Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2017
From The Eponymous Pickle
Pew Internet Research Looks at Algorithms
I like their broad definition of algorithms. Sometimes the implication is falsely given that algorithms are some magical and very complex thing. But they are simply the way that some processes can be driven by rules. How…
From Apophenia
When Good Intentions Backfire
… And Why We Need a Hacker Mindset I am surrounded by people who are driven by good intentions. Educators who want to inform students, who passionately believe that people can be empowered through knowledge. Activists who have…
From insideHPC
Defining AI, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning
"In this guide, we take a high-level view of AI and deep learning in terms of how it’s being used and what technological advances have made it possible. We also explain the difference between AI, machine learning and deep learning…
From insideHPC
Podcast: Democratizing Education for the Next Wave of AI
"Coursera has named Intel as one of its first corporate content partners. Together, Coursera and Intel will develop and distribute courses to democratize access to artificial intelligence and machine learning. In this interview…
From ACM on Huffington Post
The Science of AI and the Art of Social Responsibility
By Guru Banavar, IBM’s Chief Science Officer for Cognitive Computing I am a computer scientist and engineer, inspired by
From insideHPC
OpenFog Consortium Publishes Reference Architecture
The OpenFog Consortium was founded over one year ago to accelerate adoption of fog computing through an open, interoperable architecture. The newly published OpenFog Reference Architecture is a high-level framework that will
…
From insideHPC
Video: Computing of the Future
Jeffrey Welser from IBM Research Almaden presented this talk at the Stanford HPC Conference. "Whether exploring new technical capabilities, collaborating on ethical practices or applying Watson technology to cancer research,
…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Humans Trusting Algorithms
Key thoughts, also gets back to the question of how we explain the use of algorithms. Most methods today are more akin to magic. I like that this is being positioned as an operational question first, as opposed to AI. See…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Remarkable Delivery Robot
Bio inspired robotics .... With claim to work in many environments. In IEEE Spectrum:
Agility Robotics Introduces Cassie, a Dynamic and Talented Robot Delivery Ostrich
" ... Would you open the door for this thing? (See video…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Facial Recognition for Market Research
Not a new thing, has been worked for decades. Talked to related work at MIT to leverage these ideas. But we are getting much better at it now. Much written about it here. In ChainstoreAge:
Is Facial Recognition in Retail…
From Schneier on Security
Research into the Root Causes of Terrorism
Interesting article in Science discussing field research on how people are radicalized to become terrorists. The potential for research that can overcome existing constraints can be seen in recent advances in understanding violent…
From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
Raymond Smullyan, 1919–2017
Serious work amid the puzzles and jokes. Amazon source When Raymond Smullyan was born, Emanuel Lasker was still the world chess champion. Indeed, of the 16 universally recognized champions, only the first, Wilhelm Steinitz, lived…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Big Data Results from Coke Freestyle
Now about eight years ago, we saw an early demonstration of Coke 'Free Style', a machine that would allow you to construct your own flavors. Among millions of possibilities. Late stage differentiation possibilities. This
Coke…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Computing Community Consortium at AAAS 2017
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) is proud to be a part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2017 Annual Meeting this weekend, February 16-20, 2017 in Boston, MA. CCC Chair Beth Mynatt, CCC…
From insideHPC
Job of the Week: Senior HPC Systems Administrator at Purdue
Purdue University is seeking a Senior HPC Systems Administrator in our Job of the Week. "In this role, you will assist world renowned researchers in advancing science. Additionally, as Senior HPC Systems Administrator, you will…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
How fast can you count lines?
Inspired by earlier work by Llogiq, I decided to look at how fast I could count the number of lines in a string. By assuming that the string relies on ASCII, UTF-8 or other ASCII superset character encoding, the bulk of the work…
From insideHPC
Supercomputing the Hyperloop on Azure
Today Cycle Computing announced that the HyperXite team is using CycleCloud software to manage Hyperloop simulations using ANSYS Fluent on the Azure Cloud. "Our mission is optimize and economize the transportation of the future…
From insideHPC
Huawei: A Fresh Look at High Performance Computing
Francis Lam from Huawei presented this talk at the Stanford HPC Conference. "High performance computing is rapidly finding new uses in many applications and businesses, enabling the creation of disruptive products and services…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Hayo: Augmented Reality in Smart Homes
Intriguing. " ... Hayo transforms the objects and spaces around you into a set of magical remote controls. ... ". They claim there is no shouting involved. Gestural in your augmented space.
Site here, still in preorder stage…
From insideHPC
Supercomputing Transportation System Data using TACC’s Rustler
Over at TACC, Faith Singer-Villalobos writes that researchers are using the Rustler supercomputer to tackle Big Data from self-driving connected vehicles (CVs). "The volume and complexity of CV data are tremendous and present…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Teaching Cognitive Computing with Watson at Universities
" ... our Cognitive Systems Institute Speaker Series on Thursday, February 16, 2016 at 10:30 am ET US (7:30 am PT). Our speaker is Charles Palmer, IBM Distinguished Research Staff Member, who will be presenting "Teaching Cognitive…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Providing Music Efficiently
Quite a good piece in the Verge that interviews speaker manufacturer Sonos' Patrick Spense. About the efficient music delivery aspects of Google Home and Alexa. Where Sonos has taken a considerable hit in the last year. …
From The Eponymous Pickle
Oracle and Real Time Anaytics in the Cloud
Cloud solutions continue to roll. I see less about the specifics of solutions here, except a bare listing. You do need a cloud to provide solutions, but also workable solutions. Like the mention of more real-time capabilities…
From insideHPC
Overcoming the Learning Curve of New Processor Architectures
High-performance computing (HPC) tools are helping financial firms survive and thrive in this highly demanding and data-intensive industry. As financial models grow in complexity and greater amounts of data must be processed
…
From Schneier on Security
Survey Data on Americans and Cybersecurity
Pew Research just published their latest research data on Americans and their views on cybersecurity: This survey finds that a majority of Americans have directly experienced some form of data theft or fraud, that a sizeable…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Partnering with Chinese Retailers
In McKinsey:
Partnering with China’s retailers: A guide for consumer-goods companies:
Companies must tailor their key-account-management model and capabilities to the Chinese context.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Baidu and China Machine Learning
How Chinese Internet Giant Baidu Uses AI And Machine Learning - Forbes. By Bernard Marr.
" .... Chinese firms such as Baudu and Alibaba, on the other hand – as well as a monopoly on gathering personal data in their home market…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Retail and AI
How artificial intelligence is powering retail customer experience
By Cliff Saran in Computerweekly:
Retailers are beginning to explore how cognitive computing and AI could make e-commerce smarter and more personalised ...
According…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Ford Invests in AI Startup
Have always been impressed by Ford's analytical work. In ComputerWeekly:
Motorcar maker Ford’s software development team will work alongside Argo AI on robotic vehicle technology
Ford has invested $1bn with Argo AI, a robotics…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Social Media Sites and Shopper Digital
Study: Grocery shoppers not all that connected with social media By Deena M. Amato-McCoy
In ChainstoreAge:
While supermarket shoppers engage with their primary grocer on one or more digital platforms, social media sites are not…