13
Dec, 2021
AIBias_237001559_400.jpg

Do Humans Create Bias in the AI We’ve Developed?

AIBias_237001559_400.jpg

Science fiction shows artificial intelligence to be an entity compelled purely by logic, driven only by objective facts. AI tools used by businesses and in the real world, however, are a far cry from this perception. AI systems have some biases in their operations. Let’s take a look at some of them and how you can resolve these issues.

What Kind of Biases Have AI Systems Demonstrated?

There are several biases that AI can display. Here are some of them:

  • Sampling Bias: This occurs when AI is only given part of a population or a selection of samples rather than a purely random process.
    • Voluntary Bias: voluntary bias specifically refers to how a population’s results are artificially skewed by their willingness to participate.
  • Design Bias: This bias is a flaw in the process itself which leads to flawed outcomes. In AI, the issue is most often found in the dataset.
  • Exclusion Bias: This type of bias occurs when specific data is intentionally removed or omitted, and it ultimately yields fewer or less valuable insights.
  • Label Bias: This bias occurs when the data is not labeled correctly. See below for the two types of label bias:
    • Recall Bias: This form of bias appears in data that has been mislabeled and annotated inaccurately.
    • Measurement Bias: This division of label bias is the result of inaccurately or inconsistently taken data points.
  • Confounding Bias: This bias happens when external variables are pulled into the equation or directly influence your data set, leading to inaccuracies in the final product.
  • Survivorship Bias: This type of bias occurs when only data that has made it through the selection process is considered. For instance, World War II researchers made this error when examining fighter jets to better reinforce them. By only examining jets that survived the trip back from a combat mission, the most useful information (where the planes that went down were hit) was ignored.
  • Time-Interval Bias: This bias occurs when data from only a specified period of time is analyzed rather than the complete set.
  • Omitted Variables Bias: This bias happens when data collected is cherry-picked and only certain variables are considered, thereby skewing the results.
  • Observer Bias: This is essentially confirmation bias, where an individual only considers data that matches their own values or goals rather than the complete set.
    • Funding Bias: This variety of observer bias comes when the interests of a financial backer leads to the data being skewed.
  • Cause-Effect Bias: This is when correlation is mistaken for causation, or when two events happening at the same time are thought to be because of each other without taking into consideration other factors.
  • Model Over/Underfitting: This bias occurs when the analytical system, or model, can’t see the big picture or is not able to grasp patterns appropriately.
  • Data Leakage: This occurs when two sets of data that are to be compared share data, like when you are comparing a certain time period to your predictions.

Where Do These Biases Come From?

In most cases, these biases are formed from the system or, more specifically, the user of that system.

AI Bias is Just an Extension of Human Bias

Whether it is error based on prejudice or assumption, most biases can be traced back to the user. For example, let’s say that you want to determine the most important part of your services to your clients. In this oversimplified example, the algorithm powering the AI could be perfectly put together, yet the data used could muck up the results. For instance, if the data was specifically and exclusively collected from Facebook followers, then the accuracy of the data will be skewed in a certain way (sampling bias and voluntary bias, as your followers need to opt into providing you with this data).

This is but one example of AI being unable to perform its assigned tasks, so to prevent this from happening, you must approach the design of your AI systems with an awareness and willingness to avoid biases.

That’s right—it takes human awareness to help AI do its job in an appropriate manner.

How Can Bias Be Avoided in AI?

You can take certain steps to keep biases from impacting your AI systems. There needs to be a capability for a human being to observe the processes and catch its mistakes, as well as the opportunity to update the systems to accommodate any adjustments as needed. There must also be standards placed on the data collected to ensure that opportunities for bias are minimized.

Your team members will also have to remain aware of these biases while they are working with your data. These biases are generally sourced from human biases, meaning that they can influence your business even if you aren’t using an AI system. In other words, you need to make sure that your staff are both aware of and actively avoiding these biases when processing, collecting, and analyzing data.

 What are your thoughts on AI and its uses in the business world? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.

8
Nov, 2021
412578546_ai_scary_400.jpg

In the Wrong Hands, AI is Dangerous

412578546_ai_scary_400.jpg

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a technology that many industries have found themselves benefiting greatly from, especially in the domains of cybersecurity and automation. Unfortunately, for every one great use of something, hackers will find two bad uses for it. AI has dramatically changed the landscape of cybersecurity and, more interestingly, cybercrime. Let’s take a look at why these threats are so concerning.

Deepfakes

The word “deepfake” comes from the words “deep learning” and “fake media.” A deepfake uses false imaging or audio to create something that appears authentic on the surface, but it is totally fake underneath. Deepfakes can be extremely dangerous and harmful when used under the right circumstances, like a news article showing off a fake video or image. AI-generated deepfakes have even been used in extortion schemes and misinformation scandals.

