Tag Archives: Consumer Electronics Show

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 101

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“What all of us have to do is to make sure we are using AI in a way that is for the benefit of humanity, not to the detriment of humanity.” –Tim Cook

AI refers to computing hardware being able to essentially think for itself, and make decisions based on the data it is being fed. AI systems are often hugely complex and powerful, with the ability to process unfathomable depths of information in an extremely quick time in order to come to an effective conclusion.

AI infrastructure and machine learning (ML) can process instantaneously vast amounts of data. Thanks to detailed algorithms, AI systems are now able to perform mammoth computing tasks much faster and more efficiently than human minds. It is leading to big strides in the areas of research and development.

AI is being used to transform many areas of everyday life, from healthcare to traffic problems.Narrow Artificial Intelligence (AI) is what we see all around us in computers today.

These intelligent systems such as self-driving vehicles, smart speakers or virtual assistance have been taught or learned how to carry out specific tasks without being explicitly programmed how to do so. Systems programmed with narrow AI can only learn or be taught how to do specific tasks.

General Artificial Intelligence is very different, and is the type of adaptable intellect found in humans, a flexible form of intelligence capable of learning how to carry out vastly different tasks or to reason about a wide variety of topics based on its accumulated experience. This is the sort of AI more commonly seen in movies, but which doesn’t exist today.

Machine learning is where a computer system is fed large amounts of data, which it then uses to learn how to carry out a specific task, such as understanding speech or captioning a photograph. One of the most visible manifestations of AI can be observed with the rise of virtual assistants.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G will be game changers. 5G networks are the next generation of mobile wireless connectivity, offering faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other intelligent devices. While AI works by combining large amounts of data with fast, iterative processing and intelligent algorithms, allowing the software to learn automatically from patterns or features in the data. Together, the technologies will usher in autonomous systems and potentially solve many of societal problems.

Artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs and perform human-like tasks. Most of today’s AI examples rely on deep learning and natural language processing. Using these technologies, computers can be trained to accomplish specific tasks by processing large amounts of data and recognizing patterns in the data.

CES 2020 Concept Vehicles

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Concept, self driving and electric vehicles at #CES2020 in Las Vegas Above, Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR (ADVANCED VEHICLE TRANSFORMATION) is a groundbreaking concept vehicle developed in close collaboration with the AVATAR team. This concept vehicle embodies the vision of Mercedes-Benz designers, … Continue reading →

CES 2020 | Las Vegas

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Updated: January 15, 2020′ 1:35 PM

Friday, January 10, 2020 | 2020 Consumer Electronic Show ( #CES ) in Las Vegas. ( #CES2020 )

#CES brought together manufacturers, retailers, media and market leaders from across the globe. It offers outstanding network opportunities for the 170K plus attendees, and it showcased the future of consumer technologies and innovation. Furthermore, CES has evolved from a show about consumer electronics to a “showcase of technology and innovation” that influences every aspect of people’s lives.

Below are a few lessons learned and observations over four days attending #CES2020 in Las Vegas from January 7 – 10, 2020:

• Lyft deployed 100 robo taxis to operate during #CES2020 on the congested streets of Las Vegas using Qualcomm technology to safely navigate the street and deliver passengers to their destination. The taxis can be scheduled using the Lyft app after accepting an user’s agreement. As per the user’s agreement, there are non-robots safety observers riding along in the robo-taxis with passengers.

• Hyundai and other manufacturers unveiled flying air passenger vehicle concepts at #CES2020. Hyundai’s displayed a Uber air taxi tilt rotor concept capable of carrying four passengers plus pilot with top cruise speed of 150 mph and max speed of 180 mph. The Hyundai PAV “S-A1” is expected to be operational as early as 2030. #CES2020hyundaisa1

• 5G is the next generation of wireless network technology. It is projected to have greater bandwidth capacity, significantly faster mobile data speeds (to around 1Gbps according to Qualcomm’s CEO) and lower latency. It is expected to usher in intelligence cities and to allow vehicle-to-vehicle communications which is critical to self-driving cars. While 3G and 4G technology brought increased speeds and higher capacity to the wireless network, one CES2020 speaker described 5G as an use case technology; that it will enhance everything we do. 5G is expected to deliver faster download speeds, real-time responses, and enhanced connectivity permitting improved mobile streaming and and gaming experiences.

• IBM Watson in partnership with ESPN Fantasy Football have an initiative leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to project player performance weekly for fantasy football. The initiative has been operational for three years and the results according to the IBM rep had been positive.  Watson AI is able to consume and analyze tens of thousands of documents, including news articles, blog posts, videos and podcasts every week during the football season. This analysis yield insight that’s presented to users through the ESPN Fantasy Football app and website. It projects how likely a given player, such as Seahawk’s QB Russell Wilson, would score on the high or low end of their ESPN-predicted points range. Watson provided to users the probability of a player scoring more than their projected point total (“boom”) or less than their projected point total (“bust”).

• Diversity, inclusion and belonging for women and people of color in the technology industry have been thoroughly discussed during this year’s conference and previous conferences. Although the topic has been a point of discussion for more than two decades, corporate executives continue to site the perennial excuses of unconscious bias and lack of diverse talent in the pipeline for reasons the problem continues to persist. Submit that the more likely actual reasons are that executives are not being held accountable and there is little dedicated effort on the part of boards and executives to solve the problem.

• American Express sponsored a lounge during  #CES2020 located in the North Hall of LVCC.  The lounge offered #AMEX Business card holders a place to relax, recharge mobile phones, obtain a hot cup of coffee and enjoy a reprieve from the hectic pace of #CES.  Overall, the lounge proved quite popular with show attendees and lines continuously queued at the entrance to take advantage of the many amenities offered by the hosts.

