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
Watson Weakly: Another Game. This Time I Spy. Huh?
March 28, 2016
I survived the Go games. In case you have been on an extended vacation, Google’s smart software beat a human at the game of Go. I assume that this smart software did not drive the car which ran into a bus, but that’s another issue.
I then noted “IBM Watson Could Soon Use Artificial Intelligence to Beat You at a Game of I Spy.” I love the use of the word “could.” I prefer supposition to reality. Contrast the satisfaction of “I could go to the gym” with “I am eating potato chips.” Which does IBM prefer? If you answered, “Generate substantial revenue”, you are incorrect.
The write up in question reports that IBM has “updated” Watson. I noted this statement about the updated Watson:
IBM has created a ‘Visual Recognition Demo’ to showcase Watson’s latest trick, which allows users to feed Watson an image before it tells you what it believes it sees. For example, supplying Watson with the image of a tiger throws up the result 77 per cent tiger, 26 per cent wild cat and 63 per cent cat.
In my experience, determining if an animal is a real live and possibly hungry tiger, that error could be darned interesting. On my last trip to Africa, I learned that a hapless trekker discovered that confusing “cat” with “tiger” can have interesting consequences.,
Sigh. IBM appears to be making news out of some image processing capabilities which I have seen in action before. How long “before”? Think more years than IBM has been reporting declining revenues. Watson, what can one do about that? Hello, Watson. Are you there?
Stephen E Arnold, March 28, 2016
Not So Weak. Right, Watson?
March 25, 2016
I read an article which provided to be difficult to find. None of my normal newsreaders snagged the write up called “The Pentagon’s Procurement System Is So Broken They Are Calling on Watson.” Maybe it is the singular Pentagon hooked with the plural pronoun “they”? Hey, dude, colloquial writing is chill.
Perhaps my automated systems’ missing the boat was the omission of the three impressive letters “IBM”? If you follow the activities of US government procurement, you may want to note the article. If you are tracking the tension between IBM i2 and Palantir Technologies, the article adds another flagstone to the pavement that IBM is building to support it augmented intelligence activities in the Department of Defense and other US government agencies.
Let me highlight a couple of comments in the write up and leave you to explore the article at whatever level you choose. I noted these “reports”:
The Air Force is currently working with two vendors, both of which have chosen Watson, IBM’s cognitive learning computer, to develop programs that would harness artificial intelligence to help businesses and government acquisitions officials work through the mind-numbing system.
The write up identifies one of the vendors working on IBM Watson for the US Air Force. The company is Applied Research.
I circled this quote: “The Pentagon’s procurement system is the “perfect application for Watson.”
The goslings and I love “perfect” applications.
How does Watson learn about procurement? The approach is essentially the method used in the mid 1990s by Autonomy IDOL. Here’s a passage I highlighted:
But first Watson must be trained. The first step is to feed it all the relevant documents. Then its digital intellect will be molded by humans, asking question after question, about 5,000 in all, to help understand context and the particular nuance that comes with federal procurement law.
How does this IBM deal fit into the Palantir versus IBM interaction? That’s a good question. What is clear is that the US Air Force has embraced a solution which includes systems and methods first deployed two decades ago.
What’s that about the pace of technology?
Stephen E Arnold, March 25, 2016
Weekly Watson: IBM Watson Has a Sister
March 23, 2016
I read “In Africa, Watson’s Sister Lucy Is Growing Up with the Help of IBM’s Research Team.” I did not know that. According to the write up:
Lucy, named after the fossil ancestor Australopithecus afrarensis, is more of a system than a sci-fi super machine. “Lucy is many things, but it’s not just one talking computer in a room,” said Dr. Kamal Bhattacharya, Director of IBM Research–Africa. “We are using Watson related technology and big data analytics to develop solutions to African problems.”
I have been to different countries in Africa a handful of times. I have seen some of problems first hand. I learned from the description of Lucy, brother of IBM Watson that:
On the execution side, IBM Research Africa has launched problem solving groups around issues such as education, infrastructure, health care, and economic inclusion. Partners include African universities, telcos, hospitals, tech startups, and the Kenyan ICT Authority.