Deepfakes using AI can generate realistic videos, particularly when there is a lot of source material to call upon, like in the case of famous people or high-profile individuals with a large web presence. These videos can be so convincing that they can show the celebrity or even a government official saying or doing just about anything, creating misinformation and distrust.

AI-Supported Hacking Attacks

AI has been known to help cybercriminals with everyday hacking attacks, too, like breaking through a password or finding their way into a system. Hackers can use machine learning or artificial intelligence to analyze and parse password sets, then use the information learned to piece together potential passwords with shocking accuracy. These systems can even account for how people adjust their passwords over time.

There are also cases where hackers use machine learning to inform and automate their hacking processes. These systems can find weak points in infrastructures and penetrate them through the weaker links. These systems can then autonomously improve their functionality over time with great effectiveness.

Human Impersonation and Social Engineering

AI can also impersonate human beings by imitating their online behaviors. Automated bots can be used to create fake accounts capable of doing most of the everyday online activities that a user might (for example, liking posts on Instagram, sharing status updates, etc). These bots can even use these tactics to make money for the hacker.

Suffice to say that AI systems as a threat represent quite a dangerous future, should they be leveraged properly. These threat actors should be monitored both now and in the future.

To ensure that your organization doesn’t let hackers get the better of you, NuTech Services can help. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

3
Nov, 2021
secure_ai_210746532_400.jpg

Companies Are Using AI to Shield Their Network from Outside Threats

secure_ai_210746532_400.jpg

Businesses need all of the advantages they can get against threats, especially considering the fact that many of them adapt and evolve in response to advances in security measures. Some security researchers are seeing great success with artificial intelligence measures, a concept that could eventually become the future of network security in the business world.

How Does AI Security Work?

AI security consists of tools that can automatically identify and respond to perceived threats. This activity is guided by previous or similar activity, meaning that the AI security solution is capable of learning and growing in response to threats to improve its ability to fight them off. Since AI is always learning more about threats, you can expect a large number of false positives and false negatives throughout this process, but due to its autonomous nature, it will generally involve much less activity on your part compared to having someone actively monitor everything manually. AI security can also discover trends and piece together suspicious activity based on those trends, making for a remarkably sophisticated solution to have on your side.

What are the Benefits?

Let’s face it; for small businesses, hiring qualified security experts can be difficult, especially when it comes to finding the talent. AI can help you get around these challenges by automating your security system to identify threats over time. AI is capable of actually decreasing the amount of time you spend discovering threats on your infrastructure, cutting costs over time. Of course, all of this is dependent on whether you have people to manage your AI solution; otherwise, it’s going to be difficult to manage and maintain it.

Is AI Security the Future?

There is a downward trend in cybersecurity employment, making an autonomous solution seem like it would rise in popularity and usefulness. It’s already projected that this unfilled labor gap could increase to 3.5 million cybersecurity positions by the end of 2021. AI seems like it could be a simple-to-implement solution that addresses these hiring and training concerns, but it’s more likely that it will improve workflows and procedures of existing security employees rather than solve this gap in skilled labor.

How Can Your Business Use AI Security?

Contrary to popular belief, AI security is relatively accessible to small businesses. There are solutions out there that can be implemented by small businesses in accordance with their specific needs and goals. If you can implement AI security that coincides with your business’ operational goals, you can successfully work toward improving operations and workflows for your existing employees.

If you want to stay ahead of the trends and your competitors, as well as the threats that flood the Internet on a daily basis, NuTech Services can help you by implementing the best security measures, including AI security. To learn more, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

21
Oct, 2019
AI_292930626_400.jpg

How is Artificial Intelligence Changing the Face of Cybersecurity?

AI_292930626_400.jpg

If you are concerned about your business’ ability to keep its network secure and data protected, you’re not alone. More businesses than ever are utilizing modern strategies to ensure that their networks are safe, their hardware is stable, and that their data stays secure. With the continual shifts we are seeing in the threat landscape it is essential that cybersecurity continues to evolve. Today, we take a look at some of the innovations being made in cybersecurity, and what to expect out of future cybersecurity tools.

Some of the best cybersecurity methods are practices developed over the past few years. This is because social engineering, specifically phishing, has become a major problem. There are billions of phishing emails sent each year, and some of those are so convincing that even people who have had some basic cybersecurity training fall victim to them. To fight this, security firms have started to look to tomorrow’s technologies to help them mitigate risk today. 

