Expert System Is Getting with the AI Boomlet
March 17, 2016
I read “Cognitive Computing Specialist Expands US R&D.” The company is Expert System, founded in Modena (not Bologna) in 1989. The company will be celebrating its 27th birthday this year. Apart from Lexmark ISYS and OpenText’s Fulcrum, Expert System is one of the most senior vendors of semantic technology. To respond the vocabulary of IBM Watson, Expert System is now billing itself as a “cognitive computing specialist.”
The passage I highlighted with a quarter century old marker I found in my Expert System file box was:
The new labs in Palo Alto, California., and Rockville, Maryland., will focus on expanding the company’s Cogito cognitive computing software, the Italian company (EXSY.MI) said Tuesday (March 15). The U.S. locations expand the network of Cogito Labs that includes three in Italy along with facilities in Grenoble, France, and Madrid.
That’s a lot of research laboratories for a company whose share price has only recently blipped above $1.97. See this Google Finance chart. In the past six months, the company has deemphasized its “semantic” positioning and embraced the “cognitive” buzzword.
Other notable developments include:
- Breaking the company into two separate units. This news arrived in October 2015. See “Expert System Announces Plans to Structure U.S. Presence into Two Separate Companies for Public and Private Sectors.” The announcement followed hard on the heels of Expert System’s acquisition of the Temis outfit. Temis was created by a former IBM whiz but ran into a revenue ceiling several years ago. The Temis DNA may explain the “cognitive” appellation. I won’t go into the Watson-esque heritage. Just think rules. Training. Lots of time and human resources.
- A push into the high growth security sector. See “Expert System Launches Cogito Risk Watcher Software.” With the struggles some cybersecurity outfits are facing (example, Norse), one would think cybersecurity might be a somewhat crowded sector. In our research for the forthcoming “Dark Web Notebook,” we logged many references to Terbium Labs and Recorded Future, among others. We did not locate a single reference to Expert System’s Risk Watcher. Perhaps our research is incomplete?
- A deal with Quantic, a company with security intelligence solutions. See “Expert System Partners with Quantic Research for Security Intelligence Solutions.” Quantic Research is a subsidiary for the Holding Nivi Group, The Nivi Group is interesting. Here’s the message Google displays about the organization’s Web site:
The google warning for Navi Group. March 16, 2016.
Interesting relationships. Expert System may want to do some checking to make sure that references in write ups about their innovations do not trigger oddball Google alerts.
To sum up, Expert System will be competing in some hot markets for top research talent. Maybe the downturn in unicorn valuations will free up some human resources for Expert System to hire?
The company is definitely lab rich. The stock price suggests that revenue may be less fecund.
Stephen E Arnold, March 17, 2016
Self Promotion as a Business Model:
March 17, 2016
I love it when universities reinvent stuff. Imagine an academic journal without fees. Instead of peer review, the journal features peer to peer review. You can get the scoop in “MIT Media Lab’s Journal of Design and Science Is a Radical New Kind of Publication.”
The idea is that the journal will combine design (phones that look like blocks of metal and science software which permits a self driving auto to collide with a bus). I learned:
Science, design, art, and engineering, long considered their own areas of focus, are no longer domains to be explored in isolation, but together, in the hopes of expediting progress and discovery.
Knock down those artificial walls between disciplines. Innovate with a new journal.
I am okay with this type of publication.
However, once the journal model is migrated from the warm, fuzzy, and endowed confines of the MIT womb, what’s the business model?
My hunch is that the “new” will have to work with the “old”; that is, subscribers have to pay and then renew, authors will grouse if some nag suggests that compensation is appropriate, vendors will want hard cash for bandwidth, and even sciencey Web programmers may want some money.
Interesting idea, but the business model remains the problem for new publications which have to survive in the present economic environment. Now if there is a friendly check writer who will provide a not for profit environment, there may be more publishing innovations like MIT’s. Until then, it looks like there will be blogs with comments allowed.
But the benefits to the innovator and his ability to publish information in an important “new” journal may be substantial. But that’s what universities are for today. Oh, universities also facilitate student loans. Great stuff higher education.
Stephen E Arnold, March 17, 2016
Search: Gone and Replaced. A Research Delight
March 17, 2016
The notion of indexing “all the world’s information” is an interesting one. I am amused by the assumption some folks make that Bing, Google, and Yandex index “every” Web site and “all” content.
I read “China Has Unblocked Internet Searches That Refer to Kim Jong Un As a ‘Pig’.” The article is a reminder that finding information can be a very difficult business.
According to the write up from an outfit rumored to be interested in some of the Yahooligans’ online business, I learned:
China appears to have made an exception within its extremely restricted Internet this week, for an unusual search term — a reference to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as a “third-generation pig.”
What other items are back online? Heck, what books are available in digital form in any country? I do find the animal reference interesting, however. I am baffled by the concept of third-generation.
When you run a query, do you get access to “all” information, or is the entire digital information access environment subject to filtering. Maybe third generation filtering?
