Lest Chinese Conglomerates Forget
August 4, 2017
Alphabet, the parent company of Google last week was fined $2.7 billion for abusing its position in search engine results. This should provide Chinese companies with global ambitions a precursor on what lies ahead for them.
In an editorial published by China Daily and titled Google’s Fine a Reminder, the author says:
Fining of Google should remind Chinese enterprises intent on going global that they should abide by local laws and regulations to avoid possible economic losses resulting from any malpractices and wrongdoings.
China is a closed ecosystem where Google, Facebook, Apple, or Amazon have absolute no dominance unlike in rest of the economies. Here, homegrown companies rule the roost. However, with burgeoning profits fuelled by domestic consumption, the Chinese companies are looking to expand to other markets.
With a reputation of lofting rules, Google getting fined by EU regulators should tell Chinese companies if they break the law of the land, expect being penalized, heavily.
Vishal Ingole, August 4, 2017
Watson Powers New Translation Earpiece, No Connection Required
August 4, 2017
A start-up out of Australia is leveraging the prowess of IBM’s Watson AI to bring us a wearable translator, dubbed the Translate One2One, that does not require connectivity to function, we learn from “Lingmo Language Translator Earpiece Powered by IBM Watson” at New Atlas. Writer Rich Haridy notes that last year, Waverly Labs found success with its Pilot earpiece. That device was impressive with its near real time translation, but it did depend on a Bluetooth connection. Haridy asserts that New Atlas’ device is the first of its connection-independent kind; he writes:
Lingmo is poised to jump to the head of the class with a system that incorporates proprietary translation algorithms and IBM’s Watson Natural Language Understanding and Language Translator APIs to deal with difficult aspects of language, such as local slang and dialects, without the need for Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity. …
The system currently supports eight languages: Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Brazilian Portuguese, English and Spanish. The in-built microphone picks up spoken phrases, which are translated to a second language within three to five seconds. An app version for iOS is also available that includes speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities for a greater number of languages.
The device is expected to be available in July and can be pre-ordered now. A single unit is $179, while a two-piece pack goes for $229. Lingmo launched its first translation device in 2013 and has been refining its tech ever since. Who will be next in the field to go connection-free?
Cynthia Murrell, August 4, 2017
Lost in Translation?
August 3, 2017
Real-time translation is a reality with a host of apps. However, all these apps rely on real-time Cloud Computing for proverbial accuracy. Lingmo One2One Universal Translator seems to be different.
According to a product review published by Forbes and titled Lingmo One2One Universal Translator Preview, the reviewer says:
What gives me pause about the Lingmo, like the other universal translator devices, is the company has no track record in making hardware. Getting the translation stuff right is, I’m sure, hard enough. Getting all that to work in a portable device adds a whole other level of complexity.
Attempts have been made earlier to perfect the translation system, but so far no one has succeeded even decently. The problem is the complexity of human interactions. Though the device is powered by IBM’s AI program Watson, how it manages to store and process the humongous amount of text or voice based communication within the small box is not understandable.
Scientists have been trying to crack the natural language processing problem for a couple of years. Even with the vast amount of resources, it still looks like a distant possibility.
Vishal Ingole, August 3, 2017
Google as Art Teacher
August 3, 2017
A recent Google improvement focuses on art, we learn from “Google’s Improved Search Seeks to Make Us All Art Experts” at CNet. Now, results of art-related Google searches will be packed with relevant information and, in many cases, high-resolution images. Museums around the world have been working with Google to enable these features. Reporter Zoey Chong cites a blog post from the company as she writes:
The new feature — mildly reminiscent of the travel guide tab that comes up when you search a city or country — is the result of a collaboration between Google’s Arts and Culture team and its search engineers. When you search for an artist like Gustav Klimt, for example, an interactive panel pops up that allows you to see an overview of the artist, his works, as well as where you can find them. Some pieces can also be viewed in high-resolution. Google said this is made possible with the Art Camera, a custom-made robotic camera to digitize artworks. A fleet of these cameras travels around the world and cultural institutions can use them digitally preserve and share artworks online. Google has also implemented similar features on Street View. If you navigate around museums, you can click on a painting to see it in high-resolution or to understand more information, which Google said is provided by the museums.
A short video embedded in the article demonstrates how this looks in Street View. Chong tried the feature out with works at the National Gallery Singapore, and reports that not every piece of artwork she virtually viewed has more information available; that is because the museums get to decide how much they wish to share online. The company reports that, on their platform, over 500 million searches a month are art-related.