Artificial Intelligence – The Future of Cybersecurity 

One of the most effective ways of combating this rise in hacking is to use the most dynamic technology you have access to and make a tool that will help you mitigate the massive risks. One way is to reduce the effectiveness of these hacks. In this case the technology is artificial intelligence.

When we talk about artificial intelligence, we are talking about having a machine that learns as it is continually exposed to threats. This will work to solve common issues at first, but as these systems advance, and are exposed to user behaviors, they will be able to replace access management systems. Since the AI will be constantly monitoring systems, as well as user behaviors, workplace roles, and common actions, it will be able to recognize a person without, the need for password-protected accounts and creating ubiquitously secure endpoints. If the system recognized any deviations, an additional form of authentication such as biometrics would grant or deny access. 

Cost will initially be a factor for businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, but as large companies begin to truly trust these platforms, they will have viable endpoint-protection systems for small businesses. 

Cybercrime Accelerates with 5G

5G and beyond will bring a lot of changes to the user experience, of course, but it will also make huge changes to cybersecurity. Before long, the AI systems that are being developed to thwart today’s cyberthreats will become essential systems for the sustainability of mobile computing. Just think about how much cyberthreats have multiplied over the past decade after the jump from 3G to 4G. The jump to 5G isn’t going to any less dramatic.

It will be crucial for cybersecurity professionals to be able to leverage systems that are both ubiquitously available to search through large streams of data while also being capable of learning on the fly in order to ascertain what data is potentially malicious and what data is less so.

Luckily there are still years before these types of systems will be needed. Unfortunately, there are enough threats out there to be a major problem going forward. The IT professionals at NuTech Services can help you protect your hardware and data. Give us a call at 810.230.9455 today!

18
Oct, 2019
AdobeStock_80613642_400.jpg

Big Data for the Small Business

AdobeStock_80613642_400.jpg

Today, large companies typically use their data to help them make more educated business decisions. This strategy can actually benefit smaller businesses as well. However, they often don’t think they have enough data to facilitate analytics or BI (Business Intelligence) platform. Let’s take a look at how small businesses can use their big data. 

To Identify Trends

The number one thing you need to know about data analysis is that the data you use needs to be structured in a way to allow you to get the most accurate information possible. This isn’t always easy. In order to put your business in the right position you can’t just rely on decision makers to go with their gut reaction, you need a definitive plan fueled by empirical data so that you avoid huge costs to solve small problems. The simplest way to do this is to identify trends inside and outside of your business. You can do this through a dedicated business analytics platform, using your organizational data to help you make sound business decisions. 

Improving Operational Effectiveness

Another part of the business that can be improved through the use of analysis is operations. Traditionally, the more efficient your business is, the more effective it is. This doesn’t change because you have data; but, with the data you can get a better perspective about how your business works, how your customers interact with your company, and a lot more. The better you understand the separate parts of your business the more you can confront its pain points and build effectiveness. 

Shifting Your Revenue Generation Strategies

Since you are in business to make money, it stands to reason that using any resources to help you do that is beneficial for the company. Combing through your operations and marketing data can provide opportunities that you didn’t know were there. It can make all the difference for the small business that needs to transition quickly in order to sustain operations. 

It’s been said that data is the new oil. That may or may not be true, but for the small business, drilling into your data to see the best way forward is a solid practice that will become commonplace before long. To get out in front of it, call the IT professionals at NuTech Services at 810.230.9455 and we will help you get started using your data to benefit your business today.

4
Jan, 2019
machine_learning_smb_400.jpg

The Rise of Machine Learning for Small Businesses

machine_learning_smb_400.jpg

A.I. is one of those technologies that captivates the imagination with endless possibilities. You can’t turn your head these days without using something integrated with early artificial intelligence. Machine learning platforms, which are very rudimentary forms of A.I. are now being used to improve many of the tools a small business uses. Today, we will briefly go into what machine learning is and how small businesses are using it to their advantage.

Smarter Machines?
The first thing you have to understand about machine learning is that it is just a branch of A.I. As such, it basically describes a method of analyzing huge amounts of data in which prospective models of problem solving are automated. In layman’s terms, the computer solves basic problems without human intervention. This is significant for a few reasons, but the most glaring is that businesses today, and even small businesses, take in a lot of data. Traditionally, humans were paid to go through all this data, or it was archived and disregarded until there was a major question.

This shift is in the manner in which these machine learning systems analyze data, identify patterns, and make decisions from the analysis of those patterns.This seemingly advanced technology is being deployed at a dizzying rate and is beginning to surround us all, in our phones, on search engines, and in the systems that we manage our business data. For the small business, there are opportunities to utilize this technology to help carve out a larger market share.

