Google Street View Gives a Glimpse into Power of A.I.
The power of A.I. can reach deeper than just recommending which show to binge on Netflix. It can also be used to analyze millions of images to predict things like income, political leanings, and buying habits. Steve Lohr, Technology and Economics Reporter at The New York Times, joined us to discuss artificial intelligence's full potential when it comes to predictive analytics.
Lohr's recent piece in The New York Times highlights a Stanford study that used 50 million images from Google Street View to give a glimpse of A.I.'s ability to gather data. He explains that researchers identified 22 million cars to draw conclusions about information such as which political candidate a particular zip code favored. The project took just 2 weeks to classify all the cars. In his piece, Lohr points out that without the help of AI, it would take human experts over 15 years to accomplish that task.
This type of data collection raises concerns over privacy and issues of data access. He says most of predictive analysis has been used for commercial purposes and selling products. The use of data becomes scary when it becomes integrated into decisions such as hiring, he says, because the mistakes become more costly.
Apple has revealed that the tech giant is working more on going green, reporting the use of more recycled materials than ever before. It's setting sustainability goals, aiming to cut emissions by 75 percent in the next 10 years and eventually ending the use of plastic in packaging.
Chipotle is investing $50 million into a venture capital fund to aid tech startups that focus on operations. Chief Technology Officer Curt Garner joined Cheddar News to talk about how the fast-casual chain is innovating its brand strategy with the fund. "We look for technologies that elevate the human experience, and that human experience can occur with our customers as they come into our restaurants and very importantly our employees as well," he said.
The telecom giant AT&T is looking to make online learning more fun for students by engaging them with content from its partners at Warner Bros. Discovery. Mylayna Albright, the assistant vice president of corporate social responsibility for AT&T, joined Cheddar to discuss how the company came about with the free digital e-learning program that it's calling The Achievery. "We knew that once students went home as a result of the pandemic, it was very difficult for them, and we knew from research, specifically through Morning Consult, that parents and teachers realized that probably 80 percent of students felt that they would be more engaged if they had a more entertaining approach," she said.
