Watson Joins the Hilton Family
April 30, 2016
It looks like Paris Hilton might have a new sibling, although the conversations at family gatherings will be lackluster. No, the hotel-chain family has not adopted Watson, instead a version of the artificial intelligence will work as a concierge. Ars Technica informs us that “IBM Watson Now Powers A Hilton Hotel Robot Concierge.”
The Hilton McLean hotel in Virginia now has a now concierge dubbed Connie, after Conrad Hilton the chain’s founder. Connie is housed in a Nao, a French-made android that is an affordable customer relations platform. Its brain is based on Watson’s program and answers verbal queries from a WayBlazer database. The little robot assists guests by explaining how to navigate the hotel, find restaurants, and tourist attractions. It is unable to check in guests yet, but when the concierge station is busy, you do not want to pull out your smartphone, or have any human interaction it is a good substitute.
” ‘This project with Hilton and WayBlazer represents an important shift in human-machine interaction, enabled by the embodiment of Watson’s cognitive computing,’ Rob High, chief technology officer of Watson said in a statement. ‘Watson helps Connie understand and respond naturally to the needs and interests of Hilton’s guests—which is an experience that’s particularly powerful in a hospitality setting, where it can lead to deeper guest engagement.’”
Asia already uses robots in service industries such as hotels and restaurants. It is worrying that Connie-like robots could replace people in these jobs. Robots are supposed to augment human life instead of taking jobs away from it. While Connie-like robots will have a major impact on the industry, there is something to be said for genuine human interaction, which usually is the preference over artificial intelligence. Maybe team the robots with humans in the service industries for the best all around care?
Whitney Grace, April 30, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Webinjection Code a Key to Security
April 25, 2016
The heady days of open cybercrime discussions on the Dark Web are over, thanks to increasing investigation by law-enforcement. However, CaaS vendors still sell products like exploit kits, custom spam, and access to infected endpoints to those who know where to look. Security Intelligence discusses one of the most popular commodities, webinjection resources, in its article, “Dark Web Suppliers and Organized Cybercrime Gigs.” Reporter Limor Kessem explains:
“Webinjections are code snippets that financial malware can force into otherwise legitimate Web pages by hooking the Internet browser. Once a browser has been compromised by the malware, attackers can use these injections to modify what infected users see on their bank’s pages or insert additional data input fields into legitimate login pages in order to steal information or mislead unsuspecting users.
“Whether made up of HTML code or JavaScript, webinjections are probably the most powerful social engineering tool available to cybercriminals who operate banking Trojan botnets.
“To be considered both high-quality and effective, these webinjections have to seamlessly integrate with the malware’s injection mechanism, display social engineering that corresponds with the target bank’s authentication and transaction authorization schemes and have the perfect look and feel to fool even the keenest customer eye.”
Citing IBM X-Force research, Kessem says there seem to be only a few target-specific webinjection experts operating on the Dark Web. Even cybercriminals who develop their own malware are outsourcing the webinjection code to one of these specialists. This means, of course, that attacks from different groups often contain similar or identical webinjection code. IBM researchers have already used their findings about one such vendor to build specific “indicators of compromise,” which can be integrated into IBM Security products. The article concludes with a suggestion:
“Security professionals can further extend this knowledge to other platforms, like SIEM and intrusion prevention systems, by writing custom rules using information about injections shared on platforms like X-Force Exchange.”
Cynthia Murrell, April 25, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Watson Lacks Conversation Skills and He Is Not Evil
April 22, 2016
When I was in New York last year, I was walking on the west side when I noticed several other pedestrians moving out of the way of a man mumbling to himself. Doing as the natives do, I moved aside and heard the man rumble about how, “The robots are taking over and soon they will be ruling us. You all are idiots for not listening to me.” Fear of a robot apocalypse has been constant since computer technology gained precedence and we also can thank science-fiction for perpetuating it. Tech Insider says in “Watson Can’t Actually Talk To You Like In The Commercials” Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, and other tech leaders have voiced their concerns about creating artificial intelligence that is so advanced it can turn evil.
IBM wants people to believe otherwise, which explains their recent PR campaign with commercials that depict Watson carrying on conversations with people. The idea is that people will think AI are friendly, here to augment our jobs, and overall help us. There is some deception on IBM’s part, however. Watson cannot actually carry on a conversation with a person. People can communicate with, usually via an UI like a program via a desktop or tablet. Also there is more than one Watson, each is programmed for different functions like diagnosing diseases or cooking.
“So remember next time you see Watson carrying on a conversation on TV that it’s not as human-like as it seems…Humor is a great way to connect with a much broader audience and engage on a personal level to demystify the technology,’ Ann Rubin, Vice President IBM Content and Global Creative, wrote in an email about the commercials. ‘The reality is that these technologies are being used in our daily lives to help people.’”