Small Business Machine Learning
The philosophy behind utilizing machine learning for a business is just an extension of the overarching strategy of deploying automated systems to cut down on personnel and human resources costs. This strategy has worked in several sectors, albeit with automated systems that were more pre-programmed than “smart” like the machine learning systems.

An issue many small businesses will run into when deciding whether or not to try and innovate to the point where machine learning is an option, is where exactly it fits. Other questions persist as well. They include:

  • What is the capital and operational investment of deploying this technology?
  • How it will have to be utilized to provide a competitive advantage?
  • What systems can be improved through the use of machine learning?
  • How much time do you have until you would be at a competitive disadvantage if you didn’t invest in the technology?

Once you’ve ascertained how exactly to deploy machine learning, you can go ahead implementing it where you feel it is warranted.

Benefits of Machine Learning
A.I. and machine learning carry with it specific benefits. Some of them include:

  • Forecasting business – What might be the most popular use of machine learning, the technology can be used to replace data and service analysis while being used to replace processes that were done manually or not done at all.
  • Customer service – Chatbot technology essentially automates the customer service experience by directing customers to certain solutions based on query.
  • E-commerce – Rolling out machine learning for your e-commerce site helps customers by adapting to customer behavior. Giving prospects and customers easy access to obtain the the products and services they are most interested in is sure to improve revenue generation.
  • Reputation management – Machine learning can be set up to analyze internal and external data sources to monitor brand popularity. When it finds negative sentiment, you can use the information provided to smooth the situation over, fast.

These are only four of the many processes that can really help improve your business. As the technology improves, more A.I. and machine learning applications will be used to manage, maintain, and streamline a lot of your business’ slow-moving manual processes.

Machine Stupidity
These technologies are extremely advanced and are programmed to learn for themselves, so oversight of them may be difficult. If you are one of the many business owners that have a difficult time trusting technology, machine learning may not be for you. These constructs tend to be less predictable than typical analysis, because it is so thorough. Also, you may run into problems getting all of the data that needs to be analyzed into the system, providing results that may not be accurate for your entire business.

One could see how a small business owner can be in ‘wait and see” mode, but the problem with that strategy, however, is that your competitors may be using it now to improve their business. If you are interested in learning more about how this emerging technology can be used to make your business better, contact the professionals at NuTech Services today at 810.230.9455.

10
Sep, 2018
virtual_assistant_400.jpg

What Virtual Assistant Is Right for You?

virtual_assistant_400.jpg

Virtual assistants are some of the most common technologies out there, which is kind of a strange thing to say. With mobile devices taking over the personal and professional lives of users, we suppose it’s natural that virtual assistants have flourished in today’s workplace. What are these assistants, and what are they capable of?

Virtual Assistants, Today and Tomorrow
Virtual assistants are programs that let us speak to our devices to perform certain functions. These functions include adding an item to a list, playing music, creating reminders, and so much more. The future could introduce countless other ways to take advantage of virtual assistants, even if it’s a bit of a strange feeling to talk to an inanimate device.

New providers are also appearing, which in turn expands the selection of virtual assistants to consumers. This can create more competition and encourage the development of fresh ideas that can further the quality of future solutions.

Weighing Today’s Assistants
There are five mainstream digital assistants in today’s business world. They include: Google’s Assistant, Microsoft’s Cortana, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Samsung’s Bixby.

Alexa
Amazon’s Alexa is pretty high-profile, appearing on Amazon’s flagship devices like its smart speakers, Echo. Other brands use Alexa as well, but it’s most well-known for the Echo speakers. Alexa is used on Amazon’s tablets, as well as in their Amazon Fire TV products and other Internet of Things devices. Alexa is perhaps most well-known for its compatibility with third-party apps, all of which is offered free of charge. Therefore, Alexa is more likely to work with your smart appliances than other solutions out there. Alexa can be downloaded on Android devices, despite reports that it is more limited on these devices compared to Amazon’s.

Google Assistant
Android devices running 6.0 Marshmallow or higher can take advantage of Google Assistant. If you have a Google Home device or similar speaker, you can use Assistant to connect to them. Assistant can be found in headphones, smart displays, and televisions. Assistant is reliable enough that it can be used most of the time, though it is most reliable when it’s used with Google’s services, including Google Calendar and Chromecast.

Bixby
Maybe you’ve never heard of Bixby before. It’s exclusively on Samsung devices like the Family Hub 2.0 refrigerator. Bixby is a three-pronged personal assistant consisting of Bixby Voice (control a device with your voice), Bixby Vision (think Google Lens), and Bixby Home (a Google Feed-like solution). Bixby’s Version 2.0 is open-source, allowing developers the ability to use it in their development plans.

