Artificial Intelligence
How SMEs Can Take Advantage of Intelligent Automation and Why They Should
Image sourced from CXOToday. In the past, most business experts believed that there were simply too many situations, variables, and possibilities for companies to manage to effectively be able to automate their front-office processes and procedures. This was especially true for those processes and procedures that relied on human workers making decisions. Even when technology started to catch up, many still considered it the domain of large companies, which could afford both the technology and development resources. This is no longer the case. What is Intelligent Automation? We have now seen the introduction of Intelligent Automation (IA), which combines artificial intelligence, machine learning, and process automation. Companies can use IA to create smart business processes that can think,...
Broken Endpoints in Your Organisation’s Cybersecurity: The Role of Superior Endpoint Detection
Stefan van de Giessen, General Manager: Cybersecurity at Networks Unlimited. Networks Unlimited is applying a ‘broken window, broken business’ principle when looking at an organisation’s internal cybersecurity posture, in order to have a positive effect on its business processes. The moral of the ‘broken window’ story, which has been studied by psychologists, is that once a window in a building is broken, people then feel that they are able to damage the property even further, and ultimately loot and steal from it, with impunity. “When we put this into a cybersecurity context,” says Stefan van de Giessen, General Manager: Cybersecurity at Networks Unlimited, “this means, in essence, making sure that you have no ‘broken windows’ or gaps in your security through which uninvited elements coul...
Wits University Robotics Team to Compete in AI-Powered “Robot Soccer World Cup”
Image sourced from the Mail & Guardian. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_0f9.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_0f9.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } For the first time, a Wits University team will compete in the international RoboCup tournament. RoboCup, the world cup for soccer robots, is a major annual event on the artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics calendar with a goal to advance the state of the art of intelligent robots. It sees teams from across the globe competing in different soccer leagues to show their mastery in AI and machine learning. The soccer robots can either be working physical robots or simulation robots. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_2e0.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_2e0.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Wits will be participating in the 3D simul...
Take Control of Your Company’s Digital Transformation – Register for #DTF2021
Join the DTF 2021 as an attendee – https://itnewsafrica.com/events/event/digital-transformation-congress-webinar/ Change is Inevitable Digital transformation is as inevitable as the passage of time. The new will replace the old, as the axiom goes. Business leaders and company executives must evolve their organisations, or risk extinction in the future when attempting to transform too late proves too little. One doesn’t need to go far for practical examples of this. In 2020, companies either adapted to the new normal or contemplated filing bankruptcy. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented and entirely unexpected event. Remember when “Remote Work” was just a novel idea? Time will continue to present these events – these unexpected drastic changes, and forward-minded l...
Using AI Will Always Require a Human Touch
Image sourced from Software One. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_096.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_096.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Decision-makers are concerned about how the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology can negatively impact their brand and result in a loss of stakeholder and customer trust. In fact, research has shown that 56% of executives globally have slowed down their AI adoptions because of such fears. These concerns have given rise to the concept of Responsible AI (RAI). It refers to the way organisations use AI technologies, and the adherence to certain principles that relate to the greater good, the protection of individuals and their fundamental rights, and generally the trustworthiness of the AI application. While everybody has a role to play in ...
AI-Powered “Passion Flower” DJ Art Car Coming to Austin, Texas
After first debuting at Burning Man 2019, the technologically advanced, AI-powered vehicle known as Passion Flower will go back out on the town for the first time in Austin, Texas. The roving car is capable of effectively delivering a multi-sensory experience through the use of AI. Decked out in layers of dichroic film, the colored glass mirrors the vehicle’s surroundings vibrantly. However, it’s getting even more of a read on its audience than some bystanders may initially realize. The AI-powered Passion Flower art car and multi-sensory mobile DJ platform. c/o Shore Fire Media The internal workings of the vehicle’s music and visuals are governed by AiMi, a platform with the ability to generate an endless stream of AI-crafted electronic music in a variety of moo...
