robots

The Buzz about Artificial Intelligence and Machine

By Paul B. Kaiser on October 12, 2017

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are the hottest buzzwords since fidget spinners. They are being thrown around every time there is a new tech product announced. Granted some of that is warranted with the new phones and buzz about self driving cars, but tech company’s are using the terms interchangeable and many don’t know the difference. What do the terms really mean? Is AI the same as ML?

The quick explanation is the concept that machines can process data and learn from it. Then the machine will make decisions from that learning. No humans required. Artificial Intelligence is just the broader term around machine learning that machines are in fact “smart.” Big technology companies like Google and Nvidia are currently working on developing machine learning applications. They are pushing computers to learn the way a human would learn. How does this work?

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Everyday Examples

We are using AI everyday and its so embed in our lives we may not even recognize it. Why do you think the smartphone is called a smart phone? It is constantly learning about you and predicting. When you use maps, or you search it learns about your habits and learns to correct for it or suggest to you anyway. The next big thing will be self driving cars. They will be making decisions that you would have normally made. Check out this self driving car.

Four industry’s that will use AI?

The financial industry will use AI to predict the stock market.
The transportation industry like Tesla, Google and Uber are all making cars.
Business and marketing will use AI to help predict consumers habits or analyze their purchasing habits.
Finally, the healthcare industry could see a radical change. AI doctors could make diagnosis based on input from the patient. Virtual doctors are already paving the way for patients becoming comfortable with a non-personal experience. The areas they could provide value is:

Preventative care… Predicting disease outbreaks on both the individual and the community level.
Diagnostic care… Automatically classifying image data, such as scans, x-rays, etc.
Insurance… Adjusting insurance premiums based on publicly available risk factors.

Conclusion

AI and ML are here to stay and will continue to be part of our lives. Hopefully not take over our lives – that’s on us to make the technology work for us, not for them. There are definite benefits to AI and ML in our tech. However, it’s not all roses.

While AI and ML seem like cool concepts, there will be a downside, particularly in the unemployment area. Robots will replace humans in their jobs. It’s happening now. Amazon is using just as many robots as they are people to process orders. The biggest hurdle is humans trusting robots to do certain tasks, like driving or making a diagnosis. While these things are possible, people will take some time to be comfortable with the idea.

I assume that robots will have their own set of rules and regulations. Much like Isaac Asimov wrote in I Robot, the robots must follow 3 laws:

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law;
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law

One last thought is to consider how Google Photos recognizes and learns images.
How does it recognize your sunsets, people’s faces and your pets. See how this works in the video below.

How to fight back on robocalls

By Paul B. Kaiser on May 6, 2017

I think we can all agree that everyone hates robocalls that inundate our phones lines all day. I do, and I’m a marketer. It’s feels like a total invasion of our privacy. And they seem to always call at dinner time – right? Have you noticed an increase in those annoying robocalls, telemarketers, and scams hitting up your smartphone all hours of the day and night? I have, and it’s driving me crazy. Part of the reason is that the “Do not call” registry doesn’t work 100% of the time, but I will still recommend you sign up. They cant keep up with the technology and keep up with devious companies.

So how can we stop these robocalls? Can we? They seem impossible to stop, but there are steps you can take, apps you can download, and places you can send complaints too.

What is a robocall?

A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public-service or emergency announcements.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, there are nearly 2.4 billion robocalls made every month. That’s more than 7 calls per person

-Research from the YouMail Robocall Index.

BEWARE: New types of robocall scams:

Your cell phone rings, and the number that flashes across the screen has the same area code and prefix as yours. So you may pick up, and sure enough – it’s a telemarketer again. It’s one of the newer scams to entice you to pick up.

What can you do to ward off these annoying calls?

1. Google your smartphone number

Let’s start with a little reality. How are Robo-callers getting your phone numbers in the first place? Unfortunately, we’re all guilty of giving out our numbers when we register online at shopping sites, social media or any number of websites. The Better Business Bureau recommends Googling your own number. So go ahead and look – right now!

Was it there? Yup. So was mine. It might not be alongside your name, or other related personal information, but it is just one step closer a criminal has to put your information together.

Now that you know your out there at least you can deal with it.

2. Add your number to the Do No Call list

You can add your home phone and cell here National Do Not Call list.

If you’re already on the Do Not Call Registry and still get calls, then report the calls to the FTC, which processes the reports and hands out the fines.

Smartphone Tips:

On iPhones, tap the green phone icon on your home screen, select the “Recents” tab on the bottom of the screen, then tap the blue “i” information icon next to the phone number you want to block. A screen pops up with a bunch of options and at the very bottom you’ll find “Block This Caller.” Tap it and then when the verification screen appears, confirm your decision.

On most Androids, there are two easy ways to block numbers. If you’re on the standard version of Android 6.0 you can go into your call log and long-press on the number you want to block, then select “Block number” from the pop-up menu.