If artificial intelligence does become advanced enough that it is capable of thought and reason comparable to a human, it is worrisome. It might require that certain laws be put into place to maintain control over the artificial “life.” That day is a long time off, however, until then embrace robots helping to improve life.
Whitney Grace, April 22, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Watson Weekly: IBM Watson Hooks Up with Hana
April 17, 2016
Is this a Tinder tech date or what? I read “IBM to Bring Watson’s Cognitive Capabilities to SAP Customers.” IBM’s strategy for cognitive is to either partner with or acquire every possible technology company it seems. The write up reports:
IBM Corp. is turning to its partners for help with widening the adoption of Watson in the enterprise. As part of the effort, the company this morning announced an alliance with SAP SE that will see the capabilities of the cognitive computing platform made available for users of the latter’s flagship S/4HANA business software suite.
Has anyone asked an SAP customer if he or she needs Watson?
I learned:
If the current feature set is anything to go by, then SAP and IBM are probably looking to deliver something akin to what mutual rival Microsoft Corp. offers with its Cortana Intelligence Suite. The bundle combines the virtual assistant with a number of Redmond’s cloud-based analytics services to make complex operational information accessible to everyday knowledge workers. Big Blue’s announcement specifies that the Watson integration will similarly target a “broad range of business users and … all C-suite professions.”
I wonder if SAP customers using Microsoft technology will eagerly embrace Watson.
Keep the PR machine, if not the revenues, flowing.
Stephen E Arnold, April 17, 2016
Watson Impresses a Stakeholder
April 16, 2016
I read “IBM Shows Me What Watson Can Do.” One of the points I noted about the write up was that it was written by a person who sort of thought Watson was a “computer language.” I think of Watson as open source software, acquired technology, and home brew code.
I noted this statement:
The folks at IBM ran me through a couple of examples of what Watson does. Some were more impressive then others, but one example stuck in my mind because of the language component. The company wouldn’t reveal its partner’s name, but an insurance company is using Watson to help increase online sales. According to IBM that customer has seen a high single-digit uptick in online sales because of Watson.
I love rock solid case examples.
I noted this statement:
But, like a human, Watson doesn’t always come up with the right answers at first. Watson makes mistakes while it’s learning. It understands things in the wrong way and pulls the wrong answers out of the information it has at its disposal. The team working with Watson then corrects it and tries again with another question. The time this takes depends on a lot of different variables, of course, but one customer took a year to train Watson.
How do I know that this write up may not reflect the sentiments of an objective, “real journalist.” Here’s the disclaimer:
I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Stakeholders, how did you like the write up? More important: Watson, how do you feel about the write up?
Stephen E Arnold, April 16, 2016
Weekly Watson: On the Road to Italy
April 9, 2016
Don’t art history majors flock to Italy? IBM Watson is not going to marvel at David or the Vatican’s collection of Roman statues.
I read “IBM Watson Takes Analytics Prowess Overseas: Supercomputer to Work on Big Data and Genomics in Italy.”
I learned:
Watson, IBM’s supercomputing brainchild, will soon have its own pied-à-terre across the pond. Big Blue announced Thursday it would launch its first Watson Health European Center of Excellence in Milan near the Human Technopole Italy 2040 research campus.
No revenue yet. The write up revealed:
IBM data scientists, engineers and programmers will collaborate with organizations across Europe to create a new class of cloud-based connected solutions to help speed research of new treatments, personalized medicine, and discoveries to boost public health management while advancing sustainable health systems.
How long will it take for Watson to cure IBM’s revenue respiratory problem? Will the Italian climate, food, and get ‘er done attitude do the job? We can, as always, ask Watson.
Stephen E Arnold, April 9, 2016
Watson in the Lab: Quoth the Stakeholder Forevermore
April 7, 2016
I read “Lawrence Livermore and IBM Collaborate to Build New Brain-Inspired Supercomputer.” The article reports that one of the US national labs and Big Blue are going to work together to do something with IBM’s neurosynaptic computer chip. I know. I know. IBM is not really into making chips anymore. I think it paid another company lots of money to take the fab business off IBM’s big blue hands.
Never mind, quoth the stakeholder.
The write up reports that the True North “platform”
will process the equivalent of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses and consume the energy equivalent of a hearing aid battery – a mere 2.5 watts of power.
I like the reference to nuclear weapons in the article. I used to work at Halliburton Nuclear in my salad days, and there are lots of calculations to perform when doing the nuclear stuff. Calculations are, in my experience, a lot better than doing lab experiments the Marie Curie muddled forward. Big computer capability is a useful capability.
According to the write up:
The [neuromorphic] technology represents a fundamental departure from computer design that has been prevalent for the past 70 years, and could be a powerful complement in the development of next-generation supercomputers able to perform at exascale speeds, 50 times (or two orders of magnitude) faster than today’s most advanced petaflop (quadrillion floating point operations per second) systems. Like the human brain, neurosynaptic systems require significantly less electrical power and volume.
