i3 - January/February 2017 - 23

explains Huang. As new experiences accumulate, the
network becomes more intelligent. NVIDIA has created an
energy-efficient AI supercomputer called "Jetson TX1" - a
credit-card-sized module that can process at 1 TeraFLOP
FP16 using 10 watts of energy - for intelligent IoT devices.
The company has also developed "Xavier," which Huang
calls "the most ambitious single-chip computer - the world's
first AI supercomputer chip" with seven billion transistors. It
can handle 20 trillion operations per second of deep learning
performance, the kind of expertise needed in self-driving cars
and other dynamic products.
"From real-world data, computers can learn to recognize
patterns too complex, too massive or too subtle for handcrafted software or even humans," Huang says. He cites the $10
trillion transportation industry and the healthcare sector, where
AI can detect diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and
cancer "to understand the human genome" for early treatment.
Obviously, such massive AI projects don't materialize out of
nowhere. For more than a decade, the consumer technology
world has seen the onslaught of "recommendation engines"
(such as the popular Netflix and Amazon algorithms which
make suggestions based on what similar viewers/readers
have enjoyed) and voice-activated response systems (such as
Apple's SIRI and Amazon's Echo), which (sort of ) know what
you'll want to do next. Stitch Fix, Spotify, Waze and dozens
of other services interpret information about your lifestyle,
tastes and preferences - all of which can be blended into a
personalized service once a provider wrangles all the "big
data" input into a digital "you."
Even iRobot's 15-year-old Roomba autonomous home
vacuuming device, with an estimated 10 million in service
worldwide, has a limited AI capability, able to sense dirt
spots, use its "cliff sensor" to avoid stairs and mechanisms so
that it doesn't "miss a spot" as it traverses a rug.
Google's "Daydream" and the Pixel Handset Assistant
software plus Samsung's recently-acquired Viv open AI
platform have put more attention on conversational digital
assistants that integrate natural language as an interface to
everything else your mobile device knows about you.
"Viv was built with both consumers and developers in
mind," explains Injong Rhee, CTO of Samsung's Mobile
Communications business group. "This dual focus is also
what attracted us to Viv as an ideal candidate to integrate
with Samsung home appliances, wearables and more, as the
paradigm of how we interact with technology shifts to intelligent interfaces and voice control."
The latest developments anticipate what you'll do - even
before you think about it. For example, you may start considering a new place to live after you get a new job offer. But
a networked AI system can start planning as soon as you go
job-hunting (monitoring your LinkedIn searches or your
calendar - calculating whether the job you seek may lead
to a relocation. And that sets off "anticipatory triggers" that
you may soon be looking for new appliances, insurance and
telecom service. This "early alert" capability may smooth the
C TA . t e c h / i 3

process and pressure when decision-time comes. It also can
set up relationships with potential suppliers of everything
you'll need for the move.

NEXT GENERATION ASSISTANTS

w

iidii, a hybrid personal assistant, typifies the implementation of machine learning and the growing
appeal of personifying the machine.
"The more you use Wiidii, the more he gets
to know you and provide you with personalized answers,"
explains Cédric Dumas, founder and CEO of the three-yearold Bordeaux, France, company, which is making its first
CES appearance at Eureka Park. The software uses machine
learning, automation and AI to enable "a real conversation
with your personal assistant for the first time," Dumas adds.
Users can enter queries by voice or text to conduct a "real
conversation with their hybrid personal assistant, who provides a relevant and personalized answer," he says.
Wiidii ("he" as Dumas calls the digital personality) keeps
track of personal documents securely, including passport,
driver's license, blood type card, vaccination card and
membership cards that may be needed for transactions.
Unlike similar systems, Wiidii is a hybrid combination of
AI and human intelligence, using qualified concierges.
"Most requests can be handled by the AI," Dumas says.
"However, if the AI cannot answer requests considered as
'complex', the human will answer instead. Also, if the user
wants an appointment at the doctor's for instance, the
concierge will call the doctor to make the appointment."
"Thanks to Wiidii's mix between AI and human know-how,
all their requests are carefully handled," Dumas adds.
Initially Wiidii is focused on travel and daily scheduling
activities, including price comparisons and reservations,
accessing existing extensive databases. Wiidii does not store
credit/debit card information or financial data, which are
useful but confidential Dumas says. It also does not keep
users' private medical information other than blood type for
emergency use. It encrypts other data.
Dumas is targeting this "B2B2C solution" to travel companies
(hotels, airlines, tour operators) and automakers, among others.
Air France, Hertz Europe, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrés
in Cannes and other venues are using or testing Wiidii.
The growing roster of AI products has triggered concerns
about privacy, security and simply letting people think for
themselves. Indeed, one hurdle that concerns some is an
unwarranted backlash from technophobes and some careful
warnings about managing AI development.
"The thing that could hold back technology the most is to
make some horrible early AI mistakes," says Andrew W. Moore,
dean of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer
Science. He warns that being too cautious during experimentation could send a signal to society to give up on AI because
of worries about the danger of the technology. Moore says
that wouldn't be smart. Or a philosophical AI device, who has
studied DesCartes, may simply intone: "Cogito ergo sum." n
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017

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i3 - January/February 2017

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