You can also select “Settings” and then “Call blocking,” then tap “Add number” and type in the number you want to block.

3. Hang up right away

“There is nothing to gain from attempting to reason with the people behind the calls,” said the BBB. With that said I have heard that you should pick up and wait for the Robot to start speaking and then hang up. At least then you get recored as being reached and maybe you’ll be taken off the list.

4. Don’t press numbers

In the past, many people have recommended certain number combinations or the pound key to delete yourself from a robocall registry, but the BBB you’re actually making it worse: “By pressing a number, you are confirming that someone is actually responding to the call, and you will likely receive more of them.”

5. Other options

There are a couple apps that promise anti-spam deterrents that will stop annoying calls for good. They all require a bit of set-up, but they do work. You have to update the app with your numbers os there is work on your side.

Nomorobo – (iOS) – One of the best of these apps is Nomorobo. They won a competition by the FTC. After you download the app onto your device, you can sign up for a free trial for 30-days, or commit right away to either $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year.

Truecaller – This paid app (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone) reports that it’s collected more than 3-billion phone numbers and relies on information from users to filter out the scams. When the app identifies a specific phone number as robocall or scam, it lets you know with an alert on the call screen. The website says it gets its information from a central database that is constantly being updated with new phone numbers.

What is the government doing?

The Federal Communications Commission proposed allowing phone companies, both landline and wireless, to block spoofed robocalls when the number cannot possibly be valid. That would include unassigned numbers and those from area codes that don’t exist.

What are your rights?

“The federal Telemarketing Sales Rule prohibits recorded sales messages unless you have given written permission for the caller to contact you, regardless of whether or not your number is on the Do Not Call registry (www.donotcall.gov),” the BBB says. “The Federal Trade Commission(FTC) has used its enforcement authority to stop companies that have made billions of auto-dialed calls, but acknowledges that technology has helped significantly increase these calls in recent years. This technology helps criminals generate calls from anywhere in the world and falsify caller ID technology to cover their steps.”

It’s also important to note that unsolicited, non-emergency robocalls to wireless phones are illegal, end of story!

A robot is taking your job, not immigrants

By Paul B. Kaiser on April 7, 2017

The rise of the robots may indeed be in our future as they take more and more of our jobs, but what is the impact? And when will this happen? We have been told the last few months that immigrants are taking our jobs. I’m not sure what details the current administration is looking at because it’s pretty evident, that it won’t be immigrants, it will be Artificial Intelligence (AI). Yes robots taking our jobs.

The odds are high, according to recent economic analyses that 47 percent of all U.S. jobs will be automated “in a decade or two,” as the tech-employment scholars Carl Frey and Michael Osborne have predicted. That’s because artificial intelligence and robotics are becoming so good that nearly any routine task could soon be automated. Robots and AI are already transporting products around Amazon’s huge shipping centers, and diagnosing lung cancer more accurately than humans.

According to Business Insider, Amazon already has 45,000 robots working in their warehouses. How could government overlook this reality? It’s not a sci-fi movie. It’s happening now! And as you’ve probably seen Google’s driverless cars in the news. We are not just building robots, we are building “thinking machines.” Machines that can make cognitive decisions. Essentially, cognitive computing “refers to computing that is focused on reasoning and understanding at a higher level, often in a manner that is analogous to human cognition — or at least inspired by human cognition,” says Lynne Parker, director of the division of Information and Intelligent Systems for the National Science Foundation. With all that said, Amazon announced that they will add 30,000 part time jobs in the year 2017. Mostly warehouse and customer service. I think the point there is that there is a shift in future services needed – future jobs.

“Amazon announced that they will add 30,000 part time jobs in the year 2017.”

Facts and predictions

Pew Research Center reports that immigrants make up 13 percent of the population and 17 percent of the workforce, but their employment patterns contrast with those of their U.S.-born counterparts across industries and states.
Price Waterhouse Cooper reported that 38 percent of jobs in the U.S. are at high risk of being replaced by robots and artificial intelligence over the next 15 years.
“By 2021 a disruptive tidal wave will begin. Solutions powered by AI/cognitive technology will displace jobs, with the biggest impact felt in transportation, logistics, customer service and consumer services,” said Forrester’s Brian Hopkins in the report.

Intelligent robots

These robots, or intelligent agents, represent a set of AI-powered systems that can understand human behavior and make decisions on our behalf. Current technologies in this field include virtual assistants like Alexa, Cortana, Siri and Google Now as well as chatbots and automated robotic systems. For now, perform simple tasks, but over the next five years they will become much better at making decisions on our behalf in more complex scenarios, which will enable mass adoption of breakthroughs like self-driving cars and personal assistants.

As we become comfortable with advanced technology, so it will replace us. But we are an adaptable species and will figure it out. However, it would be helpful if our government provides us the tools and education to stay ahead and not back in the coal mining days.