Primer Labs features examples that A.I. systems capable of natural language processing are poised to have a big impact on business.
Category: business – Page 196
How we’ll become cyborgs and extend human potential | Hugh Herr
Humans will soon have new bodies that forever blur the line between the natural and synthetic worlds, says bionics designer Hugh Herr. In an unforgettable talk, he details “NeuroEmbodied Design,” a methodology for creating cyborg function that he’s developing at the MIT Media Lab, and shows us a future where we’ve augmented our bodies in a way that will redefine human potential — and, maybe, turn us into superheroes. “During the twilight years of this century, I believe humans will be unrecognizable in morphology and dynamics from what we are today,” Herr says. “Humanity will take flight and soar.”
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OpenAI’s new language generator GPT-3 is shockingly good—and completely mindless
OpenAI’s new language generator #GPT-3 is shockingly good—and completely mindless: https://bit.ly/3kphfsX
By Will Douglas Heavenarchive page from MIT Technolgy Review
#AI #MachineLearning #NeuralNetworks #DeepLearning
“Playing with GPT-3 feels like seeing the future,” Arram Sabeti, a San Francisco–based developer and artist, tweeted last week. That pretty much sums up the response on social media in the last few days to OpenAI’s latest language-generating AI.
OpenAI first described GPT-3 in a research paper published in May. But last week it began drip-feeding the software to selected people who requested access to a private beta. For now, OpenAI wants outside developers to help it explore what GPT-3 can do, but it plans to turn the tool into a commercial product later this year, offering businesses a paid-for subscription to the AI via the cloud.
The quantum state of play — cloud-based QCaaS and Covid-19
Quantum computing requires meticulously prepared hardware and big budgets, but cloud-based solutions could make the technology available to broader business audiences Several tech giants are racing to achieve “quantum supremacy”, but reliability and consistency in quantum output is no simple trick Covid-19 has prompted some researchers to look at how quantum computing could mitigate future pandemics with scientific precision and speed Quantum computing (QC) has been theorized for decades and has evolved rapidly over the last few years. An escalation in spend and development has seen powerhouses IBM, Microsoft, and Google race for ‘quantum supremacy’ — whereby quantum reliably and consistently outperforms existing computers. But do quantum computers remain a sort of elitist vision of the future or are we on course for more financially and infrastructurally viable applications across industries?
Getting to grips with qubits How much do you know? Ordinary computers (even supercomputers) deploy bits, and these bits comprise of traditional binary code. Computer processes – like code – are made up of countless combinations of 0’s and 1’s. Quantum computers, however, are broken down into qubits. Qubits are capable of ‘superpositions’: effectively adopting both 1 and 0 simultaneously, or any space on the spectrum between these two formerly binary points. The key to a powerful, robust, and reliable quantum computer is more qubits. Every qubit added exponentially increases the processing capacity of the machine.
Qubits and the impact of the superposition give quantum computers the ability to process large datasets within seconds, doing what it would take humans decades to do. They can decode and deconstruct, hypothesize and validate, tackling problems of absurd complexity and dizzying magnitude — and can do so across many different industries.
Wherein lies the issue then? Quantum computing for everybody! We’re still a way off – the general consensus being, it’s 5 years, at least, before this next big wave of computing is seen widely across industries and use cases, unless your business is bustling with the budgets of tech giants like Google, IBM, and the like. But expense isn’t the only challenge.
Frail and demanding — the quantum hardware Quantum computers are interminably intricate machines. It doesn’t take much at all to knock a qubit out of the delicate state of superposition. They’re powerful, but not reliable. The slightest interference or frailty leads to high error rates in quantum processing, slowing the opportunity for more widespread use, and rendering ‘quantum supremacy’ a touch on the dubious side.
Quantum computing (QC) has been theorized for decades and has evolved rapidly over the last few years. An escalation in spend and development has seen powerhouses IBM, Microsoft, and Google race for ‘quantum supremacy’ — whereby quantum reliably and consistently outperforms existing computers. But do quantum computers remain a sort of elitist vision of the future or are we on course for more financially and infrastructurally viable applications across industries?
Now is the BEST TIME EVER to be an entrepreneur
Our mindset is everything: what one person sees as a crisis, another person sees as opportunity.
The magnitude of economic and social disruption caused by COVID-19 (25% of small businesses have closed, bankruptcies are up 26%) means that many existing business models are being upended. In some cases, entire industries.
As an entrepreneur, you should be asking yourself: What challenges or problems can I solve? What are new digital business models I want to experiment with?
Commercialising space exploration and development
When Nanoracks was created a decade ago it became the first company in the world to own and market its own hardware on the International Space Station. In doing so it faced a number of philosophical challenges, in particular because the notion of a private company wanting to own research hardware, market the results and set its own prices was something of an alien concept for NASA at the time. Here, in an article based on his presentation at the Asgardia Space Science & Investment Conference (ASIC) in October, CEO Jeff Manber reflects on the company’s pioneering commercial journey and looks at challenges that lie in the future.
The business model of Nanoracks has essentially been to grow, not through increasing investment but by building increasingly more complex hardware. I like to think that we’re not actually in the hardware business but, in reality, we are — and it’s where we have found a niche in the market.
Ten years ago, when we started with Nanolabs, it was the first time that miniature (10 × 10 × 10 cm) space laboratories had been standardised. I made a decision right at the start not to patent the Nanolab and its power frame because I wanted to create an ecosystem. Today, we are competing with ICE Cubes (a public-private partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Belgium-based Space Applications Services) and Space Tango (a Kentucky, USA-based company that builds research and manufacturing systems into compact smart containers, called CubeLabs, installed in hubs on the International Space Station (ISS). We want to see the market develop and so, as much as possible, we try not to patent. However, at the same time, we believe we’ll be better at getting the customers and building the market.
Oxnard, CA’s FORMAT Medical Research Secures Two Big Clinical Trials with Regeneron Investigating REGN-COV2
The Study
Now, Format Medical Research takes on two high profile clinical trials involving the antibody cocktail known as REGN-COV2. Garnering national attention, this investigational therapy targeting COVID-19 has receive a lot of attention. The Ventura County Star reports that the SMO will commence the first study, representing one of 150 sites in North and South America, this Friday. The goal: determine if the antibody medicine offers a safe and effective treatment for those who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
The second study focuses on those participants who are actually healthy but “at risk” of the virus. In this study, the participants will take the therapy to determine if there are prevention properties and the sponsor seeks up to 2,000 participants.
Although perhaps not a household name among big pharmaceutical sponsors perhaps that may change as FORMAT Medical Research in Oxnard, California, recently secured a major contract with Regeneron to participate in their highly watched, Operation Warp Speed-funded REGN-COV2 double antibody COVID-19 clinical trial. The Southern California-based research organization starts two trials with the New York State-based sponsor chief, Nicholas Focil, who now faces “the most important study of my career.”
The SMO
The Oxnard-based research company “facilities clinical trials.” The “Integrated Research Organization” also known as a “Site Management Organization” (SMO) was profiled as part of the TrialSite’s global SMO survey back in early December, 2019. An independent operation, Format Medical Research has aligned with the hyperCORE International, a “Super Site Network” that purports to standardize systems and processes including business development. With over a decade of experience conducting Phase 1 to 4 clinical trials across a variety of therapeutic areas, they offer SMO and site services for up to 50 sites, SMO employs between 25 and 50 employees. Format claims to have in its network over 10 million patients it can access for studies.