Stephen E Arnold, March 17, 2016
Tails Increases Ease of Online Anonymity
March 17, 2016
The interest in browsing the internet anonymously does not appear to be fading. Softpedia recently posted Debian Makes It a Lot Easier for Users to Install the Tails Anonymous Live CD. Called the “amnesic incognito live system”, Tails is a GNU/Linux Live CD distribution which is based on the Debian operating system and allows your online activities to remain anonymous. Tails is driven by Tor and provides its users access to the anonymous Tor network. The article tells us,
Now, we all know how to write a Live ISO image on a USB key or a CD disc, right? But what you probably don’t know is that there’s an app for that, called Tails Installer, which the skilled Debian Privacy Tools maintainers team included in Debian repos. “The previous process for getting started with Tails was very complex and was problematic for less tech-savvy users,” developers explained. “It required starting Tails three times, and copying the full ISO image onto a USB stick twice before having a fully functional Tails USB stick with persistence enabled.”
As the article points out, Tails has a stamp of approval from Edward Snowden. It seems like before Debian, it would have been quite the stretch for many users to even consider adopting the use of Tails. However, using a Linux-based operating system, the pre-requisite for Tails, may also be a hurdle preventing wide-scale adoption. Time will tell.
Megan Feil, March 17, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
A Dead Startup Tally Sheet
March 17, 2016
Startups are the buzzword for companies that are starting up in the tech industry, usually with an innovative idea that garners them several million in investments. Some startups are successful, others plodder along, and many simply fail. CBS Insights makes an interesting (and valid) comparison with tech startups and dot-com bust that fizzled out quicker than a faulty firecracker.
While most starts appear to be run by competent teams that, sometimes they fizzle out or are acquired by a larger company. Many of them are will not make it as a headlining company. As a result, CBS Insights invented, “The Downround Tracker: Which Companies Are Not Living Up To The Expectations?”
CBS Insights named this tech boom, the “unicorn era,” probably from the rare and mythical sightings of some of these companies. The Downround Tracker tracks unicorn era startups that have folded or were purchased. Since 2015, fifty-six total companies have made the Downround Tracker list, including LiveScribe, Fab.com, Yodle, Escrow.com, eMusic, Adesto Technologies, and others.
Browse through the list and some of the names will be familiar and others will make you wonder what some of these companies did in the first place. Companies come and go in a fashion that appears to be quicker than any other generation. At least in shows that human ingenuity is still working, cue Kanas’s “Dust in the Wind.”
Whitney Grace, March 17, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
HP Enterprise: Is Haven Autonomy IDOL after a Project Runway Touch Up?
March 16, 2016
Short honk: I read “HPE Launches Machine-Learning-As-a-Service on Microsoft Azure.” The hook for me was the pricing for a new cloud search and content processing service. I did not understand the approach; for example, what the heck is an “API unit”?
But what caused me to jot down this note was this list of HPE Haven OnDemand functions. Here’s the list I circled:
- Advanced Text Analysis, which pulls concepts and sentiment from text.
- Format conversion, which converts data wherever it lives.
- Search tools across on-premises or cloud data.
- Image recognition and face detection.
- Knowledge graph analysis.
- Pattern and speech recognition.
Based on my sketchy knowledge about Autonomy IDOL, this list seems to be a summary of Autonomy’s integrated data operating features. Most of these were added to the IDOL platform in the years before HP paid $11 billion for the 1998 system which, to be fair, had been upgraded in the intervening years.
The list also reminded me of some of the functions I associated with “augmented intelligence,” a niche currently occupied by outfits like Palantir and IBM i2.
In terms of pricing, the Palantir Hobbits charge for a license, training, support, and some other goodies. But the pricing is not variable. The IBM i2 folks deliver a collection of options and each option has a price tag.
HPE’s pricing is a bit of a mystery. How many API units fit on the head of Big Data project? Whittling down that $11 billion investment suggests that the API units may be more expensive than the monthly fees suggest; for example, the introductory offer offers 50,000 API units and 15 Resource Units for [the] first three months for all paid plans.” What’s a “Resource Unit”?
The write up raises more questions than it answers in my opinion. I wonder how Autonomy IDOL will look in fall fashions?
Stephen E Arnold, March 16, 2016
Text Analytics: Crazy Numbers Just Like the Good Old Days of Enterprise Search
March 16, 2016
Short honk: Want a growth business in a niche function that supports enterprise platforms? Well, gentle reader, look no farther than text analytics. Get your checkbook out and invest in this remarkable sector. It will be huuuuge.
Navigate to “Text Analytics Market to Account for US$12.16 bn in Revenue by 2024.” What is text analytics? How big is text analytics today? How long has text analytics been a viable function supporting content processing?
Ah, good questions, but what’s really important is this passage:
According to this report, the global text analytics market revenue stood at US$2.82 bn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$12.16 bn by 2024, at a CAGR of 17.6% from 2016 to 2024.
I love these estimates. Imagine. Close out your life savings and invest in text analytics. You will receive a CAGR of 17.6 percent which you can cash in and buy stuff in 2024. That’s just eight years.
