How MNCs are getting benefited from AI/ML
What is Artificial Intelligence ?
Before leading to the meaning of artificial intelligence let understand what is the meaning of the Intelligence-
Intelligence: The ability to learn and solve problems. This definition is taken from webster’s Dictionary.
The most common answer that one expects is “to make computers intelligent so that they can act intelligently!”, but the question is how much intelligent? How can one judge the intelligence?
…as intelligent as humans. If the computers can, somehow, solve real-world problems, by improving on their own from the past experiences, they would be called “intelligent”.
Thus, the AI systems are more generic(rather than specific), have the ability to “think” and are more flexible.
Intelligence, as we know, is the ability to acquire and apply the knowledge. Knowledge is the information acquired through experience. Experience is the knowledge gained through exposure(training). Summing the terms up, we get artificial intelligence as the “copy of something natural(i.e., human beings) ‘WHO’ is capable of acquiring and applying the information it has gained through exposure.”
What is Machine Learning ?
Arthur Samuel, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence and computer gaming, coined the term “Machine Learning”. He defined machine learning as — “Field of study that gives computers the capability to learn without being explicitly programmed”.
In a very layman manner, Machine Learning(ML) can be explained as automating and improving the learning process of computers based on their experiences without being actually programmed i.e. without any human assistance. The process starts with feeding good quality data and then training our machines(computers) by building machine learning models using the data and different algorithms. The choice of algorithms depends on what type of data do we have and what kind of task we are trying to automate.
The list of some MNCs benefited from AI/ML
Amazon
Trade giant Amazon has invested in both the consumer-oriented side of AI and in applications for companies and their processes. Alexa, the company’s AI language assistant, integrated into its echo speaker series, is well-known worldwide. However, Amazon Web Services (AWS), a set of machine learning programs and pre-trained AI services for businesses, hasn’t yet done so much. AWS currently has more than 10,000 customers, including Siemens, Netflix, Tinder, NFL, and NASA.
Apple
Apple has been busy acquiring AI start-ups in recent years and sees Artificial Intelligence as a critical part of its future. In December 2018, the company officially appointed John Giannandrea as head of the AI and Machine Learning department after Google poached the Scottish computer scientist. He will oversee the development of products such as Siri and the company’s new Create ML tool, which MacOS and iOS developers can use to create efficient and straightforward training courses for their apps.
Banjo
Banjo was founded after the tragic bombings of the Boston Marathon 2013. The start-up uses AI to search social media to identify real-time events and situations that could be critical for emergency services and other organizations to operate faster and smarter. The company has raised more than $120 million in funding to date, including investors such as the Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank.
DJI
The first Chinese company on the list, DJI, is still officially a start-up but has already been valued at 15 billion dollars. The company has a market share of more than 70 percent in the global drone market and is increasingly entering the AI market. The latest drones use AI and image recognition to avoid objects. Soon, an entry into autonomous vehicles and robotics can be expected. DJI has recently entered into a partnership with Microsoft for a drone-to-computer streaming project.
Artificial intelligence will be enormously powerful in the future. So it’s no surprise that Facebook is investing in AI. Facebook’s AI research group, known as FAIR, says it is committed to advancing the field of machine intelligence and developing new technologies to provide people with better ways to communicate. Mark Zuckerberg and Co. worked on a negotiation platform with two AIs called Alice and Bob, among other things, but ended the project after the couple began communicating in their secret language.
Perhaps the largest and most important AI company on this list is also the most obvious. Google has acquired AI start-ups as if there were going to be no more soon. Over the past four years, Mountain View has created no fewer than twelve new artificial intelligence companies. The most important purchase was the $400 million deal for DeepMind, the board game playing Go champion.
There is also Google’s machine system TensorFlow, which is now free for all, and the ongoing Tensor AI chip project for machine learning on the device. Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, has already mentioned that in the long run we are “evolving from a ‘mobile first’ to an ‘AI-first’ world in the computer industry,” and that already says everything you need to know to see where Google sees the future.
HiSilicon
When Huawei CEO Richard Yu unveiled the Kirin 980 at IFA 2018 in Berlin, the competition was very keen. HiSilicon, Huawei’s chip manufacturer, has significantly enhanced the second generation of the world’s first AI smartphone chip. The Kirin 980 can do things like face recognition, object recognition, image segmentation, and intelligent translation at high speed. The chip has sparked a flood of AI smartphone chips, and if a company is going to develop the technology further in the next few years, it probably will.
IBM
The multinational technology company IBM has been active in AI since the 1950s. The company was involved in the birth of artificial intelligence and is still firmly committed today. With Watson, IBM has created a machine learning platform that can integrate AI into business processes, such as building a chatbot for customer support. Customers include Big Four Auditor, KPMG and Bradesco, one of Brazil’s largest banks.
Intel
Intel has also been on a shopping spree when it comes to artificial intelligence companies and has acquired both Nervana and Movidius as well as a selection of smaller AI start-ups. Nervana enables companies to develop specific deep learning software, while Movidius was founded to bring AI applications to devices with deficient performance. Intel is also working with Microsoft to provide AI acceleration for the Bing search engine.
Microsoft
Like Amazon, Microsoft is involved in Artificial Intelligence on both the consumer and business sides. Cortana, Microsoft’s AI digital assistant, is in direct competition with Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. Artificial Intelligence features are a large part of the company’s Azure Cloud service, which provides chatbots and machine learning services to some of the biggest names in the business. Microsoft also purchased five AI companies in 2018 alone.
Nvidia
Nvidia is one of the longest established AI companies and still plays an important role today. Nvidia’s graphics processors are the be-all and end-all for machine learning and artificial intelligence. The Delaware-based company is active in healthcare, higher education, retail, and robotics. With deep learning and GPU development, Nvidia is concerned with integrating AI into every level of the vehicle, manufacturing and autonomous driving.
OpenAI
The non-profit research group revolves around the development of AI for the benefit of all humankind and has managed to maintain its open source mentality, although large sums of money have been raised through investments and some through acquisitions. Some of the biggest names in AI currently work at OpenAI, including deep learning expert Ilya Sutskever. Sponsors include Microsoft, Amazon and Elon Musk.
Qualcomm
Like HiSilicon with its Kirin 980, Qualcomm is another chip manufacturer that is committed to artificial intelligence. AI plays a crucial role in the Snapdragon 855 mobile platform. The chip uses a signal processor for AI speech, audio and image functions. Qualcomm Snapdragons power some of the most popular smartphones on the market. If you’re interested in AI in the smartphone, you should keep an eye on Qualcomm.
SenseTime
You heard about the Chinese government using face recognition to track citizens, right? Well, SenseTime is the current supplier of this technology. His research team is studying deep learning at the University of Hong Kong, and his image recognition technology is known to be way ahead of what Google and Facebook can do. Autonomous driving is currently SenseTime’s number one priority.
Like the other big players in Silicon Valley, Twitter is all about getting into artificial intelligence, especially with money. Four AI companies have already been acquired, with Magic Pony being the most notable for $150 million. The Australian company is developing machine learning approaches for visual processing on the web and mobile devices, and Twitter is likely to improve its systems for recommending specific tweets in users’ timelines with AI in the future.
