China can avert viral destruction in three ways
By Jennifer Dunphy | Jan 27, 2023
China recently ended its zero-COVID policy. Unfortunately, the ensuing wave of COVID-19 cases was worsened by the greater contagiousness of the latest strain and is overwhelming the country’s healthcare system—especially in rural areas ill-equipped for the outbreak. The situation is dire, but China can still avert damage and prepare for future viral surges.
Google's new AI tool drives equity for darker skin tones
Millions of people search the web daily for images that reflect their unique dermatological needs, but scarce data under-represents people of color and other marginalized populations. The Yuan’s Oladimeji Ewumi relates how Harvard Prof Ellis Monk and Google Research teamed to redress this inequity.
The great chip war
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has rightfully grabbed many of the headlines over the past year, but an equally consequential development has been the intensifying economic clash between the US and China, including severe restrictions imposed on the export to China of advanced chips and other high-tech goods made using American tech.
An epic AI Debate - and why everyone should fret over AI in 2023
A time capsule of AI thought leaders participating in a video debate in 2022 serves up a bounty of food for thought that will remain of interest for years to come. AI holds plenty of promise, but major grounds for concern are its less benevolent aspects and the inescapable reality that it still falls far short.
AI must serve the common interest
AI has already delivered huge benefits to humanity and is poised to continue to do so, but a dearth of rules and transparency has allowed faulty or biased algorithms to frequently discriminate against those they are intended to help, reinforcing and aggravating existing inequalities. Change is clearly needed, but solutions remain elusive, two UN health and social sciences officials explain.
Make the most of the Summit of the Future
The UN is planning the Summit of the Future in September 2024, which will provide a good opportunity for humanity to form a more coherent response to the huge and mounting challenges it faces, but much remains to be done in the interim to ensure this summit truly lives up to its billing.
Data ownership and open health: A revolution in healthcare?The idea of owning one’s data is not new, though scattered data is a big obstacle to this ideal, above all in healthcare. Brazil has a potential solution, informatizing and integrating health data among private and public systems. Patients’ full access to and ownership of their data will lessen chances of their misuse and allow compensation for their use by others. Gustavo Meirelles, vice president and chief medical officer at Brazil’s second-largest diagnostic imager Alliar Group, elaborates.
Saudi Arabia is likely to become a top 10 AI country - and most of the world has not noticedWhen people think of Saudi Arabia, they often think of its vast oil reserves and its role as one of the most important countries in the Islamic world, not to mention OPEC. Yet when it comes to AI, Saudi Arabia receives far less attention than the neighboring UAE, but in recent years it has been quietly building itself into an AI power to wean itself off oil and transform its capabilities.
Computer vision AI offers hope in diagnosing, treating skin disorders
Computer vision AI shows promise in detecting and treating skin cancer, lesions, and other skin disorders, capturing better images of them, more easily distinguishing benign and malignant lesions, and raising the odds of successful treatment. The risk of bias remains, as does the inability to diagnose rare skin conditions, explains Dipro Chakraborty, director of Digital Architecture at AI healthcare firm TurningPoint.
Algorithms, algorithms, algorithms
AI and analytics expert Scott Burk took a close look at the true nature of models and how they work in his first article in this series. He now turns his focus on algorithms, questioning what precisely they are, and what their key function is in many technical fields.
Small sample size problems: learning from very few training examples
Conventional wisdom often holds that huge amounts of data are necessary to train models and algorithms to make them more accurate. However, this is not always feasible. Sometimes one must figure out how to learn and do the best one can from data that are available, even if they are not ideal.
The Yuan favorites
Generic
AI must serve the common interest
AI has already delivered huge benefits to humanity and is poised to continue to do so, but a dearth of rules and transparency has allowed faulty or biased algorithms to frequently discriminate against those they are intended to help, reinforcing and aggravating existing inequalities. Change is clearly needed, but solutions remain elusive, two UN health and social sciences officials explain.
