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IBM Goes All-In With Smart Cloud Software; Alarms Raised Over ‘Data Poisoning’
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Welcome back. IBM last week announced plans to spin off an information-technology infrastructure unit as part of its focus on cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The move underscores the growing importance of smart software for businesses, an area that IBM sees as a potential cash cow. But the rapid expansion of AI is also creating new security vulnerabilities, not least an opening for hackers to outsmart smart algorithms.
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A unit IBM plans to spin off into a new company will focus on AI and automation, helping enterprises make their infrastructure more efficient. PHOTO: CHRIS J. RATCLIFFE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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IBM Bets on AI
Seeking to shake off a lost decade in the enterprise IT market, the century-old company last week said it would spin off an infrastructure-management unit to focus on cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Room to grow. “We are only 20 to 25 percent of our way into the cloud journey. We are only 4 percent of the way into the AI journey,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said.
Setting the stage. The company's acquisition last year of software company Red Hat underpins the technology and economics behind the move, WSJ’s Steven Rosenbush reports.
Who’s buying. IBM’s push into emerging tech “will make them a better partner for companies like ours, as we look to further innovate with data and AI,” said Edward Wagoner, digital CIO at commercial real-estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle.
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General Motors Buys Into AR Venture
The auto giant’s venture capital arms last week teamed up with China’s SAIC Motor Corp. to acquire minority stakes in a startup that develops augmented-reality tools for autonomous vehicles, WSJ reports.
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World through a windshield. Envisics Inc. makes hardware and software that projects holographic information showing drivers how a car’s autonomous systems see the road ahead.
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How it works. A holographic modulator and processing chip under the dashboard uses AI-enabled software to superimpose information and graphics from multiple depths, up to roughly 425 feet.
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“If it works, it could be a turning point, similar to the one at Microsoft…If it doesn’t work, it could be a turning point of a different sort.”
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— Gartner Inc. analyst Daryl Plummer on IBM’s push into cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
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Artificial intelligence is now in such widespread use that using faulty data to train algorithms could have real consequences, scientists say.
PHOTO: FRED TANNEAU/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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New Tech, New Vulnerabilities
Companies need to pay closer attention to the integrity and security of data used to feed an ever-growing array of algorithms, according to security and AI experts, WSJ’s James Rundle reports.
Phony data. Using a strategy known as data poisoning, hackers can inject false information to mistrain algorithms, reduce their effectiveness and create future avenues to attack, said Tim Bandos, chief information security officer at security company Digital Guardian Inc.
Real dangers. Elham Tabassi, chief of staff for the Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, cited studies showing attackers can trick autonomous cars into missing stop signs.
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An Infosys campus in India. Outsourcing firms could be hurt by the new H-1B visa rules.
PHOTO: KAREN DIAS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Visa Restrictions
A move last week by the Trump administration to clamp down on H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign tech workers is likely to shrink the pool of job candidates with advanced skills in artificial intelligence, recruiters say.
Tougher rules. The overhaul requires U.S. employers to pay H-1B holders the same wages as American workers for similar jobs, while narrowing the types of credentials needed for foreign job applicants to qualify for stateside jobs
Why now. The White House says the changes were needed to protect American workers from being undercut by foreign workers on H-1B visas, who are typically paid lower wages to perform similar jobs.
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201,011
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Total applications filed last year by U.S. employers for H-1B foreign worker visas, which are capped at 85,000 a year, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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The WSJ Pro AI Executive Forum takes place on Oct. 28, convening business executives to discuss digital transformation and artificial intelligence. Topics will include what Covid-19 has taught us about AI, navigating the ethical issues and how to find talent. You can view the full agenda and registration details here.
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Walmart began including digital technology experts on its board nearly a decade ago as it faced increased pressure from Amazon.com. Pictured: Walmart Labs, the tech arm of Walmart, in Carlsbad, Calif. PHOTO: MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS
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CIOs in the boardroom. Companies are expected to name more chief information officers to corporate boards in the year ahead, reflecting the rise of AI-enabled digital business models during the pandemic. (WSJ)
Adobe adds smart tools. The Photoshop maker is adding a set of AI capabilities to its digital marketing software designed to help companies target new customers with the right images and text. (Reuters)
Self-driving bulldozers. Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar is pushing a line of autonomous machines in a bid to mitigate losses from a coronavirus-driven slowdown in construction. (Reuters)
Microsoft nabs election malware. The software giant said it used a court order to disrupt a major cybercrime effort leveraging more than one million zombie computers to spread malicious software on government networks ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. (Associated Press)
Automated bill of health. Israel-based startup Nym Health has raised $16.5 million to develop auditable machine learning tools for automating hospital billing systems, with backers including Google's investment arm. (Yahoo)
Food for thought. A group of researchers that tapped machine learning to parse some 500,000 studies on world food systems has estimated the cost of ending world hunger at just $14 billion a year over the next decade. (Gizmodo)
Here’s mud in your eye. Researchers at Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology are feeding data from thousands of whiskey reviews into machine-learning algorithms to develop a lexicon of the terms used in tasting and describing whiskey. (Wine Enthusiast Magazine)
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Facebook said it would begin removing Holocaust denials or distortions from its social-media platforms, a move that follows years of complaints from civil-rights groups that the company tolerated hate speech and enabled the spread of misinformation. (WSJ)
Disney said it is reorganizing its operations to give priority to its streaming video businesses, creating new units that will produce content for digital and traditional platforms, in a shift that echoes similar moves by other entertainment giants. (WSJ)
Twilio agreed to acquire a software provider that focuses on helping businesses track and manage customer data, a $3.2 billion deal that comes as companies rethink how they reach consumers who are spending more time at home during the pandemic. (WSJ)
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