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Facial Recognition Nabs Capitol Rioters; Smart Chip Shortage Stalls Auto Makers
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Welcome back. At least one police department is using advanced facial-recognition software to identify individuals involved in last week’s attack on the Capitol. Several more law enforcement agencies across the country are known to possess the same platform, developed by Clearview AI Inc. The growing list of benefits of facial recognition and other AI-powered tools for police and the military is driving efforts to boost R&D funding for federal agencies and university researchers.
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A notice from the FBI asking for assistance in identifying people who entered the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. PHOTO: FBI HANDOUT/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Police in Oxford, Ala., are turning to facial recognition tools to identify suspects in last week’s riot at the Capitol, sending any leads to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, WSJ’s Jared Council reports.
How it works. Officers in Oxford, a city of 21,000 people about 60 miles east of Birmingham, are running images from the rampage into software developed by Clearview AI Inc., relaying any matches to investigators in DC, says Sgt. Jason Webb.
What photos? Clearview, which is used by some 2,400 law enforcement agencies in the U.S., has compiled a database of more than 3 billion photos by scraping websites, including social media pages, the company says.
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Defense Bill Boosts AI Funding
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Overriding a veto by President Trump, the $740.5 billion federal defense bill, passed earlier this month, allots more than $6.3 billion to artificial-intelligence research and development efforts, as well as other provisions aimed at bolstering the U.S.’s prowess in emerging technology, WSJ Pro AI reports.
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New AI office. In addition to funding, the bill also calls for the creation of a White House office and a task force charged with coordinating national efforts to advance AI and laying the groundwork for a research cloud.
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Better access. The effort would enable AI researchers at universities and across the country to tap a level of cloud-based computing power on par with the likes of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc.
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“By and large, there are still no laws governing how and when this technology can be used, and who can run searches for whom.”
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— Clare Garvie, a facial-recognition researcher at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law
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A Toyota facility in San Antonio. The company now plans on making roughly 40% fewer of its full-size Tundra pickups here than forecast for the month of January.
PHOTO: LUKE SHARRETT/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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A shortage of computer chips sparked by the pandemic is hitting the auto sector, which in recent years has emerged as a major consumer of computer chips, including smart chips used in a growing number of electric vehicles and autonomous-driving features, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Idling car plants. Ford is planning to shut down its Louisville, Ky., factory for a week starting Monday, due to the shortage, while Honda Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and others expect to reduce output of some vehicles.
Covid impact. With many people stuck at home, demand for electronics has surged during the pandemic, with the global chip industry struggling to meet demand.
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General Motors last week unveiled a new corporate logo, its first major logo change since 1964, reflecting a $27 billion investment in electric and autonomous vehicles over the next five years, Reuters reports.
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Generally electric. GM says the “m” in its new logo represents an electrical plug to highlight its goal of launching 30 new electric vehicles by 2025.
A powerful statement. “There are moments in history when everything changes,” GM Global Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl said about the company's shift to electric vehicles.
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150
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Typical number of computer chips in most higher-end cars, according to Guidehouse Insights.
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Nurses do a health assessment at a free drive-through Covid-19 vaccination clinic in Pearl, Miss., on Jan. 5. AI-powered tools are designed to lessen the load of incoming calls for vaccination information and scheduling queries handled by call-center staff.
PHOTO: BARBARA GAUNTT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Software takes on Covid-19. Hyro Inc. and other AI developers are helping hospitals manage phone lines jammed with callers seeking information on the Covid-19 vaccination. Smart software is also being used to speed up virus testing and screening. (The Wall Street Journal)
Skip the returns. Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and other companies are using AI to decide whether it makes economic sense to process a return. (The Wall Street Journal). In many cases it is often cheaper to refund the purchase price and let customers keep the products:
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'Tis the season for returns. E-commerce returns could total as much as $70.5 billion for this past holiday season alone. That's a 73% jump from the previous five-year average, according to CBRE Group Inc.
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The 'keep it' algo. A Walmart spokeswoman said the “keep it” option is designed for merchandise it doesn’t plan to resell and is determined by customers’ purchase history, the value of the products and the cost of processing the returns.
Pandemic drives AI adoption. Covid-19 is driving corporate investments in AI from a “nice-to-have” capability to a full-blown business imperative for adding value to workflows, augmenting productivity and improving customer services. (CIO)
Baidu eyes smart-car market. Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc. says it plans to form a company to build smart electric vehicles at plants owned by auto maker Geely, taking a majority stake in the new venture. (Reuters)
Drug repurposing tool. Researchers at Ohio State University are developing a machine-learning application designed to speed up the process of identifying medications that can help treat diseases for which they were not intended. (Ohio State News)
'Deep state' meets deep learning. University of California researchers are using an AI-powered tool to flag unfounded conspiracy theories by matching narratives to known facts in the real world. (Daily Express)
Road map for U.K.. The AI Council, a nongovernmental group of academics and tech industry leaders, has published guidelines for developing a state strategy, including recommendations for research and development, skills and diversity and adoption in the health, climate and defense sectors. (ComputerWeekly)
Smarter wildlife preservation. Game wardens in Gabon’s Lopé National Park are using motion-triggered cameras outfitted with image recognition tools to identify and track dozens of rainforest animals in a bid to better manage conservation efforts (The Independent)
The jump to lightspeed. Scientists are testing photonic processors that offer the promise of harnessing energy from light to power AI software, lessening the need for increasing levels of compute power needed to run smart algorithms in a range of tools and devices. (Nature)
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Facebook said Monday it is removing all content mentioning “stop the steal,” a phrase popular among supporters of President Trump’s claims about the election, as part of a raft of emergency measures to stem misinformation and incitements to violence on its platform in the lead-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. (WSJ)
Social-media platform Parler sued Amazon in a complaint filed Monday in Seattle federal court, after the tech giant abruptly ended web-hosting services to the company, effectively halting its operation. (WSJ)
Stripe said it will no longer process payments for President Trump’s campaign website following last week’s riot at the Capitol, according to people familiar with the matter. (WSJ)
Ride-sharing giants Lyft and Uber Technologies are lobbying the incoming Biden administration for a role in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, offering to help get more Americans inoculated while seeking early access to doses for drivers. (WSJ)
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