely used tool used to prepare attorneys in legal-aid settings and beyond.

Also see:

How Law Schools’ Online Classes Are Supporting Rise of ‘Virtual Law’ — from law.com by Frank Ready
Law schools have launched online courses to cater to students who are unable to relocate or abandon steady work, but as more jobs go virtual, those programs may become an unexpected training ground for the careers of the future.

Why teaching is still the best job in the world [Paul Moss]

On 08/09/2019, in 21st century, adjunct faculty, collaboration, colleges, communications, community colleges, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, faculty, higher education, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, pedagogy, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technology (general), by Daniel Christian

Why teaching is still the best job in the world — from teachthought.com by Paul Moss

Excerpt:

…introducing students to new technologies and ways of presenting, curating, and collaborating with others with what they know is truly exciting and truly invigorating. Modern teachers are actually pioneering pedagogy, and can and will be able to hold their heads up high in the future when we look back and see how learning in this day and age took a radical but enormously beneficial turn for the better.

Engaging students in greater collaboration, and instilling initiative in curation and the promotion of information leads to truly independent learning, and setting up such learning environments is an opportunity that all teachers now have before them. There are few more gratifying feelings that being needed.

Israeli tech co. uses virtual & augmented reality tech to help Christians engage with the Bible

On 08/08/2019, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), digital learning, digital storytelling, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, ethics, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), learning, learning preferences, multimedia, platforms, publishing, religion, story, storytelling, student-related, technologies for your home, tools, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, XR - extended reality, youth, by Daniel Christian

Israeli tech co. uses virtual & augmented reality tech to help Christians engage with the Bible — with thanks to Heidi McDow for the resource
Compedia Partners with U.S. Clients to Utilize Company’s Biblical Knowledge and Technological Expertise

TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 7, 2019 – Compedia, an Israel-based business-to-business tech company, is using virtual reality technology to service Christian clients with products that help users engage with the Bible in a meaningful way.
…
Compedia partnered with The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., which attracted more than 1 million visitors during its first year of operation, to help bring the museum’s exhibits to life. With the help of Compedia’s innovation, visitors to the museum can immerse themselves in 34 different biblical sites through augmented reality tours, allowing them to soar across the Sea of Galilee, climb the stairs of the Temple Mount, explore the Holy Sepulchre and so much more. In addition to creating on-site attractions for The Museum of the Bible, Compedia also created a Bible curriculum for high-school students that includes interactive maps, 3-D guides, quizzes, trivia and more.
…
“Many people are dubious of augmented and virtual reality, but we see how they can be used for God’s glory,” said Illutowich. “When clients recognize how attentive users are to the Bible message when it’s presented through augmented and virtual reality, they see the power of it, too.”

In addition to their passion for furthering Bible education, Compedia is committed to developing products that help educators engage students of all types. The company is currently in partnership with a number of educational institutions and schools around the U.S. to utilize its interactive technology both in the classroom and in the online learning space. Other client collaborations include Siemens, Sony and Intel, to name a few.

About Compedia
Compedia uses cutting-edge technology to help students succeed by making education more fun, engaging, and meaningful. With over 30 years of experience in developing advanced learning solutions for millions of people in 50 countries and 35 languages, Compedia offers expertise in visual computing, augmented reality, virtual reality and advanced systems, as well as instructional design and UX.

The most effective tech tools for lawyers? New survey says they ain’t what you think [Ambrogi]

On 08/07/2019, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Blockchain, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, innovation, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The most effective tech tools for lawyers? New survey says they ain’t what you think — from lawsitesblog.com by Bob Ambrogi

Out [on 8/7/19] is the 2019 Aderant Business of Law and Legal Technology Survey, published by Aderant, a global provider of business management software for law firms.

From DSC:
It will be very interesting to see such a chart in just 2-3 years from now…#AI will be moving up the chart, guaranteed.

Per Jacob Strom at HeraldPR.com:

KreatAR, a subsidiary of The Glimpse Group, is helping change the way students and teachers are using augmented reality technology with PostReality, to help make learning more interactive with poster boards.

See:

Also see:

Dallas County Community College District Students Receive “GreenLight”? Toward Ownership, Lifelong Access of Academic Records — from linkedin.com by Timothy Marshall; with thanks to Mike Mathews for this resource out on LinkedIn

Excerpt:

(DALLAS) — Gone are the days of a lengthy and sometimes costly process to request educational records for job or college applications. Through its investments in groundbreaking technology, DCCCD is allowing students unprecedented access to their educational transcripts. This places students in the unique position to maintain lifelong digital ownership of their complete academic credentials, with the flexibility to use those records to propel them toward academic and career success.

DCCCD is pleased to announce a new partnership with Dallas-based GreenLight Credentials, a new secure digital locker. With GreenLight, DCCCD students will have wide-ranging access to their academic records anytime, anyplace, by simply clicking a button.

Imagining new futures for students, nurses, prisoners and more [extendedmind.io]

On 08/01/2019, in Augmented Reality (AR), education technology, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, health, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, nursing, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Imagining new futures for students, nurses, prisoners and more — from extendedmind.io

Excerpt:

Jessica Outlaw and Trevor F. Smith hosted an interdisciplinary gathering of educators, technologists, and designers at the Outlaw Center for Immersive Behavioral Science at Concordia University to discuss how instructional design can be transformed by the unique capabilities of immersive web technology, with an emphasis on VR & AR.

This blog is part 2 of the recap of the Instructional Design Summit that took place on June 3, 2019. To read part 1, which covered what experts in instructional design said about the immersive web, click here.

In this blog post, we will share output from the day’s workshop activity. The goal was to stimulate new ideas, build connections across disciplines, and give participants the experience of imagining multiple futures in a systemic way.

From DSC:
I appreciated their offering up potential scenarios or futures for each area. We all need to be doing this and thinking like this.

DSC: Holy smokes!!! How might this be applied to education/learning/training in the 21st century!?!

On 07/30/2019, in 21st century, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assistive technologies, business, change, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Cost of legal services - including access, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, languages and translation, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, presentations, social learning / networks, society, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, webinars, workplace, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

DC: Holy smokes!!! How might this be applied to education/learning/training in the 21st century!?!

“What if neither distance nor language mattered? What if technology could help you be anywhere you need to be and speak any language? Using AI technology and holographic experiences this is possible, and it is revolutionary.”

Also see:

Microsoft has a wild hologram that translates HoloLens keynotes into Japanese — from theverge.com by Tom Warren
Azure and HoloLens combine for a hint at the future

Excerpt:

Microsoft has created a hologram that will transform someone into a digital speaker of another language. The software giant unveiled the technology during a keynote at the Microsoft Inspire partner conference [on 7/17/19] in Las Vegas. Microsoft recently scanned Julia White, a company executive for Azure, at a Mixed Reality capture studio to transform her into an exact hologram replica.

The digital version appeared onstage to translate the keynote into Japanese. Microsoft has used its Azure AI technologies and neural text-to-speech to make this possible. It works by taking recordings of White’s voice, in order to create a personalized voice signature, to make it sound like she’s speaking Japanese.

Learning Ecosystems

Gartner: Top Wireless Tech Trends to Watch [Kelly]

Imagining new futures for students, nurses, prisoners and more [extendedmind.io]

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