Cynthia Murrell, August 3, 2017
Smartlogic: A Buzzword Blizzard
August 2, 2017
I read “Semantic Enhancement Server.” Interesting stuff. The technology struck me as a cross between indexing, good old enterprise search, and assorted technologies. Individuals who are shopping for an automatic indexing systems (either with expensive, time consuming hand coded rules or a more Autonomy-like automatic approach) will want to kick the tires of the Smartlogic system. In addition to the echoes of the SchemaLogic approach, I noted a Thomson submachine gun firing buzzwords; for example:
best bets (I’m feeling lucky?)
dynamic summaries (like Island Software’s approach in the 1990s)
faceted search (hello, Endeca?)
model
navigator (like the Siderean “navigator”?)
real time
related topics (clustering like Vivisimo’s)
semantic (of course)
taxonomy
topic maps
topic pages (a Google report as described in US29970198481)
topic path browser (aka breadcrumbs?)
visualization
What struck me after I compiled this list about a system that “drives exceptional user search experiences” was that Smartlogic is repeating the marketing approach of traditional vendors of enterprise search. The marketing lingo and “one size fits all” triggered thoughts of Convera, Delphes, Entopia, Fast Search & Transfer, and Siderean Software, among others.
I asked myself:
Is it possible for one company’s software to perform such a remarkable array of functions in a way that is easy to implement, affordable, and scalable? There are industrial strength systems which perform many of these functions. Examples range from BAE’s intelligence system to the Palantir Gotham platform.
My hypothesis is that Smartlogic might struggle to process a real time flow of WhatsApp messages, YouTube content, and mobile phone intercept voice calls. Toss in the multi language content which is becoming increasingly important to enterprises, and the notional balloon I am floating says, “Generating buzzwords and associated over inflated expectations is really easy. Delivering high accuracy, affordable, and scalable content processing is a bit more difficult.”
Perhaps Smartlogic has cracked the content processing equivalent of the Voynich manuscript.
Will buzzwords crack the Voynich manuscript’s inscrutable text? What if Voynich is a fake? How will modern content processing systems deal with this type of content? Running some content processing tests might provide some insight into systems which possess Watson-esque capabilities.
What happened to those vendors like Convera, Delphes, Entopia, Fast Search & Transfer, and Siderean Software, among others? (Free profiles of these companies are available at www.xenky.com/vendor-profiles.) Oh, that’s right. The reality of the marketplace did not match the companies’ assertions about technology. Investors and licensees of some of these systems were able to survive the buzzword blizzard. Some became the digital equivalent of Ötzi, 5,300 year old iceman.
Stephen E Arnold, August 2, 2017
Big Data Too Is Prone to Human Bug
August 2, 2017
Conventional wisdom says Big Data being a realm of machines is immune from human behavioral traits like discrimination. Insights from data scientists, however, are different.
According to an article published by PHYS.ORG titled Discrimination, Lack of Diversity, and Societal Risks of Data Mining Highlighted in Big Data, the author says:
Despite the dramatic growth in big data affecting many areas of research, industry, and society, there are risks associated with the design and use of data-driven systems. Among these are issues of discrimination, diversity, and bias.
The crux of the problem is the way data is mined, processed and decisions made. At every step, humans need to be involved in order to tell machines how each of these processes are executed. If the person guiding the system is biased, these biases are bound to seep into the subsequent processes in some way.
Apart from decisions like granting credit, human resources which also is being automated may have diversity issues. The fundamental remains the same in this case too.
Big Data was touted as the next big thing and may turn out to be so, but most companies are yet to figure out how to utilize it. Streamlining the processes and making them efficient would be the next step.
Vishal Ingole, August 2, 2017
Bing Expands Rewards Incentives to UK Users
August 2, 2017
We learn from the Verge that Microsoft is expanding its bribery, I mean, rewards program to the UK in, “Microsoft Is Now Paying People to Use Bing in the UK with its Rewards Scheme.” Referring to points a user accrues by using Bing, writer Tom Warren details:
The points can then be transferred to a number of different rewards, including Xbox digital gift cards, Groove Music passes, and Skype credit. Microsoft is also partnering with a number of UK charities so you can donate points to these organizations instead. Microsoft Rewards works almost identically in the UK as it does in the US. You’ll get 3 points per Bing search, and this is doubled (until August 15th) if you’re using Microsoft Edge. You can obtain a maximum of 30 points per day (60 points using Edge) through searches, or participate in quizzes to gain more. Microsoft also gives out 1 point for every pound spend at the UK online Microsoft Store. If you manage to hit 500 points in a month, there’s a second level with better rewards and the ability to earn a maximum of 150 points a day.
