Microsoft

Law schools escalate their focus on digital skills [Zimmerman]

On 03/11/2019, in 21st century, algorithms, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, assessment, computer science, data mining, Law Schools, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, student-related, tools, trends, by Daniel Christian

Law schools escalate their focus on digital skills — from edtechmagazine.com by Eli Zimmerman
Coding, data analytics and device integration give students the tools to become more efficient lawyers.

Excerpt:

Participants learned to use analytics programs and artificial intelligence to complete work in a fraction of the time it usually takes.

For example, students analyzed contracts using AI programs to find errors and areas for improvement across various legal jurisdictions. In another exercise, students learned to use data programs to draft nondisclosure agreements in less than half an hour.

By learning analytics models, students will graduate with the skills to make them more effective — and more employable — professionals.

“As advancing technology and massive data sets enable lawyers to answer complex legal questions with greater speed and efficiency, courses like Legal Analytics will help KU Law students be better advocates for tomorrow’s clients and more competitive for tomorrow’s jobs,” Stephen Mazza, dean of the University of Kansas School of Law, tells Legaltech News.

Reflecting that shift, the Law School Admission Council, which organizes and distributes the Law School Admission Test, will be offering the test exclusively on Microsoft Surface Go tablets starting in July 2019.

From DSC:
I appreciate the article, thanks Eli. From one of the articles that was linked to, it appears that, “To facilitate the transition to the Digital LSAT starting July 2019, LSAC is procuring thousands of Surface Go tablets that will be loaded with custom software and locked down to ensure the integrity of the exam process and security of the test results.”

Why AI is a threat to democracy — and what we can do to stop it [Webb & Hao]

On 03/08/2019, in 21st century, algorithms, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, Asia, bots, cognitive computing, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, data mining, emerging technologies, ethics, Facebook, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, higher education, intelligent systems, IT in HE, liberal arts, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, morals/values, platforms, political science, the downsides of technology, tools, trends, UK, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Why AI is a threat to democracy — and what we can do to stop it — from technologyreview.com by Karen Hao and Amy Webb

Excerpt:

Universities must create space in their programs for hybrid degrees. They should incentivize CS students to study comparative literature, world religions, microeconomics, cultural anthropology and similar courses in other departments. They should champion dual degree programs in computer science and international relations, theology, political science, philosophy, public health, education and the like. Ethics should not be taught as a stand-alone class, something to simply check off a list. Schools must incentivize even tenured professors to weave complicated discussions of bias, risk, philosophy, religion, gender, and ethics in their courses.

One of my biggest recommendations is the formation of GAIA, what I call the Global Alliance on Intelligence Augmentation. At the moment people around the world have very different attitudes and approaches when it comes to data collection and sharing, what can and should be automated, and what a future with more generally intelligent systems might look like. So I think we should create some kind of central organization that can develop global norms and standards, some kind of guardrails to imbue not just American or Chinese ideals inside AI systems, but worldviews that are much more representative of everybody.

Most of all, we have to be willing to think about this much longer-term, not just five years from now. We need to stop saying, “Well, we can’t predict the future, so let’s not worry about it right now.” It’s true, we can’t predict the future. But we can certainly do a better job of planning for it.

LinkedIn Learning’s 2019 Workplace Learning Report: Key Findings

Excerpt:

In 2019, our survey indicates that talent developers will spend more time finding and closing skills gaps while exploring learner engagement tactics to inspire the modern learner, including the incoming Gen Z workforce.

The shift is on and the stakes are high.

Microsoft built a chat bot to match patients to clinical trials [Bass]

On 03/02/2019, in 21st century, algorithms, bots, computer science, health, Microsoft, Nursing, programming, society, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Microsoft built a chat bot to match patients to clinical trials — from fortune.com by Dina Bass

Excerpt:

A chat bot that began as a hackathon project at Microsoft’s lab in Israel makes it easier for sick patients to find clinical trials that could provide otherwise unavailable medicines and therapies.

The Clinical Trials Bot lets patients and doctors search for studies related to a disease and then answer a succession of text questions. The bot then suggests links to trials that best match the patients’ needs. Drugmakers can also use it to find test subjects.

Half of all clinical trials for new drugs and therapies never reach the number of patients needed to start, and many others are delayed for the same reason, Bitran said. Meanwhile patients, sometimes desperately sick, find it hard to comb through the roughly 50,000 trials worldwide and their arcane and lengthy criteria—typically 20 to 30 factors. Even doctors struggle to search quickly on behalf of patients, Bitran said.