Worried about the economy? Want to seek the safe shelter of bonds? Forget the worries. If text analytics is so darned hot, why is the consulting firm pitching this estimate writing reports. Why not invest in text analytics?
Answer: Maybe the estimate is a consequence of spreadsheet fever?
Text analytics is a rocket just like the ones Jeff Bezos will use to carry you into space.
Stephen E Arnold, March 16, 2016
A Thought Leader Embraces Mid Tier Consultant Thinking
March 16, 2016
I read “The Hype of Big Data Revisited: It’s About Extracting Value.” I am not particularly interested in “how big” discussions. What I found interesting was that a through leader reproduced a mid tier consulting firm’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2015. I thought mid tier outfits were not too keen on having their proprietary charts reproduced. Obviously I am off the beam on this assumption.
I did note this statement:
In between 2013 and 2014, Big Data reached the Peak of Inflated Expectations in Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. By mid 2014, Big Data was sliding into the Trough of Disillusionment, and by 2015, the term was removed from the hype cycle altogether.
More mid tier goodness.
Here’s what I learned about the source of this write up:
Bob E. Hayes, PhD is the Chief Research Officer of Analytics Week and president of Business Over Broadway. At Analytics Week, he is responsible for directing research to identify organizational best practices in the areas of Big Data, data science and analytics. He is considered a thought leader in the field of customer experience management. He conducts research on analytics, customer feedback programs, customer experience / satisfaction / loyalty measurement and shares his insights through his talks, blogs and books.
Perhaps the notion of thought leadership and recycling a mid tier consultant firm’s viewpoints is the future of deep insight and analysis. Wow, the mid tier consulting firm is a significant influence on some thought leaders.
Too bad the intellectual force does not reach to my part of rural Kentucky. It obviously skips me and works its magic in Bowling Green, the home of the Corvette hole.
Stephen E Arnold, March 15, 2016
Bitcoin Textbook to Become Available from Princeton
March 16, 2016
Bitcoin is all over the media but this form of currency may not be thoroughly understood by many, including researchers and scholars. An post on this topic, The Princeton Bitcoin textbook is now freely available, was recently published on Freedom to Tinker, a blog hosted by Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy. This article announces the first completed draft of a Princeton Bitcoin textbook. At 300 pages, the manuscript is geared to those who hope to gain a technical understanding of how Bitcoin works and is appropriate for those who have a basic understanding of computer science and programming. According to the write-up,
“Researchers and advanced students will find the book useful as well — starting around Chapter 5, most chapters have novel intellectual contributions. Princeton University Press is publishing the official, peer-reviewed, polished, and professionally done version of this book. It will be out this summer. If you’d like to be notified when it comes out, you should sign up here. Several courses have already used an earlier draft of the book in their classes, including Stanford’s CS 251. If you’re an instructor looking to use the book in your class, we welcome you to contact us, and we’d be happy to share additional teaching materials with you.”
As Bitcoin educational resources catch fire in academia, it is only a matter of time before other Bitcoin experts begin creating resources to help other audiences understand the currency of the Dark Web. Additionally, it will be interesting to see if research emerges regarding connections between Bitcoin, the Dark Web and the mainstream internet.
Megan Feil, March 16, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Google Now Has Dowsing Ability
March 16, 2016
People who claim to be psychic are fakes. There is not a way to predict the future, instantly locate a lost person or item, or read someone’s aura. No scientific theory has proven it exists. One of the abilities psychics purport to have is “dowsing,” the power to sense where water, precious stones or metals, and even people are hiding. Instead of relying on a suspended crystal or an angular stick, Google now claims it can identify any location based solely on images, says The Technology Review in the article, “Google Unveils Neural Network With ‘Superhuman’ Ability To Determine The Location Of Almost Any Image.”
Using computer algorithms, not magic powers, and Tobias Weyand’s programming prowess and a team of tech savvy people, they developed a way for a Google deep-learning machine to identity location pictures. Weyand and his team designed PlaNET, the too, and accomplished this by dividing the world into 26,000 square grid (sans ocean and poles) of varying sizes depending on populous areas.
“Next, the team created a database of geolocated images from the Web and used the location data to determine the grid square in which each image was taken. This data set is huge, consisting of 126 million images along with their accompanying Exif location data.
Weyand and co used 91 million of these images to teach a powerful neural network to work out the grid location using only the image itself. Their idea is to input an image into this neural net and get as the output a particular grid location or a set of likely candidates.”
With the remaining 34 million images in the data set, they tested the PlaNET to check its accuracy. PlaNET can accurately guess 3.6% images at street level, 10.1% on city level, 28.4% country of origin, and 48% of the continent. These results are very good compared to the limited knowledge that a human keeps in their head.
Weyand believes that PlaNET is able to determine the location, because it has learned new parents to recognize subtle patterns about areas that humans cannot distinguish, as it has arguably been more places than any human. What is even more amazing is how much memory PlaNET uses: only 377 MB!
When will PlaNET become available as a GPS app?
Whitney Grace, March 16, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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