What is Apple's "Project Titan" all about?

Apple is known for its iPhones, iPads, MacBook and the Apple watch. These are the popular brands that not only loyalists but even the layman knows about, what is not popular with Apple is its own car. Yes! Apple, few years, back was rumored to be working on a secret and confidential project called, “Project Titan”. This project was all about Apple creating its own Artificial Intelligent Car Driving System. Yes, this term is popular and known to be just a Tesla thing, but Apple CEO Tim Cook told Bloomberg in 2017:

The statement wasn’t clear about what Apple intended to do with building autonomous system, but he showed his interest towards it by saying that autonomous system of self-driving cars is the most challenging. We clearly know that Apple has been very successful in Siri (AI personal assistant), and it will continue to take part in future AI projects. It has also been reported that in July of this year Apple had obtained patent from California State Department of Motor Vehicle that they want 66 vehicle permits to drive and 111 safety drivers that will sit behind the steering wheel of the autonomous system driver testing for safety purpose.

Doug Field, the previous Vice President of Apple had come back to the company after working for Tesla on Tesla Model 3. This news made it more obvious that Apple might not just want to make a system that will be sold to other automakers but there are high chances that Apple might make its own Apple branded car. This seems more obvious because Apple on its own is an all service plus product company, that makes its own hardware and its own Operating System.

All the Apple loyalists and other tech followers hope to see such an Autonomous Driving System for Cars in the near future by Apple, because it will be a breakthrough in AI sector. As Tesla also has auto drive feature but it doesn’t meet complete autonomous system for driver as it notifies the driver to stay active and also to put their hands on steering wheel for confirmation that driver is consciously active or not. Only time will tell if Apple is successful in this quest.

Artificial Intelligent Artist

Old were the days when Artificial Intelligence was a Science-fiction. We have reached a point where there are AI functions everywhere from our banking sector, to the luxury of shopping and also in our Smartphones. The AI has been making our lives more comfortable and to be precise more productive by saving our time and increasing our efficiency. 

Now that is what a normal perception about AI has been considered everywhere but have you ever heard about an Artificial Intelligence artist? YES! A painter, an algorithm, a computer that by using the AI of algorithm that was based on the data of 15000 portraits between the  14^th and 20^th century has made a painting which was planned to be auctioned. 

To the surprise of its creator, the painting has been sold 45 times of its highest estimate, for a whooping amount of “$432,500”. To catch the interest of the collectors and to create authenticity of the painting the signature of the painter, which is an equation, is signed at the bottom.

  

But to what extent is the idea of these paintings by robots a feasible idea? I think to the extent to which it has raised money. But art once used to be a source of human interaction, of what they perceive and then put that perspective into the art for others to learn and mesmerize. From the old art cave carvings to Van Gogh starry nights and the famous “Mona Lisa” art has always been an exquisite domain. The future holds much in this technological era that even we can’t imagine.

First AI News Anchor makes his debut on Screen

We all know that this era has become an era of technological miracles. Technology is advancing on regular basis and we keep on watching latest inventions and innovations. Every new day comes with a jaw dropping news which a person can hardly think of.

We have been hearing from past many years that Artificial Intelligence is swiftly progressing and in future humans will be replaced by robots. Well, the news is here finally. News Anchors around the globe and specifically in China may have a new competitor.

A TV anchor has joined a news agency in China but he isn’t a human. China State news agency Xinhua has launched an Artificial Intelligent news anchor. The anchor made a debut in World Internet Conference on Thursday.

According to XINHUA, The anchors were developed through machine learning to simulate the voice, facial movements, and gestures of real-life broadcasters to present a “a lifelike image instead of a cold robot,”

This AI anchor is the robotic version of XINHUA real life anchor Qiu Hao. The anchor on his debut said “This is my first day and I will keep you informed with every latest news as texts will be typed into my system uninterrupted. Not only can I accompany you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I can be endlessly copied and present at different scenes to bring you the news”

Walmart’s Artificially Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL)

Walmart has extended its focus on harnessing technology and modernizing its retail stores. In 2017, Walmart assembled a team of AI experts and data scientists. This team was called Kepler and its purpose was to use AI technology to revamp Walmart’s retail stores. Earlier it was speculated that Walmart is going cashier-less like Amazon Go. But last week officials at Walmart revealed that Kepler is working on building an Intelligent Retail Lab.

This IRL is not yet operational but the team has started installing the hardware and software inside of its stores in Levittown, New York. This system once installed will revolutionize the retail business. It will assist store managers in knowing when the aisles need replenishing, inform them about spills and help them in re-arranging wrongly placed items.

This Artificial Intelligent system can also help them in recording customer data. This data could be analyzed to identify shopping patterns and customer preferences. In this age of information technology, such data can help Walmart in competing with their online competitors.

If this experiment proves to be a success, Walmart will surely install such systems in all of its retail outlets. Soon competitors would follow similar strategies and we will witness how innovative technology can change the way we shop at grocery stores.