This blog post is sponsored content by a 2018 Business Information & Media Summit sponsor A Data Pro

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are here and reshaping business. But AI isn’t just for tech companies and online retailers—it can be a force multiplier for smaller and mid-sized information companies by enabling them to take control of content and audience data by automating many of the manual tasks associated with maintaining that data and helping create personalized and meaningful experiences for customers.

In recent days, the Trump Administration has homed in on the promises of artificial intelligence (AI).  On Thursday, the White House issued an AI fact sheet titled, “Artificial Intelligence for the American People.” The fact outlines the Administration’s commitment to investing in AI research and development, creating a regulatory environment that fosters innovation pertaining to AI, and providing workers with 21st Century job skills.  In addition, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) chartered the National Science and Technology Council Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence, with the goal of sustaining and enhancing U.S. leadership in AI.  The stated purpose of this Select Committee is “to advise and assist the NSTC to improve the overall effectiveness and productivity of Federal research and development (R&D) efforts related to artificial intelligence.”  It will also “address significant national and ...

On November 7, 2017 I made a short presentation to the AI Caucus event on AI and ethics, which is summarized in this blog.

One of the biggest cold cases of the 21st Century is the case of who betrayed Anne Frank and her family to the Nazis during World War II.  Anne Frank’s family and another family famously hid in a secret annex for two years before they were given away by an unknown person to the Gestapo.  The Nazis found them and they were sent to concentration camps.  Anne died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and famously wrote a diary documenting her experience hiding from the Nazis.  Her father Otto was the lone survivor of the group of eight hiders.  Otto was able to piece together much of what happened and had Anne’s diary published.  Yet, the Frank family, and many other families who suffered in the holocaust, thought they would never know who betrayed them.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be a tool that can help solve this mystery. This case, along with a few others, is strange for a number of reasons.  First, the Nazis were known f ...

According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2016, there were 1,685,210 newly diagnosed cases of cancer in America with 595,690 deaths.  With such staggering numbers, millions of dollars are poured into research into how to fight and treat cancer.  One of the newer innovations in cancer treatment is the increased use of machine learning and precision medicine.  Precision medicine is the act of specifically tailoring a patient’s treatment to his or her own genetic needs.  To do this, machine learning helps doctors provide the best care possible by using predictive analytics to recommend specific treatments.  This week’s AI spotlight will focus on how the Swedish Cancer Institute is partnering with the company GNS Healthcare to use machine learning to better treat cancer patients. Machine learning has serious potential to aid in cancer treatment.  According to the Executive Director of the Swedish Cancer Institute, Thomas Brown, MD, it is ra ...

Pam is walking around Shanghai and sees shops that contain shoes, handbags, clothes, and jewelry that are all emblazoned with the logos of famous designers.  Upon walking inside, she notices that many of these products, while not very cheap, are still markedly cheaper than if she were to buy the exact same product in the United States.  The quality looks and feels great, so without a second thought, she purchases a handbag.  After all, this isn’t a shady stand on a roadside.  This is a seemingly legitimate store.  It isn’t until she’s back in the United States that she discovers that the Louis Vuitton handbag that she bought is a fake. This type of situation is fairly common.  There are often only subtle differences between a real and fake product that may not be detectable at first touch or first look.  Other times, people are aware that what they’re purchasing is a counterfeit good and simply don’t care.  Regard ...

The application of big data analytics has already improved lives in innumerable ways.  It has improved the way teachers instruct students, doctors diagnose and treat patients, lenders find creditworthy customers, financial service companies control money laundering and terrorist financing, and governments deliver services.  It promises even more transformative benefits with self-driving cars and smart cities, and a host of other applications will drive fundamental improvements throughout society and the economy. Government policymakers have worked with developers and users of these advanced analytic techniques to promote and protect these publicly beneficial innovations, and they should continue to do so. In many circumstances, current law and regulation provide an adequate framework for strong public protection.  Most of the legal concerns that animate public discussions can be resolved through strong and vigorous enforcement of rules that apply to advanced and tradi ...

Yesterday, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) published another issue brief titled, “Artificial Intelligence and The Future of Work” which discusses the economic effects of computerization on jobs.  It also provides some policy options for challenges that Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses to the workplace.