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It’s never been more important to address diversity in AI (BETAKIT)
RBC’s Chief Science Officer & Head of Borealis AI, Foteini Agrafioti, analyzes the risks and progress of diversity in AI.
Elon Musk had twins last year with one of his top executives (INSIDER)
Elon Musk quietly had twins last November with Shivon Zilis, a Canadian-connected top executive at his company Neuralink. Shortly after it was revealed, Musk said that he plans to significantly increase the childcare benefits at his companies.
Ecopia AI announces $8 million SDTC partnership to create 3D vector maps of Canadian cities (BETAKIT)
By constructing standardized, digital representations of cities, Ecopia hopes to help municipal stakeholders better understand and manage their cities. The digital mapping data created through this project will support sustainability-related initiatives and the Government of Canada’s goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Another fatal Tesla crash is being investigated by US safety regulators (TECHCRUNCH)
The investigation, which was opened in July, is the latest in a long string of inquiries by NHTSA’s Special Investigations program into crashes involving Tesla vehicles. This fatal crash, in which a pedestrian was killed, involved a 2018 Tesla Model 3 in California.
Ford, VW-backed Argo AI lays off 150 workers, slows hiring (TECHCRUNCH)
The layoffs account for about 5% of its more than 2,000 global workforce, according to sources familiar with the company’s actions. The layoffs were widespread, affecting talent recruiters, digital media and communications employees as well as members of its operations teams, a review of LinkedIn profiles shows.
BetaKit Live: How to use data to survive a downturn (BETAKIT)
In partnership with Mozart Data, BetaKit will present a livestream panel conversation on how startups can use data to survive the current downturn. Featuring both US and Canadian VCs, the panel will identify the metrics your company needs to keep a close eye on in a downturn, and how to take action based upon what the metrics tell you.
AI-powered technology will be used to speed up VAR offside calls at World Cup (THE GUARDIAN)
Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) will see a complete overhaul of the system used to judge ‘positional’ offside decisions in the lead-up to a goal. While a referee and their assistant will still make on-field calls and the referee will have a final say on SAOT decisions, the controversial practice of rewinding TV footage will be a thing of the past.
Meta open sources early-stage AI translation tool that works across 200 languages (THE VERGE)
Machine translation not only allows Meta to better understand its users (and so improve the advertising systems that generate 97 percent of its revenue) but could also be the foundation of a killer app for future projects like its augmented reality glasses.
FinTech chatbot startup Finn AI gets acquired by former partner Glia (BETAKIT)
“Until now, none of the financial services bot vendors have been able to achieve widespread adoption on their own,” said Glia CEO Dan Michaeli. Finn and Glia previously worked together to build an integrated chatbot into Glia’s digital customer service platform in 2020. According to Finn, the chatbot is able to understand and process over five hundred common banking queries and tasks.
Why business is booming for military AI startups (MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW)
Exactly two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Alexander Karp, the CEO of data analytics company Palantir, made his pitch to European leaders. With war on their doorstep, Europeans ought to modernize their arsenals with Silicon Valley’s help.