This week’s list of top data news highlights covers June 22, 2024 to June 28, 2024, and includes articles on using an AI algorithm to diagnose Parkinson’s disease early and the first robot-powered Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles.
1. Revamping Virtual Companionship
Character AI, a California-based startup offering AI-generated characters that people can chat with, has launched a feature allowing users to call their AI chatbot companions. The free call feature will use AI to generate custom voices for each character, thus making interactions between the chatbots and users seem more authentic.
Softbank Group, a Tokyo-based multinational investment company, has partnered with a U.S.-based precision medicine company called Tempus AI to launch AI-powered medical services in Japan for cancer treatment. The new services will use machine learning algorithms to analyze genetic and medical data from millions of patients in the United States and Japan to offer personalized treatments for cancer, the biggest cause of death in Japan.
Unistellar, a French-based company that makes smart telescopes, is rolling out new smart binoculars called Envision that integrate augmented reality to identify and label thousands of stars, celestial objects, and landmarks like mountains and trails. Envision binoculars connect to a mobile app to access a vast database containing geographical and astronomical data, which it then uses to provide contextual information in real-time while users are observing objects and landmarks.
The town of Bethany Beach in Delaware has launched a digital tool that uses data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide beachgoers with almost real-time data on beach safety, such as storm activity and ocean conditions, like water temperature.
5. Diagnosing Parkinson’s Early
Researchers at University College London (UCL) and University Medical Center Goettingen in Germany have developed a blood test that uses an AI algorithm to diagnose Parkinson’s disease up to seven years before symptoms appear. The test, which analyzes eight specific proteins in the blood, showed 79 percent accuracy in identifying biomarkers like those in Parkinson’s patients when scientists tested it on individuals with rapid eye movement disorder, a condition linked to higher Parkinson’s risk.
A California-based startup called Jobright has created an AI-powered job search platform to assist foreign workers in the United States. The platform uses large language models (LLMs) to provide personalized job recommendations, help identify job opportunities that provide visa sponsorship, and suggest professionals on LinkedIn to seek referrals from, helping foreign workers find U.S. jobs easier and faster.
7. Recommending Virtual Content
The co-founder of Goodreads, a book tracking and recommendation app, has launched a new app called Smashing that uses AI to recommend online content to users based on their interests. Users will have 30 votes per day to give thumbs up or down to recommended content, as well as the ability to submit their own content, helping the algorithm better curate the content.
Google is introducing 110 new languages spoken by at least one million people to Google Translate thanks to its PaLM 2 AI language model, which is particularly good at translating closely related languages and dialects, such as French-based creole languages. The list of newly added languages includes Cantonese, traditionally hard to translate because of its overlap with Mandarin, and Afar, a language spoken in Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.
9. Detecting Medical Emergencies
CENSIS, Scotland’s innovation center for sensing, imaging, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, has partnered with several public and private organizations to develop an AI-powered IoT device that monitors the well-being of older or vulnerable people living alone. The device uses smart meter data to track household appliance usage, using machine learning to monitor the use of power in 10-second intervals. The device detects anomalies in daily routines that may indicate emergencies or health issues and alerts family members or caregivers in case of an emergency.
10. Cooking Affordably
Tigawok, the first robot-powered Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles, uses automated wok cooking machines to prepare traditional Chinese dishes quickly and affordably. Tigawok aims to offer more authentic Chinese flavors compared to Americanized chains while using robots to ensure consistency of flavors and keep prices low for customers.
Image credit: Sean Pierce