This is not exactly a free ride. The write up points out:
Under terms of the $1 million contract, LLNL will receive a 16-chip TrueNorth system representing a total of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses. LLNL also will receive an end-to-end ecosystem to create and program energy-efficient machines that mimic the brain’s abilities for perception, action and cognition. The ecosystem consists of a simulator; a programming language; an integrated programming environment; a library of algorithms as well as applications; firmware; tools for composing neural networks for deep learning; a teaching curriculum; and cloud enablement.
One question: Who is paying whom? Is Livermore ponying up $1 million to get its informed hands on the “platform” or is IBM paying Livermore to take the chip and do a demonstration project.
The ambiguity in the write up is delicious. Another minor point is the cost of the support environment for the new platform. I understand the modest power draw, but perhaps there are other bits and pieces which gobble the Watts.
I recall a visit to Bell Labs.* During that visit, I saw a demo of what was then called holographic memory. The idea was that gizmos allowed data to be written to a holographic structure. The memory device was in a temperature controlled room and sat in a glass protected container. The room was mostly empty. After the demo, I asked one of the Bell wizards about the tidiness of the demo. He laughed and took me to a side door. Behind that door was a room filled with massive amounts of equipment. The point was that the demo looked sleek and lean. The gear required to pull off the demo was huge.
I recall that the scientist said, “The holographic part was easy. Making the system small is the challenge.”
Perhaps the neuromorphic chip has similar support equipment requirements.
I will let you know if I find out who is paying for the collaboration. I just love IBM. Watson, do you know who is paying for the collaboration?
——
* Bell Labs was one of the companies behind my ASIS Eagleton Award in the 1980s.
Stephen E Arnold, April 7, 2016
IBM: Back to Its Roots with Zest, Actually Spark
April 6, 2016
I read “IBM Launches Mainframe Platform for Spark.” This is an announcement which makes sense to me. The Watson baloney annoys; the mainframe news thrills.
According to the write up:
IBM is expanding its embrace of Apache Spark with the release of a mainframe platform that would allow the emerging open-source analytics framework to run natively on the company’s mainframe operating system.
I noted this passage as well:
The IBM platform also seeks to leverage Spark’s in-memory processing approach to crunching data. Hence, the z Systems platform includes data abstraction and integration services so that z/OS analytics applications can leverage standard Spark APIs. That approach eliminates processing and security issues associated with ETL while allowing organizations to analyze data in-place.
Hopefully IBM will play to its strengths not chase rainbows.
Stephen E Arnold, April 6, 2016
Watson Weakly: Analysis of Harry Potter
April 4, 2016
I noted this write up: “IBM’s Watson Analyzed All the ‘Harry Potter’ Books and Movies — and the Results are Fascinating.” An outfit called Tech Insider appears to have “asked” Watson “what it thought of the Harry Potter original book series and movies.”
IBM, that revenue engine which delights its stakeholders, offered up Vinith Misra, “a research staff member for IBM Watson.”
It appears that Watson did what any second year English major does in between pizza bites and hanging out. Watson “read” the Potter books and “watched” the films. I think Watson was fed movie scripts, but that’s a niggling point. Of course, Watson can handle rich media. Watson is a very capable system for generating some text analytics.
What did Watson discover? I won’t review the findings in one big list of stunners. Let me highlight one finding, which will lure you into the silly listicle. Here you go:
Professor McGonagall ranks the highest of all the characters for intellect.
Useful? Insightful?
IBM’s marketing continues to amaze me. By the way, if I were teaching those college sophomores, I would expect more from an analysis written in a dorm in 15 minutes after a long weekend of partying.
Stephen E Arnold, April 4, 2016
Predictive Analytics on a Budget
March 30, 2016
Here is a helpful list from Street Fight that could help small and mid-sized businesses find a data analysis platform that is right for them—“5 Self-Service Predictive Analytics Platforms.” Writer Stephanie Miles notes that, with nearly a quarter of small and mid-sized organizations reporting plans to adopt predictive analytics, vendors are rolling out platforms for companies with smaller pockets than those of multinational corporations. She writes:
“A 2015 survey by Dresner Advisory Services found that predictive analytics is still in the early stages of deployment, with just 27% of organizations currently using these techniques. In a separate survey by IDG Enterprise, 24% of small and mid-size organizations said they planned to invest in predictive analytics to gain more value from their data in the next 12 months. In an effort to encourage this growth and expand their base of users, vendors with business intelligence software are introducing more self-service platforms. Many of these platforms include predictive analytics capabilities that business owners can utilize to make smarter marketing and operations decisions. Here are five of the options available right now.”
Here are the five platforms listed in the write-up: Versium’s Datafinder; IBM’s Watson Analytics; Predixion, which can run within Excel; Canopy Labs; and Spotfire from TIBCO. See the article for Miles’ description of each of these options.
Cynthia Murrell, March 30, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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