Research is good. Research which helps people is good. My concern is that IBM remains mired in years of revenue challenges. Marketing, not generating benefits for its stakeholders, seems to be a core IBM Watson competency. Also, the company is improving its ability to terminate unneeded employees. Lucy, what’s the fix for declining IBM revenues?
I await word from Watson’s sister?
Stephen E Arnold, March 23, 2016
Watson Weekly: Hotel Flips on an IBM Robot
March 15, 2016
I think customer service at the hotels in which I have stayed is just wonderful. I recall a false fire alarm in Manhattan on a winter’s night, lice in a hotel in Clear Lake, Texas, and no heat after 9 pm in the modern Russian built hotel in February. People really cared about their guests.
Well, humans are not enough if the information in this write up is accurate. Navigate to “IBM Watson Powers Hilton Robot Concierge.” I learned:
A Hilton hotel in McLean, Virginia, has deployed a Watson-powered robot named Connie to help answer basic travel questions.
Wait, wait. No smart fire monitoring system, no automated disinfecting of rooms and bedding, and no smart HVAC?
Well, those are trivial problems.
The Hilton group, which I assume Paris monitors via social media, is
now being tested as an automated concierge at Hilton McLean in Virginia, can call upon various Watson APIs — Dialog, Speech to Text, Text to Speech, and Natural Language Classifier — and WayBlazer’s travel-specific knowledge to answer questions from Hilton guests about nearby attractions, dining options, and hotel services.
I know that using my smart phone is a real hassle. I definitely want to talk with Connie instead of relying on the Apple, Google, and Microsoft services.
Well, it turns out that
The job of concierge was rated “not computerizable” by a 2013 Oxford study titled “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerization?” and given only a 21% chance of being automated in the next 20 years.
I think I was using my mobile devices to find restaurants, arrange for a car service, and looking up the local Apple store years ago. What do I know? Obviously my sense of history and how to use mobile devices is just what one expects from a person who lives in rural Kentucky.
Watson, when will Connie deal with bedbugs?
Stephen E Arnold, March 15, 2016
Weakly IBM: Watson, Where Are the Revenues?
March 12, 2016
I read “What’s happening at IBM (It’s Dying).” The article has a quote to note. I highlighted this snappy phrase:
Things aren’t going well at all in cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security land. When those kick-in (if they kick-in) IBM will be just one company in a crowd with no particular advantage over the others. IBM used to be able to count on its size, its people, its loyal customers, but all of those are going or gone.
If accurate, the observations in this paragraph are likely to trouble IBM’s stakeholders, partners, and employees.
I noted “KPMG Will Use the Power of IBM’s Watson.” Like the recipe play and the flow of information about curing disease, this tie up appears to unite two important companies in a stirring high technology activity. The article introduces an interesting idea:
IBM and KPMG have announced a partnership today, bringing IBM’s Watson supercomputer to KPMG’s professional services offerings.
Notice that IBM Watson has morphed into a supercomputer. Perhaps the author is exercising a bit of metaphorical freedom? Perhaps Watson is more than Lucene, home brew scripts, and a collection of disparate technologies which IBM acquired?
How will KPMG use the Watson supercomputer? I learned:
Watson will allow KPMG to analyze massive amounts of data with greater ease, delivering insights more quickly. It will also eliminate judgment-driven processes that usually happen in KPMG’s audit, tax, advisory and other professional services.
Google is making its system beat the pants off a human Go player. But Google continues to generate money from its advertising business. The company, in general, seems to be doing the science and math club projects without making headlines with massive layoffs and giving me a flow of material which Jack Benny’s comedy writers could have converted to entertainment gold.
IBM had technology which could have delivered on this Watson promise. Has anyone at IBM exploited the potential of the i2 platform, Cybertap, and other high value information systems? The answer is, “A little bit.”
Unfortunately a bunch of little bits don’t make a bite in the problems Mr. Cringely has identified and been pointing out for years.
Weakly moves IBM. Watson is not much of a bench presser in the heavy revenue gym it appears.
Stephen E Arnold, March 12, 2016
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