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The Morning Download: Conagra CIO Develops AI-Enabled Platform to Capitalize on Food Trends
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Good day, CIOs. For the packaged-foods old guard, changing consumer tastes pose both a threat and an opportunity. As is the case with numerous other industries in the middle of transition, data in the abstract is not the issue. The food revolution has been televised. It has also been blogged, Instagrammed and spelled out in the froth of this morning's macchiato. Instead the real challenge lies in capturing, analyzing and acting upon that data.
The CIO as tastemaker. Mindy Simon, chief information officer at Conagra Brands Inc., talks with CIO Journal's Sara Castellanos about the development of an AI platform that pulls in and crunches data from a variety of social media and market-research sources to identify “pockets of growth” for product expansion.
Meet the “flexitarians.” Insights from the tool, which evolved from a strategy spearheaded in mid-2017 by Ms. Simon and Darren Serrao, Conagra’s co-chief operating officer, to identify “flexitarians” who have mostly plant-based diets but eat meat occasionally. That discovery led to the June rollout of grain-free varieties of the Healthy Choice Power Bowl.
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Faster food. Conagra's efforts come as many of the products the industry has come to rely on for decades fall out of favor, the result of increased competition, as well as changing consumer preferences and health-conscious trends. That's where technology plays a role. The faster a business can identify food trends the faster it can roll out products to meet those demands.
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A robotic hand held a cube at an OpenAI research lab in San Francisco last year. In March, the artificial-intelligence startup revamped its legal structure to raise more money. PHOTO: ERIC LOUIS HAINES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Microsoft to invest $1 billion in AI startup. Microsoft Corp. and startup OpenAI LP said they would jointly develop supercomputing technologies for Azure.
Towards a more general AI. OpenAI, launched in 2015, focuses on artificial general intelligence, where machines, instead of being narrowly focused on specific tasks, have the capacity to learn tasks the way human beings do. It competes with Alphabet Inc.’s DeepMind Technologies and others.
Another partnership for Microsoft. As part of the deal, OpenAI will run its services on Azure and use Microsoft as its preferred partner to commercialize its AI technologies. (WSJ)
Facial recognition tech still riddled with demographic biases. A July report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology finds disparities on how some of the more popular algorithms work on different demographic groups with black females receiving the highest false match rate. (Wired)
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The deal, which includes a roughly $5 billion fine, would end a lengthy probe into the tech giant’s privacy practices but wouldn’t relieve it of regulatory scrutiny. PHOTO: MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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FTC set to unveil terms of $5 billion Facebook settlement. The Federal Trade Commission is expected to announce a settlement with the tech giant over its privacy practices as soon as this week. As part of the deal, Facebook Inc. plans to form a board committee for privacy oversight. (WSJ)
Microsoft to pay $25 million to settle foreign bribery probe. The penalty stems from a Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into how various Microsoft subsidiary organizations sought favor with foreign officials through software license discounts and other payments. (WSJ)
Britain delays announcement on Huawei. The government said it is evaluating the impact of actions taken by Washington against Huawei Technologies Co. before announcing a decision on whether the telecom giant will help build out its fifth-generation network. (Reuters)
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If the deal goes through, Apple would take advantage of Intel’s yearslong push to develop modem chips for the crucial next generation of wireless technology known as 5G. PHOTO: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
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Apple in advanced talks to buy Intel’s smartphone-modem chip business. Such a deal, covering a portfolio of patents and staff valued at $1 billion or more, would give Apple Inc. access to engineering work and talent behind Intel Corp.’s push to develop modem chips for 5G, potentially saving years of development work. (WSJ)
Congress moves toward ban on buying Chinese buses, railcars over spy fears. Advocates say the ban is needed to protect an American industry from subsidized Chinese competition. They also claim cameras, location trackers and other gear in Chinese buses and trains could provide surveillance and strategic information to China’s authoritarian government. (WSJ)
Straphangers demand answers. Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members called for a review of cybersecurity and systems Monday following two computer glitches that snarled New York City’s subway. Thousands of riders were stuck Friday during evening rush hour after an outage on a computer system that controls signals and switches on most numbered subway lines. A similar outage struck the same system on Saturday, July 6. (WSJ)
Starbucks takes stake in tech company. Starbucks Corp. said it is taking a stake in a digital technology company called Brightloom to speed up its offering of mobile ordering and payment options at its global stores to improve customer convenience. (WSJ)
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Everything Else You Need to Know
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Congressional and White House negotiators reached a bipartisan deal to raise federal spending and lift the government’s debt limit. (WSJ)
Coca-Cola Co. plans to sell an alcoholic, lemon-flavored fizzy drink nationwide in Japan, following what it says was a successful test of the 133-year-old company’s first cocktail. (WSJ)
The prolonged grounding of Boeing Co.'s 737 MAX is rippling through the U.S. economy, hurting the nation’s trade balance and clouding the outlook for airlines, suppliers and their tens of thousands of workers. (WSJ)
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