MultiChoice Introduces New AI Chatbot to its Service
Sourced from Tech Central. /* custom css */ .tdi_4_6d6.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_4_6d6.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } MultiChoice is enhancing its digital customer service through an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot. Called by the tongue-in-cheek name, “The Ultimate Master of Information”, or TUMI, this innovative service is available 24/7 to answer customer queries about products and services. “TUMI is an evolutionary leap in our service capability. Born and developed right here in Africa, TUMI is a tangible manifestation of our commitment to innovation. This is not innovation for its own sake; the focus is to continue to grow our capacity to give our customers an excellent service experience,” says MultiChoice South Africa CEO, Nyiko Shiburi. /* custom css */ .td...
How Emotion AI Can Make the World a Better Place
Most of us take it for granted that we can read another person’s emotions through subtleties such as body language, yet this is a real struggle for many others. Enter emotion AI. Researchers at Stanford University modified Google’s augmented reality glasses to read emotions in others and notify the wearer. The glasses detect someone’s mood through their eye contact, facial expressions and body language, and then tell the wearer what emotions it’s picking up. “Emotion AI taps into the individual,” explains Zabeth Venter, CEO and co-founder of Averly. “If you think about facial recognition, which is a kind of emotion AI, I can pick up if you like what I’m saying by whether your smile is a smirk or a real genuine smile.” Such nuances go deeper. Another example is polling: what is your favouri...
Immerse Yourself in “Deeper Focus” With Richie Hawtin’s New AI-Powered Mix
Techno music and kaleidoscopic visuals aren’t typically a recipe for success when it comes to dialing into your work for an afternoon. But with their new “Deeper Focus” collaboration, producer Richie Hawtin and technology company Endel are here to change the game. Out this month, “Deeper Focus” is an audiovisual soundscape housed on Endel’s neuroscience-backed iOS application. Engineered to boost productivity and focus, it features minimalistic noir-inspired visuals against a brooding soundtrack of hypnotic techno music. “Deeper Focus” is powered by AI technology, which generates the music in real-time from a library of sounds produced by Hawtin’s Plastikman alias. This unique trait allows users’ listening experie...
Scientists Spin Spiderwebs Into Sound Using AI
Ever wonder what a spider’s web sounds like? Well thanks to the power of artificial intelligence, we can now recreate spider signals that are otherwise inaudible to the human ear, thus bringing us closer to learning their “language.” We know this sounds like the beginning of a horror movie unfolding, and once you hear the “music” recorded from the spiders and their webs, you’ll believe it even more. What you’re hearing in this recording is a series of vibrational patterns, each of which represents some type of behavioral action the spider will take. Despite usually having eight eyes, most spiders apparently don’t have the best sight. That being the case, they often use vibrations in their web to determine what’s in their environme...
Microsoft to Acquire Nuance Communications in ‘Biggest Deal’ Since LinkedIn
Microsoft is set to acquire AI software company Nuance Communications – marking Microsoft’s second-largest acquisition ever. The “Nuance deal would be a trophy for Redmond,” according to Wedbush Analyst, Dan Ives. “Nuance is in the midst of an unprecedented strategic turnaround the last few years under the leadership of CEO Mark Benjamin and we believe the company represents a unique asset on the health-care front for Microsoft.” TechCentral revealed that the acquisition could value Nuance at about US$56/share, giving the company an equity value of about $16-billion. “This can really help Microsoft accelerate the digitisation of the healthcare industry, which has lagged other sectors such as retail and banking,” says Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst, Anurag Rana. “The biggest nea...
How AI Puts the ‘Smart’ in Smartphones
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart devices capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. From the realm of science fiction, AI has evolved to, in some applications, match human performance, with the latest facial-recognition software having a 99% accuracy rate. Strategy Analytics, a company that shares insights and analytics, states that 41% of consumers believe AI will improve their lives in some way and South Africa isn’t lagging behind the rest of the world in its development and application of this cutting-edge technology either. “We’re seeing even more companies using AI in more daring ways through innovative products or services that disrupt the status quo,’ says Dries Cronje, CEO at Deep Le...
