Impact Lab – Page 602 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Future, Science & Technology News

9 AI trends on our radar

January 23, 2019

How new developments in automation, machine deception, hardware, and more will shape AI.

Here are key AI trends business leaders and practitioners should watch in the months ahead.

We will start to see technologies enable partial automation of a variety of tasks.

Automation occurs in stages. While full automation might still be a ways off, there are many workflows and tasks that lend themselves to partial automation. In fact, McKinsey estimates that “fewer than 5% of occupations can be entirely automated using current technology. However, about 60% of occupations could have 30% or more of their constituent activities automated.”

We have already seen some interesting products and services that rely on computer vision and speech technologies, and we expect to see even more in 2019. Look for additional improvements in language models and robotics that will result in solutions that target text and physical tasks. Rather than waiting for a complete automation model, competition will drive organizations to implement partial automation solutions—and the success of those partial automation projects will spur further development.

Continue reading… “9 AI trends on our radar”

App, Shopping, Wearables

Will there be self-lacing shoes in your future?

January 23, 2019

Hands-on with Nike’s self-lacing, app-controlled sneaker of the future.

Say hello to Adapt BB.

I flew across the country to Portland to experience the Adapt BB, Nike’s new self-lacing, Bluetooth-enabled sneakers, but the guy showing me around campus is wearing a pair of Zoom Flys that refuse to stay tied. Within 10 minutes of tying them, they’re untied again, flailing all over. I hate when people point out my untied shoes, but his feel intentional. Of course I notice the laces. Of course I point them out. He laughs and swears he’s not doing this on purpose, that Nike hasn’t deliberately set up my visit with a scene out of an infomercial fail.

The Adapt BB — the BB stands for “basketball” — build on Nike’s decades-long dream to create an auto-lacing smart shoe that adapts to wearers’ feet. The company wants to fundamentally change footwear and, of course, sell more shoes.

Imagine: your feet swell during a basketball game because you’ve been running back and forth on the court, and your sneakers detect your blood pressure. Instead of reaching down and untying your laces, the shoes loosen automatically. Never again will you have to fuss around with your laces because, guess what, your shoes already know what you want to do.

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AI, Artificial Intelligence, communication, Google

Google Brain built a translator so AI can explain itself

January 22, 2019

A Google Brain scientist built a tool that can help artificial intelligence systems explain how they arrived at their conclusions — a notoriously tricky task for machine learning algorithms.

The tool, called Testing with Concept Activation Vectors or TCAV for short, can be plugged into machine learning algorithms to suss out how much they weighted different factors or types of data before churning out results, Quanta Magazine reports.

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Cancer, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough

Researchers successfully turn breast cancer cells into fat to stop them from spreading

January 22, 2019

Researchers have been able to coax human breast cancer cells to turn into fat cells in a new proof-of-concept study in mice.

To achieve this feat, the team exploited a weird pathway that metastasising cancer cells have; their results are just a first step, but it’s a truly promising approach.

When you cut your finger, or when a foetus grows organs, the epithelium cells begin to look less like themselves, and more ‘fluid’ – changing into a type of stem cell called a mesenchyme and then reforming into whatever cells the body needs.

This process is called epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and it’s been known for a while that cancer can use both this one and the opposite pathway called MET (mesenchymal‐to‐epithelial transition), to spread throughout the body and metastasise.

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Architecture, Housing, Human Behavior

Designing homes that appeal to Millenials

January 22, 2019

Millennials are more accustomed to an apartment lifestyle than previous generations, spending time in rented properties before making the decision to own a home of their own. In fact, young adults are buying homes an average of five years later in life than they did a decade ago. As a result, their idea of a dream home is different than it was for those purchasing homes before them.

Tapping into the kind of layout and design that appeals to a young homebuyer is a measure of success for architects, builders and developers that want to cater to the current market. Considering the number of young people relocating from an apartment, it’s critical to design a home they’re comfortable in and that gives them a setting they’re familiar with. By pulling elements from multi-family designs and studying ways to apply them to duplexes, townhomes and even single-family houses, the apartment effect can become part of the design and provide young homebuyers with the lifestyle they’re seeking in smaller, more attainably priced homes.

