Weekly Tech Roundup for 20th March, 2020
Big changes are coming in the next decade to every business and they’ll be driven by AI – where humans and machines play key roles.
“Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.” — Stephen Hawking
“Our intelligence is what makes us human, and AI is an extension of that quality.” – Yann LeCun
“Much has been written about AI’s potential to reflect both the best and the worst of humanity. For example, we have seen AI providing conversation and comfort to the lonely; we have also seen AI engaging in racial discrimination. Yet the biggest harm that AI is likely to do to individuals in the short term is job displacement, as the amount of work we can automate with AI is vastly bigger than before. As leaders, it is incumbent on all of us to make sure we are building a world in which every individual has an opportunity to thrive.” – Andrew Ng,
We included some snippets from our daily knowledge development sessions, just to give you a little extra knowledge. After all, knowledge is never enough. Take your time and digest every one of them. The world is fast evolving and so should your mind.
Tech Snippets
AI-powered system can automatically rewrite outdated Wikipedia articles
As the system improves, it can be useful for making minor changes to Wikipedia, news articles, or other documents in cases where engaging a human editor is not entirely rational and practical.
Dyson’s 360 Heurist – clever robot vacuum
Dyson’s second 360 robot vac arrives with upgraded navigation and sensors so it should leave your cables and fancy furniture well alone. This little robot vacuum will have to do a lot to live up to the intriguing, if slightly pretentious, name of Heurist then. “It’s a James Dyson-ism,” says Ord.
Everything to know about the next iPhones, AirPods, and more.
Confirming rumours that Apple would soon release its most powerful iPad yet, the company unveiled a new iPad Pro model this week that takes a leaf out of the autonomous vehicle industry’s handbook. Given that Apple tends to release its new Apple Watch models alongside its flagship iPhone debuts, there’s a good chance we won’t see this guy until September.
What is coronavirus and what happens now it is a pandemic?
What started as an epidemic mainly limited to China has now become a truly global pandemic. There have now been over 211,853 confirmed cases and 8,724 deaths, according the John Hopkins University. More than 235,404 people have been infected with the novel virus, with significant outbreaks in Italy, Iran and Spain, and 137 deaths in the UK.
As humans go home, Facebook and YouTube face a coronavirus crisis
The artificial intelligence systems replacing human moderators simply can’t. The AI is far from ready for prime time, as we’re learning now. “The tech industry has far too much faith in its own systems, and as a society we’ve put far too much stock in AI,” Cobbe says.
Artificial intelligence finds disease-related genes
An artificial neural network can reveal patterns in huge amounts of gene expression data, and discover groups of disease-related genes. Scientists hope that the new method can eventually be applied within precision medicine and individualised treatment.
PlayStation 5 Launch Isn’t Delayed by Coronavirus
When Sony announced that its next games console would arrive in time for the holidays this year, nobody knew that 2020 would also be the year that gave us coronavirus. However, we apparently shouldn’t worry about the PlayStation 5 launch being delayed.
Coronavirus Tracker: How Tech Companies Are Handling COVID-19
The COVID-19 coronavirus strain continues to rip through communities around the globe, with new cases reported daily in the US and beyond. It has prompted businesses to cancel conferences, restrict travel, and encourage people to work from home, particularly in the Seattle area, which is home to tech giants Amazon and Microsoft.
Study: Coronavirus Can Survive for Up to 24 Hours on Cardboard, 3 Days on Plastics
A new study has found the coronavirus can survive on plastic-made electronics, such as a keyboard or mouse, for up to three days, and on cardboard for up to 24 hours. So it’s a good idea to clean your electronics, and to wash your hands after opening up packages.
Knowledge Development Sessions
Few of our team members spoke about some interesting topics this week and it was very educating. Ms. Olapade Funmilayo talked about 20 must have workplace ethics for a developer in daily routine while Mr. Michael spoke about Social engineering.
