DataDownload: AI and entertainment. What it’s doing, and what it isn’t.
DataDownload: AI and entertainment. What it’s doing, and what it isn’t. A weekly summary of all things Media, Data, Emerging Tech View this email in your browser
This week — a few stories about what AI can do, and what it’s not doing, in media. Yes AI can tell if you’re about to cancel your subscription — but it isn’t green lighting movies, at least not for now.
And the fourth annual Machines + Media conference takes the wraps off the early plans for the May 6th event hosted and co-sponsored by Bloomberg and NYC Media Lab.
And is there a holodeck on the horizon? Peter Diamandis has a glimpse into the future.
So — let me know what you think. The NYC Media Lab has some great things planned ahead. Steve@NYCMediaLab.org.
Cheers,
Steven Rosenbaum
Managing Director
The NYC Media Lab Must-Read Machines + Media 2020
AI, machine learning, computer vision, and future interfaces — data continues to change the way media is produced, distributed, consumed, and monetized. NYC Media Lab’s fourth annual Machines + Media conference, once again generously sponsored and hosted by Bloomberg, will focus on new applications of data science and technology in journalism and media, and will be held on Thursday, May 6th, 2020 Bloomberg HQ in NYC
Machines + Media 2020 will give special consideration to topics such as the impact of AI in a global economy, R&D priorities for media, and how technology experts are teaching computers to see, listen, speak, and interpret emotions. Speakers and presenters from New York City’s media industry, universities, and the tech community gather to explore the latest new trends and best practices. Click here to apply.
Read More Should Robots Have a Face? “Programmed to detect spills and debris in the aisles, the robot looked like an inkjet printer with a long neck.”
When a Giant store employee put some googly eyes on a spill/debris-detection robot, parent grocery company Ahold Delhaize loved the idea enough to make it standard for its 500 robots across the US. Being “less-daunting” is a benefit not just for uneasy customers, but store employees feeling the pressure of automation. Comfort factor is so important in the industry that Walmart spent months with Bossa Nova and Carnegie Mellon researchers to design shelf-scanning robots that looked and acted friendly.
Jeff Gee, a co-founder at Simbe Robotics, which developed a robot that features blinking eyes for Giant Eagle grocery stores, says it’s especially important to add friendly features “where a lot of people have never experienced robots in the wild before.”
8 min read Read More For the Media No, A.I. Isn’t Deciding Which Movies to Green-Light
Remember when Warner Music signed algorithmic music generator Endel to its label? There was a ton of speculation around what this would mean for future artists and AI music companies.
It happened again when Warner Bros. announced it would use Cinelytics’ software, which “supports studios… to make faster and better informed greenlight… decisions.” To clear the air — and explain how the platform is a kind of project management system that leverages ML — CEO and co-founder Tobias Queisser gave Fortune a demonstration.
5 min read
Read More How AI Can Help Predict Subscription Cancellation and Keep Readers Engaged More publishers are opting for dynamic paywalls, which pop up when certain conditions are met. Increasingly, these conditions include behavioral factors. Jarosław Góra, co-founder at Deep BI, has built an AI-powered tool that claims to help newsrooms predict when subscribers are about to board and when they’ll churn. Here’s how Góra describes the process:
“‘We are using a deep content attribution score that looks at recency, frequency and volume…. We identify what made the client purchase the product and score it to capture the major events: registration, subscription, renewal.’ This data then helps build reader profiles and shows the paywall or newsletter sign-up forms at precisely the crucial moment to give the highest probability of conversion.”
4 min read Read More The Future of AI Journalism Is Less Hyperbole and Smarter Readers
“It doesn’t take journalistic malice or a lack of integrity to publish a hyperbolic story, just a lack of perspective.”
The future of AI in journalism is (hopefully) less hype and misinformation and more awareness about what the tech can and can’t do in the newsroom. It’s not just a resource gap — it’s also a groking issue. Journalists aren’t trained to pick apart papers from PhD-level researchers, and experts aren’t usually on hand to distill things.
But it’s more than just “wading through the research papers to find the truth and being cynical anytime a PR offers an embargo.” It’s also realizing that “we’re writing for a smarter audience that’s no longer impressed by the mere existence of AI.”
5 min read
Read More What We’re Watching These Technologies Will Change the World
Impact Theory host Tom Bilyeu sat down with leading futurists Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler to discuss emerging tech like flying cars, VR, quantum computing, genetic modification, AI, spacetech, holodecks and more.
2 hours watch
Watch Now Jobs & Events Event: Using Open Data to Empower Mission-Driven Organizations
Date: March 2, 6PM-8PM
During this showcase, you’ll learn how to search for and download open source data using the GeoQuery tool, which is an online tool that performs advanced spatial statistics that extracts data from open-source datasets. Register Here.
Event: NYC School of Data 2020
Date: March 7, 9AM-6PM
NYC School of Data is BetaNYC’s annual community-driven conference. With programming support from NYC Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics, they bring together city officials, activists, and community members to talk about open data, civic technology, and service design. Register Here. A Deeper Look Are You Using Your Data, or Just Collecting It?
Despite the availability of data, leaders still heavily rely on gut-instinct in scenarios where data could be a more objective measure. The HBR piece likens the approach to professional gambling: “Casinos thrive because many bettors believe they are smarter than the odds…. The bettors who win in the long-run clinically assess the odds of each bet.”
To combat the “Flashbulb Memory problem,” founder and CEO at Acceleration Partners Robert Glazer offers company anecdotes of how misleading gut decisions were laid to rest with the help of BI tools.
5 min read
Read More How Technology Is Changing the Future of Higher Education
“University campuses are like archaeological digs of innovations that didn’t fulfill their promises.”
The future of education — from tireless AI teaching assistants to foreign language sessions in VR — is being tinkered with at campuses across the country. In fact, over “200 colleges have added senior executives whose titles include the words ‘digital’ or ‘innovation’.” There’s a lot of flashy noise amidst all these projects, and much of it will fade into experimental abyss. But some ambitious concepts, covered by the NY Times, are showing signs of progress.
These include college-by-subscription (Boise State is already piloting its Passport to Education concept), virtual teaching assistants (in upstate New York, students converse in Mandarin with AI avatars), and interoperable learning records — digital lists of all the skills and life experiences students have accumulated.
8 min read
Read More Transactions & Announcements Graphcore Tops Up Funding to $450M
Behavox Announces $100M Investment From Softbank Vision Fund 2
K Health Raises $45M to Apply AI to Telemedicine
Tractable Claims $25M to Sell Damage-Assessing AIs to More Insurance Giants
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