Short Honk: Ah, Microsoft. We Love Edge. We Do, We Do
November 2, 2017
There are more weighty issues in online search and content processing. One example is the cheeseburger emoji. Another is the growing hostility to Silicon Valley methods.
I read “Microsoft Edge Crashes Mid Presentation Forcing Microsoft Employee to Download Google Chrome.” I noted this passage:
Microsoft actually uploaded the entire presentation to YouTube, complete with the part where the employee downloads Google Chrome,
The crash wasn’t enough. The fact that MSFT used Chrome was not enough. But what was enough was uploading the promo for Google to YouTube.
What did NFL commentators used to say before political correctness forced the program to discontinue hard hits? Was it “Come on, man” or was it “Jacked Up.”
I recall a Verizon VP who once used the phrase “fluster cluck.”
You pick a way to describe the situation if your Windows 10 download and reboot does not interrupt your online session.
Stephen E Arnold, November 2, 2017
Report Assesses Todays Voice Assistant Landscape
November 2, 2017
Having observed the recent boom in AI-powered voice-assistant products, Business Insider’s research service, BI Intelligence, has conducted a study on the issue. The site promotes their findings in their preview, “The Voice Assistant Landscape Report.” Writer Jessica Smith begins with an overview of recent developments: AI has become more accurate; mobile networks are more powerful; and smart appliances (aka the “internet of things”) supply more opportunities for voice-command control. By 2015, she reports, 65% of those with smartphones in the U.S. used voice assistants with those devices. Also, sales of Google Home and Amazon Echo are expected to triple this year, to 24.5 million units. Still, we’re told there remain significant obstacles, both social and technical, to widespread adoption just yet.
Smith shares some findings from the report. Among them:
Technological advances are making voice assistants more capable. These improvements fall into two categories: improvements in AI, specifically natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning; and gains in computing and telecommunications infrastructure, like more powerful smartphones, better cellular networks, and faster cloud computing.
Changes in consumer behavior and habits are also leading to greater adoption. Chief among these are increased overall awareness and a higher level of comfort demonstrated by younger consumers.
The voice assistant landscape is divided between smartphone- and speaker-based assistants. These distinctions, while important now, will lose relevance in the long run as more assistants can be used on both kinds of devices. The primary players in the space are Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, and Samsung’s Viv.
Stakes in the competition for dominance in the voice assistant market are high. As each assistant becomes more interconnected with an ecosystem of devices that it can control, more popular platforms will have a sizable advantage.
Naturally, the article concludes by telling us how to get our hands on the full report. You could invest in the BI Intelligence “All-Access” pass if you are really, really into research reports. Or, you could just purchase and download this particular report here for $495.
Cynthia Murrell, November 2, 2017
Mobile Technology Dad Still Waiting for Dream to Become Reality
November 2, 2017
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the poster children for modern technology, but more people helped bring about the revolution. One such person is Alan Kay, often referred to as the father of mobile computing. He directed a research team at Xerox PARC, developed the SmallTalk programming language, and also worked the Xerox Alto personal computer. He also advocated that computers could be used as tools for creativity and learning. Kay sat down for an interview with Fast Company, printed in the article, “The Father Of Mobile Computing Is Not Impressed.”
Kay began the interview that Jobs was not the kind of person to befriend and animation studio Pixar was the most honest money Jobs made. He mentioned that Jobs was also trying to talk the government into giving tax breaks for companies that put computers in schools. Back in the twentieth century, Kay designed a mobile device that was the predecessor to a tablet. Called the Dynabook, it had physical buttons implanted in it and was never released for the consumer market. However, the Dynabook exists in some form today as the iPad. Kay complained that there is not a place to put a pen on the iPad, however.
After a brief explanation about human society and the desire to learn, he begins to talk about his idea of mobile computing. One of the things he liked about the earliest Mac computers was that they allowed people to undo their learning and explore how to use a computer, but the iPhone is stupid:
So, this is like less than what people got with Mac in 1984. Mac had a really good undo. It allowed you to explore things. Mac had multitasking. The iPhone is basically giving one little keyhole and if you do something wrong, you actually go back out and start the app over again.
Think about this. How stupid is this? It’s about as stupid as you can get. But how successful is the iPhone? It’s about as successful as you can get, so that matches you up with something that is the logical equivalent of television in our time.
Kay spends most of the interview speaking about how people learn, how education has changed, and some philosophical stuff. It is more about how to improve ourselves than an interview about mobile computing.