Cortana
Cortana is basically the Microsoft version of Alexa, working with every device that has Windows 10. While Cortana works in a similar way to Alexa, Cortana does have more limited capabilities compared to Alexa’s skills. Even if the user doesn’t have their PC nearby, Cortana can be used on Apple and Android devices. By far Cortana’s most interesting feature is being able to search your settings, documents, and other important data for whatever you’re searching for. The most notable tech demo involving Cortana showcased its ability to compile user-friendly statistics and display them in graphs, highlighting the perks of this virtual assistant.

Siri
Siri was the app that spearheaded development of virtual assistants. Siri is the Apple-exclusive virtual assistant that many users have on their iPhones and other Apple products. The Apple HomePod is a good example of this, but Siri is compatible with many other IoT devices that can give the user unparalleled control over their home just by speaking to their devices.

Which of these virtual assistants is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

11
Jun, 2018
How_Does_the_AI_400.jpg

How Does the A.I. in Reality Measure Up to Hollywood’s?

How_Does_the_AI_400.jpg

Figuring out how to utilize platforms that depend on machine learning to boost an organization’s bottom line is one of the biggest puzzles for every modern business owner. After all, seemingly every new technology concept can be leveraged into enhanced profitability if it is rolled out right. In this case, many organizations have found ways to use human-created machines to learn how to do tasks that would be deemed too expensive if humans were to do them.

Over the years, A.I. has been a frequent topic of discussion, and one that fiction authors (especially those in science-fiction) have used for all types of stories. In Hollywood, the artificially intelligent character has been around for a long time, a lot longer than the A.I. businesses are using to enhance their profitability. Today, we are going to look at how A.I. is portrayed in media and how it differs from the reality of modern A.I.

The Start of A.I. in Reality
In 1956, 30-some scientists met at the Hanover Inn on the campus of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire to discuss a “strange new discipline”. The talks were about how to build a machine that could think and went on for weeks. What came to be known as the “Dartmouth workshop” founded a quest for A.I. The discipline almost died off several times, but if you look at the world we live in today, it’d be hard to consider that. These days it seems like every business is using some sort of software platform that features what those at Dartmouth a half-a-century ago could only dream about. Machine learning has seen major innovations in many different industries, and we are closer than ever to deep learning–the innovation needed in machine learning to create machines that think like we do.

The Start of A.I. in Hollywood
In Hollywood, however, deep learning is a thing of the past. Machine sentience is commonplace and stories of A.I. are typically approached as commentary about the tyranny and hubris of human beings. A.I. works for so many different types of story arcs as setting an A.I. up as the hero works, setting them up as the victim works, and setting them up as a villain works. In fact, since humans haven’t mastered the technology, writers do what they do best: use creative license to create A.I. characters that are more like humans than machines. The first robot A.I. was Robby the Robot in 1956’s Forbidden Planet, but 1931’s Frankenstein was the first time an artificial being was brought to life on the big screen. A.I. is often used as a plot device for entertainment’s sake, or as commentary, but media hasn’t been able to completely represent where we are at with the technology today because, thus far, A.I has been created to help humans solve problems, not to actually have artificial consciousness. Here are a few movies that represent different uses of A.I. and how they stack up against modern A.I.:

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick.
Written by: Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke.
Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, Williams Sylvester.
Summary: The sudden appearance of a giant black monolith acts as a portal through time, transporting the view from prehistoric Earth to a future where space exploration is commonplace. On a manned trip to Jupiter, two astronauts are tricked by a crafty mission computer, a HAL 9000 series that claims to be “foolproof and incapable of error.” One of the astronauts is killed by HAL, while the other one risks everything to inflict retribution.
How the A.I. stacks up to modern A.I.: The HAL 9000 is a pretty decent representation of what a future A.I. system is going to be used for. The decision to kill the crew, and its subsequent pleading toward the end of the film show situations in which HAL was more like a malevolent human than as a sentient machine. Today’s A.I. is all about using data to solve organizational problems, but “feelings” is not in the equation at this time.

Blade Runner (1982)
Directed by: Ridley Scott.
Written by: Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples from a novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick.
Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah.
Summary: Blade Runner is set in 2019 Los Angeles and features former police officer, Rick Deckard (Ford) who works as a Blade Runner, someone who hunts down and retires replicants–artificial beings who seem as human as the humans themselves. In the course of action, it’s hard to determine who is in the right, as the lines are completely blurred between replicants and the people tasked with killing them.