Microsoft’s HoloLens 2

On 02/27/2019, in 21st century, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, business, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, emerging technologies, human-computer interaction (HCI), Microsoft, Mixed reality, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Microsoft’s HoloLens 2: A $3,500 mixed reality headset for the factory, not the living room — from theverge.com by Dieter Bohn

Excerpt:

The HoloLens 2 is only being sold to corporations, not to consumers. It’s designed for what Kipman calls “first-line workers,” people in auto shops, factory floors, operating rooms, and out in the field fixing stuff. It’s designed for people who work with their hands and find it difficult to integrate a computer or smartphone into their daily work. Kipman wants to replace the grease-stained Windows 2000 computer sitting in the corner of the workroom. It’s pretty much the same decision Google made for Google Glass.

“If you think about 7 billion people in the world, people like you and I — knowledge workers — are by far the minority,” he replies. To him, the workers who will use this are “maybe people that are fixing our jet propulsion engine. Maybe they are the people that are in some retail space. Maybe they’re the doctors that are operating on you in an operating room.”

He continues, saying it’s for “people that have been, in a sense, neglected or haven’t had access to technology [in their hands-on jobs] because PCs, tablets, phones don’t really lend themselves to those experiences.”

Also see:

Microsoft is making a new HoloLens headset, called HoloLens 2. But, it’s only getting sold to companies, not consumers. Meant for professionals who work with their hands and not on computers, the new HoloLens has an improved field of view and doesn’t clip as much as the original. Dieter Bohn visited Microsoft’s campus to get an early look at the new HoloLens 2 headset.

Say hello to #HoloLens2. pic.twitter.com/eVBQ9OUeM1

— Microsoft HoloLens (@HoloLens) February 24, 2019

Addendum on 2/28/19:

Microsoft launches HoloLens 2 mixed-reality headset, betting on holograms in the workplace — from cnbc.com by Elizabeth Schulze

Excerpts:

Microsoft unveiled HoloLens 2, an upgraded version of its mixed-reality headset, on Sunday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The new headset will cost $3500, lower than the cost of the earlier version.
The HoloLens 2 launch comes amid controversy over Microsoft’s $480 million deal to sell 100,000 of its mixed reality headsets to the U.S. Army.

Microsoft unveiled HoloLens 2, an upgraded version of its mixed-reality headset, on Sunday in Barcelona, in a bet that doubles down on the idea that businesses will increasingly use hologram technology in the workplace.

The HoloLens 2 headset will cost $3500 —$1500 less than the commercial price of the first HoloLens device Microsoft released more than four years ago.

Philips, Microsoft Unveils Augmented Reality Concept for Operating Room of the Future [Pennic]

On 02/26/2019, in 21st century, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, biology, emerging technologies, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, Microsoft, vendors, visualizing information, wearables, by Daniel Christian

Philips, Microsoft Unveils Augmented Reality Concept for Operating Room of the Future — from hitconsultant.net by Fred Pennic

Excerpt:

Health technology company Philips unveiled a unique mixed reality concept developed together with Microsoft Corp. for the operating room of the future. Based on the state-of-the-art technologies of Philips’Azurion image-guided therapy platform and Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 holographic computing platform, the companies will showcase novel augmented reality applications for image-guided minimally invasive therapies.

Augmented Reality is the operations system of the future. AR cloud is how we get there. [Koetsier]

On 02/23/2019, in 21st century, attention, augmented reality, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, corporate / business world, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, Microsoft, society, tools, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), vendors, by Daniel Christian

Augmented Reality is the operations system of the future. AR cloud is how we get there. — from forbes.com by John Koetsier

Excerpt:

In the future, every object will be smart.

Not necessarily because everything will be made of “smart matter,” with chips, motors, sensors, and radios (although this is happening). But increasingly because we are starting to digitally paint over default reality, layering on data, insights, and entertainment in virtual or augmented layers. When we shift from smartphones to smartglasses over the next decade, this will only accelerate.

From games to street directions to metadata, from industrial heads-up displays to virtual gamescapes to workspace information, these new augmented, virtual, and extended realities will be aware, data-rich, contextual, and interactive.

But there is a core enabling technology required.

And I’m not just talking about smartglasses hardware with great functionality, good usability, and a reasonable price, which are probably at least three to five years away.

I’m talking about the augmented reality cloud.

Also relevant/see:

Microsoft releases new apps that make augmented reality way more helpful to businesses — from businessinsider.com by Rosalie Chan

Reflections on two articles involving the downsides of/warnings re: AI

On 02/16/2019, in 21st century, algorithms, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, Asia, bots, Daniel S. Christian, data mining, ethics, Google, Law Schools, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, morals/values, society, technology (general), the downsides of technology, tools, by Daniel Christian

Google and Microsoft warn that AI may do dumb things — from wired.com by Tom Simonite

Excerpt:

Alphabet likes to position itself as a leader in AI research, but it was six months behind rival Microsoft in warning investors about the technology’s ethical risks. The AI disclosure in Google’s latest filing reads like a trimmed down version of much fuller language Microsoft put in its most recent annual SEC report, filed last August:

“AI algorithms may be flawed. Datasets may be insufficient or contain biased information. Inappropriate or controversial data practices by Microsoft or others could impair the acceptance of AI solutions. These deficiencies could undermine the decisions, predictions, or analysis AI applications produce, subjecting us to competitive harm, legal liability, and brand or reputational harm.”