Whitney Grace, November 2, 2017
Google: Fraying or Suffering from the Principle of Dr. L.J. Peter
November 1, 2017
Anyone remember “The Peter Principle.” The idea is that people rise to their level of incompetence. I read the book years ago but did not think of it until I scanned the HuffPo article “What’s Happened to Google?” The lead is “For some in the tech industry, Google’s reputation for integrity has frayed.”
Well, that’s original.
I noted this passage:
Google’s power to quell unwelcome criticism doesn’t end at hidden search results or non-disclosure agreements. Google has emerged as a major funder of numerous institutions, and its executives and board members wield remarkable influence throughout the cultural and political landscape, in particularly among progressive organizations. To critique Google can come with significant and unforeseen professional risks, especially among the very organizations tasked with supporting internet freedom issues.
We love Google, and we are confident that it does no evil. Heck, here in Harrod’s Creek, we believe that Google doesn’t know what evil is because the company is so darned good.
HuffPo wants the GOOG to uphold its founding principles. Do you know if Google settled with Yahoo over the GoTo.com, Overture.com, and Yahoo advertising legal matter?
What if Google’s founders are examples of Dr. L.J. Peter’s principle in action? Decide for yourself. The Peter Principle is available on Amazon at this link.
Stephen E Arnold, October 31, 2017
Silicon Valley Hubris
November 1, 2017
Are today’s big tech companies leading our culture down foolish paths? Writer Scott Hartley at Quartz declares, “Silicon Valley Is Suffering from an Icarus Complex.” After briefly summarizing the story of Daedalus and Icarus, Hartley extrapolates that, today, the same examples of hubris would be cast as a pair of tech entrepreneurs, lauded for their bold wing-building initiative and attracting eager investors. He observes:
The Greeks distinguished between craftsmanship, known as technae, and knowledge, known as espisteme. But today we conflate doing with knowing: We believe that doers are wise, when perhaps they are only clever. Silicon Valley is so obsessed with crafting new wings—to harness the power of the Gods and tame the heavens—that it has overlooked the notion that cleverness is not necessarily wisdom. The ability to harness technology alone may be clever, but it isn’t wise unless it is contextualized within a greater human need. For example, someone might design the cleverest new system to optimize ad delivery—but few of us would call such an entrepreneur sagacious or wise. We might justly lionize them for their capitalistic prowess or for their ability to abstract value from the ever-tightening mechanics of how pixels are dangled before us like candy—but we wouldn’t call them a ‘genius.’ We require great technologists and clever doers, but we require those who question, probe, and seek to contextualize our advances in equal measure.
Yes. Just because we can “reinvent every human process with something mechanistic,” as he puts it, does not mean we should. We need more wise minds to consider what technology goals are worthy, and fewer who would pursue anything they can devise to make a buck, regardless of the consequences to society as a whole.
Cynthia Murrell, November 1, 2017
China Trusts AI to Facilitate Human Communication
November 1, 2017
With the world’s largest population, one would think that the Chinese would not have any trouble finding someone to talk to. Apparently, China enjoys talking with robots, says the MIT Technology Review’s article, “Why 500 Million People In China Are Talking To This AI.” Going by the name iFlyTek, the AI app acts as on-demand translation service, but it does more than translate languages.
Over 500 million Chinese are using iFlyTek to manage their conversations with other people, including dictating texts, translating accents, transcribe, and generate automated messages. iFlyTek is programmed with all good tools related to communication: voice recognition, natural language processing, machine translation, data mining, and more. While the app has many applications in day to day life, the translation feature still has issues and intent is lost in translation.
The iFlyTek app is used in a variety of industries, especially healthcare and driving. Drivers issue it vocal commands sop their hands can remain on the wheel. Also, a hospital implemented ten female-looking robots to assist the overworked medical staff. The robots can answer questions and direct patients to the correct department. Doctors are also using iFlyTek to dictate a patient’s medical records. Dictation will become more important, especially since it offers people a hands-free way to get work done. There, of course, remains problems:
Although voice-based AI techniques are becoming more useful in different scenarios, one fundamental challenge remains: machines do not understand the answers they generate, says Xiaojun Wan, a professor at Peking University who does research in natural-language processing. The AI responds to voice queries by searching for a relevant answer in the vast amount of data it was fed, but it has no real understanding of what it says. In other words, the natural-language processing technology that powers today’s voice assistants is based on a set of rigid rules.
Vocal-based technology is becoming better, more accurate, and more reliable, but thee are still kinks in the system.
Whitney Grace, November 1, 2017
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