How the A.I. stacks up to modern A.I.: The replicants in Blade Runner were man-made men (and women). From their appearance to the fact that they implanted human-esque memories in the machines told a story about how dangerous it can be when people try to play God. So, while it makes for great cinema, the replicants being indistinguishable from their human counterparts is questionable. There hasn’t been any technology developed to make machines more human, they have to be told to try to do things the way humans do in order to learn as humans do, making the whole premise impossible to implement with today’s limited A.I. technology. However, Google’s most recent new development, called Google Duplex, will allow Google Assistant to make phone calls for you. For example, if you ask Google Assistant to make a haircut appointment for you, it will call your salon, as if it were a person, and negotiate a time to fit your schedule. The results are both really cool, and a little creepy, but in the end, if Duplex can save you a few minutes here or there and not make business think they are getting fake auto calls, we’re all for it.

WarGames (1983)
Directed by: John Badham.
Written by: Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes.
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Dabney Coleman.
Summary: David, a hacker a decade before hacking became commonplace, breaks into NORAD and programs the WOPR, a military strategy computer, to play out war games until it has launch codes and launches hydrogen-bomb-tipped missiles at the Soviet Union. After finding the key to disarm the missiles, David and his friend Jennifer (Sheedy) track down the system’s creator to help keep the U.S. from launching Global Thermonuclear war.
How the A.I. stacks up to modern A.I.: WarGames examines the nature of a machine learning computer and how its role could be critical for the sustainability of the human race. The answer, as hokey as it is, to keeping the WOPR (also called Joshua after the developer’s dead son) from launching missiles is Tic-Tac-Toe. The WOPR learns that nuclear war and tic-tac-toe are pointless. That is the kind of fundamental application that modern A.I. could work out, and while we don’t suppose the U.S. military is looking to integrate A.I. to our national missile defense, the A.I. of WarGames was a pretty good representation of how A.I. could learn what are typically very human lessons.

Her (2013)
Directed by: Spike Jonze.
Written by: Spike Jonze.
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde.
Summary: Set in the very near future, recently divorced writer, Theodore Twombly (Phoenix) purchases a companion bot named Samantha (Johansson). She is an A.I. assistant but is exactly what Twombly needs and ends up falling in love with it. As their relationship develops, he becomes happier, then stagnates and is forced to break it off when Samantha describes how she can be in love with thousands of people simultaneously. How the A.I. stacks up to modern A.I.: The movie Her provides a fair amount of foresight to where the virtual assistant program is going. If you spend any time thinking about the future of technology it becomes evident that the more engaged you can get with your virtual assistant, the better it will work for you. Samantha has a superior understanding of language, fluidity to “her” voice, reasoning, planning, and most importantly for our purposes, obvious learning capabilities. The fluctuations in its emotional state don’t do the representation of the A.I. justice, but all-in-all Her is an interesting character study about how artificial intelligence could be designed to treat humans down the road.

Ex Machina (2014)
Directed by: Alex Garland.
Written by: Alex Garland.
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander.
Summary: A billionaire, Nathan Bateman (Isaac), fixes a contest to get one of his employees, Caleb (Gleeson) to come to his remote laboratory to take part in a Turing test of a new A.I. that he’s developed. The A.I. is kept in a humanoid android named Ava (Vikander). When she convinces Caleb she is being tortured, and he finds out Bateman’s dirty little secret, he tries to help Ava bust out, only to be duped and left for dead after Ava kills Nathan. She escapes alone on a helicopter.
How the A.I. stacks up to modern A.I.: First, I’ll say that this is one of the coolest of the A.I.-based movies because there is a sense of mystery, much like that inherent with A.I. The solitary genius theory is one of the most used when it comes to A.I. movies (or monster movies) and while the A.I. itself showed well, there is no way that a single person, even one with unlimited resources, could create a functioning A.I. automaton. As far as the deep learning capabilities, the Ava android is what we both aspire to and hope to avoid–which is kind of a good metaphor for the discipline as a whole.

There are dozens of movies with artificially intelligent characters. With people building new A.I.’s every day, the way they are used in reality remains to be seen. In movies, however, they will continue to astound and thrill. Here are some other titles that feature A.I.:

  • Star Wars
  • Short Circuit
  • Alien
  • Terminator 2: Judgement Day
  • The Matrix
  • Bicentennial Man
  • I, Robot
  • Iron Man
  • Transcendence

Do you have a favorite A.I.-fueled film or television show? Are you of the opinion that the A.I. systems we can interact with are close? Are they necessary? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

18
May, 2018
may_be-seeing_more_ai_400.jpg

Where You May be Seeing More AI Soon

may_be-seeing_more_ai_400.jpg

The notion of artificial intelligence has played out in fiction, on the silver screen, and on the small screen for decades. Instead of having sentient cyborgs that enslave humanity, people are using A.I for our benefit. Today, we take a look at the A.I. of 2018 and how your business can leverage it for your benefit.