Chinese company leaves Muslim-tracking facial recognition database exposed online — from by Catalin Cimpanu
Researcher finds one of the databases used to track Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang.

Excerpt:

One of the facial recognition databases that the Chinese government is using to track the Uyghur Muslim population in the Xinjiang region has been left open on the internet for months, a Dutch security researcher told ZDNet.

The database belongs to a Chinese company named SenseNets, which according to its website provides video-based crowd analysis and facial recognition technology.
…
The user data wasn’t just benign usernames, but highly detailed and highly sensitive information that someone would usually find on an ID card, Gevers said. The researcher saw user profiles with information such as names, ID card numbers, ID card issue date, ID card expiration date, sex, nationality, home addresses, dates of birth, photos, and employer.
…
Some of the descriptive names associated with the “trackers” contained terms such as “mosque,” “hotel,” “police station,” “internet cafe,” “restaurant,” and other places where public cameras would normally be found.

From DSC:
Readers of this blog will know that I’m generally pro-technology. But especially focusing in on that last article, to me, privacy is key here. For which group of people from which nation is next? Will Country A next be tracking Christians? Will Country B be tracking people of a given sexual orientation? Will Country C be tracking people with some other characteristic?

Where does it end? Who gets to decide? What will be the costs of being tracked or being a person with whatever certain characteristic one’s government is tracking? What forums are there for combating technologies or features of technologies that we don’t like or want?

We need forums/channels for raising awareness and voting on these emerging technologies. We need informed legislators, senators, lawyers, citizens…we need new laws here…asap.

Especially for students: This is how you’ll look for a job in 2019 [Dishman] + 2 items re: in-demand skills

On 02/11/2019, in 21st century, career development, collaboration, communications, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, higher education, marketplaces, Microsoft, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, strategy, student-related, tools, training / L&D, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

This is how you’ll look for a job in 2019 — from linkedin.com by Lydia Dishman

Some brand new strategies and time-tested traditions dictate the way job seekers will conduct the hunt in 2019.

Excerpt:

In addition to making sure you list at least five skills, Guo suggests adding the field you work in since more than 300,000 people search by industry on LinkedIn each week. And don’t forget to update the city you work in since this can make you up to 23 times more likely to be found in search, according to LinkedIn’s data.

From DSC:
This next article is likely somewhat of an ad to take courses out at Lynda.com, but it’s still helpful I think:

The Skills Companies Need Most in 2019 – And How to Learn Them— from linkedin.com by Paul Petrone

Also see (emphasis DSC):

These are the 10 most in-demand skills of 2019, according to LinkedIn — from weforum.org by Emma Charlton
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
According to analysis from networking site LinkedIn, 2019’s employers are looking for a combination of both hard and soft skills, with creativity topping the list of desired attributes. The findings chime with the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, which concluded that “human” skills like originality, initiative and critical thinking are likely to increase in value as technology and automation advances. “Strengthening a soft skill is one of the best investments you can make in your career, as they never go out of style,” LinkedIn Learning Editor, Paul Petrone wrote in a blog. “Plus, the rise of AI is only making soft skills increasingly important, as they are precisely the type of skills robots can’t automate.”

A landmark ruling gives new power to sue tech giants for privacy harms [Schwab]

On 01/29/2019, in 21st century, Amazon, Apple, business, corporate / business world, data mining, ethics, Facebook, Google, Law Schools, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, platforms, society, United States, by Daniel Christian

A landmark ruling gives new power to sue tech giants for privacy harms — from fastcompany.com by Katharine Schwab

Excerpt:

A unanimous ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court says that companies that improperly gather people’s data can be sued for damages even without proof of concrete injuries, opening the door to legal challenges that Facebook, Google, and other businesses have resisted.

Learning Ecosystems

Why AI is a threat to democracy — and what we can do to stop it [Webb & Hao]

Microsoft built a chat bot to match patients to clinical trials [Bass]

Microsoft’s HoloLens 2

Philips, Microsoft Unveils Augmented Reality Concept for Operating Room of the Future [Pennic]

Augmented Reality is the operations system of the future. AR cloud is how we get there. [Koetsier]

Reflections on two articles involving the downsides of/warnings re: AI

A landmark ruling gives new power to sue tech giants for privacy harms [Schwab]

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