Awesome, not awesome.

#Awesome

“In the future, a shopper could walk into Uniqlo and use their iPhone to ask Siri whether a certain down jacket was in stock in light blue — rather than talking to a human store assistant. As a result, AI has the potential to reduce the need for human shop assistants, reducing overall labour costs for retailers.” — Leslie Hook and Lindsay Whipp, Reporters for The Financial Times (behind a paywall)

#Not Awesome

“What happens when you make robots that are smart, independent thinkers — and then try to limit their autonomy? What happens if we were to launch a robot on the battlefield and all of the sudden it took a more partial liking to the enemy than it did to its human sponsor?” — Peter Kalis, Chairman of K&L Gates

“What else are you working on besides Machine Learnings?” Usejournal.com

What we’re reading.

1/ A naughty developer creates a machine learning video editor that identifies ‘specific acts’ within porn scenes. Learn More on Gizmodo > (NSFW)

2/ Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft are teaching AI classes to employees so the Tech world doesn’t leave them behind. Learn More on WIRED >

3/ Fake news is a major problem for big companies (and society too), but AI is nowhere near ready to solve the problem. Learn More on Quartz >

4/ Large Tech companies are draining top universities of AI professors, and screwing students along the way. Learn More on The Wall Street Journal >

5/ A resource that tells you what business problems can be solved with machine learning methods now exists. Learn More on Harvard Business Review >

6/ Machine learning is now better than your nosiest friend at reading lips. Learn More on MIT Technology Review >

7/ Stitch Fix, an online clothing retailer that expects to haul in $375 million in revenue in 2016, uses machine learning to develop new brand styles. Learn More on Harvard Business Review >

In real life.

Google just announced updates to 9 of their tools that now use machine learning to save you time.

None of them are sexy, but you will use most of them heavily. My favorite is a Google Calendar feature that suggests times to meet based on your preferences and potential conflicts with participants. ✉️✉️😑🤖📅😁

Your turn.

“AI isn’t coming for our jobs, it’s coming for our planet and will one day colonize the galaxy.”

A few weeks ago, an ‘AI guru’ made that wild claim. Whether or not you agree, the argument that exploded on reddit is worth reading. 🤖🌎👽✌️🌌

Machine Learning and AI are having a huge impact on our lives. Our mission is to create space for discussion and learning that helps you become prepared to handle these changes as they happen.