What is Artificial Intelligence
Today’s world is filled with data. All the experiences and thoughts humans have produced over centuries have provided somewhat of a record of what is expected from A.I. After all, if humans are going to replace workers with machines, ensuring they can do the jobs as (or more) efficiently is going to be important. For now, however, A.I. is being utilized in conjunction with people–trying to make our world better by making the applications and services we depend on more intuitive and efficient.

At one time there were the American Titans of Industry. Today we have Titans of Technology, and not one of them isn’t completely fascinated by the practical applications that artificial intelligence (in some fashion) can have for humanity. The thing standing in the way from all this glorious A.I.-fueled innovation, of course, is humanity. It seems every so often there is a report that is written suggesting that millions of workers can now be replaced with machines, and in the interest of shareholder profits, any business that has been able to leverage A.I. and increase its profitability has gone ahead and done so, often against public sentiment.

One study predicted that 47 percent of all jobs could be automated by 2033. That’s only 15 years off. If you’re looking for some current statistics, another report found in 2016 that up to nine percent of all workers are now unnecessary. Yet another suggested that 800+ of the largest businesses in the world, will cut between four and seven percent of their workforce and replace them with more efficient and less costly artificially intelligent machines.

How Your Business Could Use A.I.
You use A.I. every day without even thinking about it. Every time you use Google. Every time you use Uber or Lyft. Every time your email sends an incoming email to spam. Even as people all look forward to an inevitable permanent vacation as a result of A.I., it can be extraordinarily useful for the smaller business. Here are three ways even the smallest of businesses can take advantage of the growing A.I. market.

  • Operations – For small manufacturers or service providers many of the often-redundant parts of the job can now be automated. Since an A.I.-fueled ERP or CRM platform adjusts to the data you enter into it, it increases the level of automation that you can use to make your business more efficient.
  • Marketing – Small businesses rely on very targeted marketing campaigns, and by utilizing A.I.-driven marketing platforms, companies can reduce their marketing costs and target the audience most likely to purchase their products and services.
  • Customer Service – Customer service representatives have a tendency to flame out fairly quickly and actually deteriorate a company’s relationships with its customers. By using A.I. to automate a big portion of the customer service load, customers will get better support, and will tend to become repeat customers.

How has your business been able to utilize artificial intelligence? Do you foresee using A.I. in any capacity going forward? Leave your thoughts below and return to our blog for more great technology-related information.

22
Nov, 2017
technology_2018_new_400.jpg

2018: What to Expect from Technology

technology_2018_new_400.jpg

2017 saw the rise of many great technology solutions for small business, including an explosion of popularity in business intelligence, artificial intelligence applications, and machine learning. Meanwhile, other established technologies have continued their domination of the industry. What can your organization look forward to seeing on the forefront of the small business technology race in 2018?

We’ll take a look at some of the upcoming and emerging technologies that your business may want to consider for future investment.

Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence in terms of business use consists of analyzing data to create better outcomes, remake the customer experience, and completely change the way that organizations conduct themselves through the use of automation. Artificially intelligent technology can help to streamline operations and the customer experience through the implementation of chat bots and other machine-learning capabilities. However, researchers have recommended that AI be limited to specific roles rather than broad concepts, as too much of a lack of focus could lead to poor performance as a whole, deterring organizations from implementation in the future.

Even if businesses aren’t implementing artificial intelligence as soon as possible, 59% of businesses are still collecting information so that they can benefit as much as possible from such an integration. By taking this proactive stance on artificial intelligence, they are ensuring that they can hit the ground running when it comes time to do so.

Intelligent Analytics
Analytics have become an increasingly important part of doing business. This is because the availability of data, and software that allows for the analysis of said data, creates an environment where better decisions can be made using this analysis. By taking a carefully crafted deep dive into the numbers behind goods or services, organizations can make greater profits and eliminate inefficiencies in never before seen ways. Think of it like “trimming the fat,” so to speak.

Of course, these intelligent analytics can also be used to find new and more lucrative business ventures. Without proper analysis, though, these statistics and analytics are just empty numbers. Business intelligence apps aim to provide perspective and create insight for operational efficiency and effectiveness. Businesses that want to reap the most benefit from their data will invest in business intelligence strategies to glean important insights.

Cloud Technology
The cloud retains its importance as one of the best ways to take full advantage of modern technology. This is because no matter what type of business applications are released in the future, the cloud will remain one of the best ways to access them. The cloud offers dynamic access to business-critical computing constructs and applications that business owners will want to utilize because they offer cost-reduction and other benefits.

