This week in AI and Machine Learning: Bad news for an AI-based rapper, tech for detecting Parkinson’s while patients sleep, and more.
A Note from the Author
Last week’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) represents the most comprehensive response Washington has ever made to climate change. In addition to offering incentives to enterprises who invest in green technologies and eliminate waste, the IRA empowers the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose fines on organizations for excess emissions. This month, EPA regulators conducted helicopter flyovers above the Permian Basin in Texas, a region responsible for 40% of the nation’s methane emissions. The EPA deployed computer vision models to detect invisible gas leaks and determine which organizations were failing to meet sustainability and safety standards. Learn more about how computer vision can help enterprises meet ambitious environmental goals and stay ahead of evolving regulations.
Artificial Intelligence News
Capitol Records Quickly Drops AI Rapper
Less than two weeks after issuing FN Meka’s debut single, “Florida Water,” Capitol Records announced that it was no longer representing the AI-generated rapper. Developed with the help of data from social media and video games, FN Meka amassed millions of followers on TikTok before signing with Capitol. Responses to Capitol’s decision and FN Meka’s music were almost categorically negative, inspiring the quick reversal.
Speaking to Music Business Worldwide on August 12th, Capitol’s Executive VP of Experiential Marketing & Business Development touted the move as in keeping with the company’s “history of innovation” and “a preview of what’s to come.”
On Tuesday, August 23rd, however, Capitol released a statement severing ties with FN Meka. This news came after backlash from organizations including the non-profit Industry Blackout, who called for a public apology on the 23rd. The label obliged with its official statement. “We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community,” it reads “for our insensitivity in signing this project without asking enough questions about equity and the creative process behind it.” Learn more about the tumultuous month the team behind FN Meka have had.
Is LaMDA Sentient? Users Could Soon Learn for Themselves
LaMDA, Google’s new AI-powered chatbot, has been one of tech world’s hottest topics ever since engineer Blake Lemoine claimed it had achieved sentience. Lemoine was placed on leave and he and Google have since parted ways. While experts were generally skeptical of Lemoine’s claims, people everywhere could soon see for themselves just how impressive LaMDA’s conversational powers have grown.
Google announced this week that a trio of LaMDA demos would coincide with the official launch of its AI Test Kitchen. The app, available to both iOS and Android users, allows people to test new tools and offer feedback to Google researchers. Users are invited to sign up and join a waiting list to try out the AI Test Kitchen as it is gradually introduced over the next several months.
Detecting Subtle Signs of Parkinson’s with AI
Parkinson’s disease is prevalent, potentially deadly, and often difficult to diagnose. Many of the condition’s telltale signs – including tremors and muscle stiffness – only become obvious after the disease has progressed over several years. A pair of MIT researchers has published the results of their efforts to develop an AI-based approach for assessing the severity of Parkinson’s Disease through respiratory data collected while patients sleep.
The cost-cutting, potentially revolutionary AI relies on a small device about the size of a Wi-Fi router. This device captures breathing patterns and feeds them into a neural network where they’re analyzed for subtle signs of Parkinson’s. Since respiratory symptoms tend to manifest before others, the researchers are hopeful their developments can lead to quicker diagnoses and more effective treatment plans – particularly for patients who can’t access advanced medical centers. Read this summary of the project to learn more.
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About the Author & Plainsight
Bennett Glace is a B2B technology content writer and cinephile from Philadelphia. He helps Plainsight in its mission to make vision AI accessible to entire enterprise teams.
Plainsight’s vision AI platform streamlines and optimizes the full computer vision lifecycle. From project strategy, through model deployment, and ongoing monitoring, Plainsight helps customers successfully create and operationalize vision AI applications to solve highly diverse business challenges.