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Analysis, China, Economy, Future

Chart: The World’s Largest 10 Economies in 2030

January 21, 2019

The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.

Today’s emerging markets are tomorrow’s powerhouses, according to a recent forecast from Standard Chartered, a multinational bank headquartered in London.

The bank sees developing economies like Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, and Egypt all moving up the ladder – and by 2030, it estimates that seven of the world’s largest 10 economies by GDP (PPP) will be located in emerging markets.

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City Planning, Future, Green Friendly, Housing, Science & Technology News

This is what the cities of the future could look like

January 21, 2019

Could hyperloops be the future of inner-city travel?

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Banking, Finance, Future, Latest Trend

Banking’s worst nightmare is here

January 22, 2019

We’ve seen enough. We’re going BIG on the death of big banking.

If you’ve ever had to spend time at a bank opening a simple checking account, or even worse—closing a bank account—you won’t be surprised to hear that Americans are abandoning traditional branch banking by the millions.

Even bank executives concede the massive shift in their business.

Deloitte reports that 3 out of 4 banking executives agree that their work is going to drastically change over the next 3-5 years due to digital business trends.

But even they aren’t prepared for what’s coming…

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Analysis, Latest Trend, Report

Book sales are up this year over last year, and physical books are thriving

January 21, 2019

It’s a tale as old as time, or, at least, the internet: None of us are reading any more, the physical book is dead, Amazon has killed the independent bookstore, and it’s all only going to get worse. But this year, the story looks like just that—a fiction. We are buying books—especially the kind with physical pages—and we’re doing so, increasingly, in well-loved indie bookstores.

In the UK, the Guardian reports, Nielsen BookScan recored year-on-year book sale growth of 22 million pounds ($28 million). It’s likely that 2018 will top 2016’s total sales of 1.59 billion pounds, too, with booksellers on both sides of the Atlantic noting an anecdotal uptick in sales and browsing customers. It’s been good news for British book chains—the country’s largest bookseller, Waterstones, made its first profit since the 2008 financial crisis—and for independent bookshops, too: this year was the first since the advent of Amazon where the number of stores actually went up, rather than down.

Continue reading… “Book sales are up this year over last year, and physical books are thriving”

China, Electric Automobile, Transportation

Chinese company unveils ‘World’s cheapest electric car’ for under $9000

January 20, 2019

Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. arguably has one of the most affordable lines of electric vehicle, but that all could change as a Chinese company just unveiled what is now dubbed as the “World’s Cheapest Electric Car.”

Great Wall Motors, an automotive company based in Baoding, China, pulled the veil on its cheapest electric vehicle called the ORA R1, which is being marketed with a price of $8,680 according to the company, Express reported.

“As a new market entrant, ORA R1 delivers an unprecedented experience to drivers,” general manager of the Ora line and vice president of Great Wall Motors, Ning Shuyong, said in a statement.

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Biotech, DNA, Medical Breakthrough, Stem cells

Stem Cell dental implants grow new teeth in 2 months

January 20, 2019

Apparently, the newest scientific discovery can possibly leave dentures and implants in the past, and make millions of people extremely happy.

These two methods for a missing tooth or teeth can lead to serious dental health issues, such as discomfort and irritations, difficulties to eat, and pain in the case of dentures, while implants can cause infections, nerve damage, injury or damage to the surrounding structures, and sinus problems.

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Business, Latest Trend, Money Talk

More start-ups have an unfamiliar message for Venture Capitalists: Get lost

January 20, 2019

From left, Mara Zepeda, Aniyia Williams, Astrid Scholz and Jennifer Brandel of Zebras Unite. The group encourages a more ethical industry with greater gender and racial diversity.

On a sunny Saturday morning in New York a few months ago, a group of 50 start-up founders gathered in the dank basement of a Lower East Side bar. They scribbled notes at long tables, sipping coffee and LaCroix while a stack of pizza boxes emanated the odor of hot garlic. One by one, they gave testimonials taking aim at something nearly sacred in the technology industry: venture capital.

Continue reading… “More start-ups have an unfamiliar message for Venture Capitalists: Get lost”