*By Conor White*
If you thought artificial intelligence took major strides in 2018, buckle up; 2019 may well be an even bigger year for the industry. What are insiders watching ー and what will make the biggest entrance in 2019? Cheddar's Crystal Ball has generated a prediction: Open source A.I., which allows information to be shared freely across many platforms.
"This isn't just like throwing a website together using open source," said Lauren deLisa Coleman, digi-cultural trend analyst for Forbes.
"This is replicating our intelligence," she said.
But there's a glaring danger that accompanies open source A.I.: It may be co-opted by bad actors.
"Technology is always neutral," Coleman told Cheddar in an interview Friday. "Until you decide to use it for good or bad."
Adding to the complexity is that A.I. is virtually unregulated.
"There aren't any standards in place. No one is really checking for cultural bias \[for example\],"deLisa Coleman said.
"We know that policy makers on the Hill are looking at this," she added.
Twenty-three percent of respondents have a negative perception of artificial intelligence, according to a study by The Brookings Institute, a number the industry would like to see shrink ー and fast.
"It's kind of astounding and terrorizing at the same time," she said of the technology.
Although many workers fear A.I. will render them irrelevant, Coleman said that theory is a product of "panic."
In fact, "we're going to see human judgement needed more than ever," Coleman added.
Rising safety concerns over water bead products marketed to kids have prompted major retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart to pull some toys off their shelves.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years.
Intel is out with a new product to challenge other big players in the space like Nvidia and AMD.
Stocks fell after the opening bell Friday but will end on another positive week.
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Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dropped below 7% to its lowest level since early August, another boost for prospective homebuyers who have largely been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.
Mortgage rates have dropped below 7% for the first time since the middle of August.
Taylor Swift grossed nearly $2 billion this year, according to Billboard.
A study from US News and World Report has found the most affordable place to retire is in Ohio.