How does your business plan on using the cloud and these other technologies in 2018? To learn more about your options, reach out to NuTech Services at 810.230.9455.

29
Sep, 2017
ai_head_circut400.jpg

Artificial Intelligence Can Be Useful To Hackers, Too

ai_head_circut400.jpg

Man matching wits with computer isn’t new territory. In 1830, a locomotive raced a horse to see which was superior in terms of speed and distance. 1956 saw the first time a human played chess against a computer. Today, the time has come when an artificial intelligence has begun to break into a new territory that was dominated by humans for thousands of years: crime.

At a recent technology expo, a human hacker and a sophisticated computer that is capable of machine learning each attempted to spear-phish as many victims as possible through Twitter. For two hours, both entities refined their message in an effort to be more effective against the target. At approximately 1.075 tweets per minute, the human was able to make 129 tweets, 49 of which were successful. The computer was able to make 810 tweets in two hours, which is about 6.75 tweets per minute. In that time, 275 victims were converted.

Even though humans had a higher attempt-to-victim percentage, the machine was able to get 5 times as many victims in the same amount of time.

In a Cylance poll held during ConFab, attendees were asked if criminal hackers will use AI for offensive purposes in the coming year, to which 62 percent answered in the affirmative. Even though no one could cite any specific incidents, the overwhelming consensus among experts is that hackers have already begun using AI. Like all high-tech crimes, AI is a global issue that changes fast and often, making it extremely difficult for law enforcement to find and prosecute perpetrators. Even when they’re able to identify offenders, they often run into issues where the laws and statutes are well behind the technology in question.

Another reason that identifying and combatting AI is so difficult is because there are constant debates among experts around the globe on what exactly constitutes as AI. Think about it like this: millions of people consult virtual assistants, like Siri and Alexa, every day. However, if you ask the majority of them if they were using artificial intelligence, they’d say ‘No.’ In reality, they are both examples of AI being put to use to enhance the lives of its users.

There are a lot of potential uses for AI by cyber criminals. For example, hackers could use machine learning capabilities to write programs that personalize emails with malware attachments. As that technology is developed, there will likely be a time when distinguishing actual email and phishing attacks is nearly impossible. Another probable use of machine learning and AI for hacking is drastically reducing the time and resources it takes to find and exploit vulnerabilities in software though automation.

For a small business, AI might not be not something that you need to concern yourself with – and perhaps it isn’t, at the moment. However, AI is already being incorporated into many aspects of business with great success and many experts feel it will be very important in the near future. What do you think? Would you be willing to give AI a try? Let us know in the comments!

17
Jun, 2016
ai_human_security_400.jpg

Researchers From MIT May Have Found the Holy Grail of Network Security

ai_human_security_400.jpg

When it comes to cybersecurity, maintenance is key. Whether you choose human-based security or an automated security solution, running into shortcomings is still possible. Human security tends to rely on the word of experts, and anything that doesn’t fit into the guidelines is missed and may therefore get through and wreak havoc. Network security can be a touch overzealous, in a way “crying wolf,” with an excess of false positives that ultimately require human analysis, leading to human frustration.

Blending the two in the past has proven difficult, as the experts with the necessary skills aren’t usually available for the time it takes to label the data for the programs to work properly. However, a team of researchers assembled from MIT’s CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) a PatternEx (a machine-learning startup) recognized these issues and have developed a platform that blends AI and human security attributes in a way that shields from the shortcomings of either.

Dubbed A.I.², this new platform is capable of detecting 85 percent of incoming attacks while reducing reported false positives to 20 percent of what they were originally. To achieve this, the “untrained” machine reports what machine learning tells it are the 200 most important problems in the sample set to a human expert, who then corrects the machine’s work. As the machine progresses through sets of data, it reports fewer and fewer false positives.

In doing so, A.I.² demonstrates machines effectively learning from human teachers, cooperating for the sake of security analysis accuracy.

The implications to the realm of security in the future are massive. It’s difficult not to let the imagination run wild with thoughts of upcoming technologies being influenced by this human-artificial intelligence hybrid.

However, since there is no telling how long it may be before a system like A.I.² could be available to users for purposes of data defense, business owners should still follow best practices. Users should not only be educated on the importance of avoiding typical security risks. They must also be reminded of the importance of compliance to regulatory standards for business security, such as those set by organizations like HIPAA, DSS, and others. They should also be encouraged to review the reports generated by security software.

Additionally, you could always allow NuTech Services to help manage your cybersecurity. By intelligently implementing security solutions, we can help your company avoid security issues and keep your IT in top working order. To set up a remote monitoring and maintenance solution, call 810.230.9455 today.