• Global video gaming and esports are booming and their presence at #CES2020 reflected their meteoric rise in popularity. In the LVCC Central Hall, several dozen original equipment manufacturers of gaming systems and periphery equipment were on display. The periphery equipment ranged from items that would enhanced the gaming experience to the weird / unnecessary items that hope to attract the gullible few. Gaming appears to be in the gold rush fever stage phase of its growth. One gaming expert commented during a session that video gaming and esports tournaments have awarded more than $500 million in prize money.

• Delta Airlines made a spectacular first-time appearance at #CES2020 showing off its technology to improve the passenger’s flying experience. The company revealed it app that will queue passengers for boarding, provide real time tracking of baggage and update fliers on traffic conditions on their route to the airport using information provided by their partnership with Lyft. Additionally, Delta displayed a robotic exoskeleton that their employees would don to aid in lifting heavy equipment and in baggage handling.

• The proverbial ‘elephant in the room’ omitted during #CES2020 was related to the technology sins of intellectual property (IP) theft, forced technology transfers and hacking by China. We can only assume that the technology sins have had a negative impact on domestic and non-Chinese foreign companies exhibiting at the the Show. Cognizant of the consequences the NBA and its players experienced in 2019 for commenting on Chinese bad behavior, it is somewhat understandable why (CES desires to maintain its favorable relationship with China) serious discussions regarding Chinese technology sins have been omitted during #CES2020.

• It appeared that every television original equipment manufacturer brand (Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL, Sharp, Haier, Hisense, etc.) unveiled an 8K television during #CES2020. The 8K televisions displayed impressive resolution, amazing picture quality and definition. The displays were simply astonishing. And, most unveiled an 128-inch display that made observers feel integrated or actually present with the virtual image. As a result of advent of 8K, 4K HD television costs to consumers have fallen dramatically.

CES 2020 | Las Vegas

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Thursday, January 9, 2020 | 2020 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas. ( #CES2020 )

Today, I wandered through the Amazon display located in the Venetian Hotel and must say I was astonished by the numerous Alexa powered IoT devices on display. Now, Alexa powers smart bathroom mirrors, kitchen refrigerators and family room televisions, to name a few.

Amazon also featured the relatively small Echo Flex. Echo Flex has all the functionality of Amazon’s Echo Dot, but half the size and can plug directly into a hallway or utility room wall electric outlet. The rep stated that the Flex is great for areas without horizontal surfaces such as hallways.

After a brief stop at the Amazon display, I visited the Dell Experience also located in the Venetian Hotel. There, I learned about the Dell work at home products and the gaming products they offered on the market. Additionally, Dell offered an opened bar that help take the dye off a full day at CES 2020.

American Express Lounge

American Express has annually sponsored a lounge during CES in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. During #CES 2020, the lounge was intended for American Express Business Card clients and their guest. It was a place to relax and disconnect from the hectic pace of CES. The lounge offers a very popular and high demand venue for WiFi, refreshments and snacks, everything someone might need to unwind.

5G Network

5G technology is slowly reaching the consumer market with promises of revolutionizing our daily lives. New and innovative technology such as autonomous automobiles and drones will rely on the capabilities offered by 5G technology.

There are three attributes of 5G millimeter wave technology provides: speed, capacity and latency.

One engineer explained that if 4G was a two lane road; 5G would be an eight smart superhighway. The speed of 5G will be more than tenfold faster than the current network. The capacity to carry data would also significantly improve. Also, there would be relatively zero latency with 5G network.

Yet, for all the fanfare behind 5G, the network remains just a concept and vision of the future. The reality once deployed may be far different.

CES 2020 | Las Vegas

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Wednesday, January 8, 2020 | 2020 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas. ( #CES2020 )

Spent the morning hearing about Quibi, the new short form video platform designed to operate only on mobile devices. Quibi is short for quick bites.

Quibi plans to create quality and compelling video content to be viewed on the go. The company’s technology will feature content that can be viewed either in landscape or portrait orientation on a user’s mobile device. While in landscape, the picture will show wide screen video image. In portrait, the view narrows allowing viewer to see the content from an alternate perspective that’s optimized for portrait.

Meg Whitman

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has garnered significant attention and discussion during CES 2020. The prevailing premise regarding CSR is that it has become a must do mission by corporations. Even major corporations are embracing the call for action.

‘The Look‘ is a short video created by P&G, which is intended to shine light on unconscious bias prevalent in American society. It conveyed a powerful message about a problem the culture that unfortunately persist in America.

Yet, many tech companies from all appearances are only giving ‘lip service’ to diversity and inclusion of people of color.

In a session yesterday discussing corporate values and purpose, the moderator commented “don’t read people’s lips; watch their feet”. The words mouthed by corporate executives regarding CSG appear transformative, yet the associated actions for the most part by corporations have been lacking and plagued with excuses and lack of accountability.

Unconscious Bias in Technology

An unconscious bias that most senior managers and executives of color have witnessed first hand is the blatant inequality in the hiring process. A classic example is when a majority male candidate can be hired for a position without the prerequisite skills or experience under the assumption that they can learn the job and acquire the required skills and experience for the position.

In stark contrast, women and people of color must possess the prerequisite skills and experience for the prospective position in order to land on the final hiring slate. In short, this unconscious bias is a leadership problem and issue. Basically, organizations can come up with a million reasons why they’re not achieving diversity and inclusion.

One hope is that the seemly sincere CSG conversations occurring among corporate executives at CES 2020 will result in observable and measurable action on diversity and inclusion by CES 2021. And, ‘unconscious bias’ and ‘blaming the pipeline’ will no longer be excuses for lack of action and progress. Instead, corporate executives will accept that diversity and inclusion are deliberate choices and are ultimately good for their business’ bottomline.