Is this program enough to pull a significant number of Google users Bing’s way? Perhaps the expansion overseas is an indication that it has been a success in the US. Either way, it is too bad Bing must stoop to buying traffic and click love.
Cynthia Murrell, August 2, 2017
New Enterprise Search Market Study
August 1, 2017
Don Quixote and Solving Death: No Problem, Amigo
I read “Global Enterprise Search Market 2017-2022.” I was surprised that a consulting firms would invest time and energy in writing about a market sector which has not been thriving. Now don’t start sending me email about my lack of cheerfulness about enterprise search. The sector is thriving, but it is doing so with approaches that are disguised as applications which deliver something other than inflated expectations, business closures, and lawsuits.
I will slay the beast that is enterprise search. “Hold still, you knave!”
First, let’s look at what the report covers, then I will tackle some of the issues about which I think as the author of the Enterprise Search Report and a number of search-related articles and analyses. (The articles are available from the estimable Information Today Web site, and the free analyses may be located at www.xenky.com/vendor-profiles.
The write up told me that enterprise search boils down to these companies:
Coveo Corp
Dassault Systemes
IBM Corp
Microsoft
Oracle
SAP AG
Coveo is a fork of Copernic. Yep, it’s a proprietary system which originally was focused on providing search for Microsoft. Now the company has spread its wings to include a raft of functions which range from the cloud to customer support / help desk services.
Dassault Systèmes is the owner of Exalead. Since the acquisition, Exalead as a brand has faded. The desktop search system was killed, and its proprietary technology lives on mostly as a replacement for Dassault’s internal search system which was based on Autonomy. Most of the search wizards have left, but the Exalead technology was good before Dassault learned that selling search was indeed a challenge.
IBM offers a number of products which include open source Lucene, acquired technology like Vivisimo’s clustering engine, and home brew code from its IBM wizards. (Did you know that the precursor of PageRank was an IBM “invention”?) The key is that IBM uses search to sell services which have a higher margins than providing a free version of brute force information access.
IBM Watson: Making AI Wizards Do Eye Ball Rolls
August 1, 2017
Three quotes from Wired’s analysis of IBM Watson in “Watson Won Jeopardy, but Is It Smart Enough to Spin Big Clue’s AI into Green?” My answer is, “No.” I circled these items.
- Reference to the IBM Watson ad in which Bob Dylan allegedly says, “I have never known love.”
- Quote from a wizard at the Allen Institute for AI, “The only intelligent thing about Watson is their [sic] PR department.” The Beyond Search grammatical goose notes that the phrase might be crafted by a person in the Harrod’s Creek general store as “The only thing about Watson is its PR department.” But the quip is an inspirational one.
- The MD Anderson Center pulled out of its $62 million dollar deal for the IBM Watson cancer treating marvel.
None of this info is new, but I found the assessment on point with some of my thoughts.
However, the major flaw in Watson is the time, cost, and Ask Jeeves-type approach to making Watson smart. There are better methods, but good old IBM is apparently not interested. There’s nothing like a big company which allows spokespeople to sign their blog posts with their first name, not a full identifier. What? You don’t know Vijay? Neither do we.
Stephen E Arnold, August 1, 2017
HonkinNews for 1 August 2017 Now Available
August 1, 2017
HonkinNews noticed that minions beat the Kentucky heat by ice skating. We have a picture to document the event. A Chinese company wants to create a clone of Palantir Technologies. The technology involved includes five star ring technology plus transwarp. Beam it aboard, Scotty. Google released the results of its study of ad fraud. The surprising conclusion? Yes, there is online ad fraud. The Beyond Search goose was surprised. The program includes an update about the TechnoSecurity & Digital Forensics Conference plus a code for a 30 percent discount. Amazon’s super secret health care initiative may deliver telemedicince and a free banana to a patient’s bedside. Smartlogic announced a new semantic server and described it with a flurry of jargon. Machine learning and artificial intelligence seemed to have missed the cut. You can download this week’s video at this link.
Ken Toth, August 1, 2017.
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