Generic
Make the most of the Summit of the Future
The UN is planning the Summit of the Future in September 2024, which will provide a good opportunity for humanity to form a more coherent response to the huge and mounting challenges it faces, but much remains to be done in the interim to ensure this summit truly lives up to its billing.
Generic
The age of megathreats
The world has changed drastically during the past few years, with economic crises, deglobalization, wars, pandemics, and climate change all upending lives and sowing fears about the future. Many problems that seemed abstract or remote not long ago are now part and parcel of the present and future, and demand urgent, smart responses to avoid catastrophes and get the world back on a solid footing, warns NYU Professor Emeritus of Economics Nouriel Roubini.
Generic
The end of real social networks
Social networks and social media have evolved from platforms to connect with friends and acquaintances into those more geared to advertising and the consumption of information. This becomes problematic as people get sorted into ‘bubbles’ by algorithms that feed them more content they want to see, thus reinforcing existing biases, a problem worsened by the speed at which falsehoods and disinformation spread. Unlike previous new forms of media, social media is fundamentally changing how societies work and humans interact. MIT Economics Prof Daron Acemoglu explains.
New era
What to expect when one is expecting...GPT-4
ChatGPT became a sensation last year for its ability to spit out human-like text in response to questions. This year is almost certain to see the release of GPT-4, which promises to be even more impressive. Will GPT-4 represent the next step on the path to even greater advances, or will it be a major breakthrough in and of itself?
New era
The Yuan takes to the air in new AI podcast series
Starting today, The Yuan will be airing a podcast series to allow our audience to experience our AI content in a convenient, immediate sound format. Our vibrant panel of expert guests will weigh in on the latest topics and developments in AI in lively exchanges that will seek to reveal what’s really going on behind the scenes.
New era
Is this the cusp of a new era?
Huge changes have taken place in the world in the past three years, though whether these mark the beginning of a new era is still uncertain, and if so, what that era might look like.
New era
Africa can leapfrog to the latest healthtech
Africa is strapped for healthcare workers even as it faces a slew of endemic diseases. Innovative personalization, prevention, and education driven by digital healthtech are the answers to the second-largest continent’s staffing woes and disproportional disease burden, argues telemedicine platform and online pharmacy CEO Yaya Mbaoua.
Post-pandemic
The RNA vaccine revolution: how did Moderna change the game?
mRNA vaccines are not new but are now receiving far more attention as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccines and the speed with which they were rolled out was especially notable and holds great promise for other future applications post-pandemic.
Post-pandemic
Fixing the world’s public health data problem is critical
Issues of inadequate or missing data collection, and fragmented, incompatible health systems hampered the response to COVID-19 and threaten to do so in future outbreaks. Fortunately, several possible solutions could at least partly remedy this problem.
Post-pandemic
COVID experts have solutions for the aging immune system
During their studies of COVID-19 and the organ damage it can cause, experts have learned more about organs themselves, as well as the human immune system and immune responses to pathogens and are devising ways to slow or even reverse the decline in aging immune systems.
Post-pandemic
An automated machine learning COVID-19 pipeline
Researcher Parisa Naraei details how AI chatbots glean better data and attain fuller analyses, faster insights, and precision answers in the war against COVID-19 and relates the nuts and bolts of crafting these conversational AI apps.
Metaverse
What does Meta AI’s diplomacy-winning Cicero mean for AI? (Hint: It’s not all about scaling)
Meta’s new AI, called Cicero, is able to successfully strategize and negotiate with humans in playing the game Diplomacy, and it may have the potential to surpass other AI that play games such as Go and chess. Nevertheless, much remains unknown, and it could be a long time before its implications for AI as a whole are fully understood.
Metaverse
Life and crime in the meta-thingy: Introduction
‘Seeing is believing.’ The Four Imaginary Friends dispute the nature of truth vs. semblance as they seek to pick apart the fundamental nature of Web 3.0 and the metaverse and their distinctions and overlap.
Metaverse
Metaverse in medicine: hope or dope?
Much has been made of the Metaverse and its potential for change, and this is certainly so in healthcare. Amid all the hype, it is important to take a look at what the Metaverse actually is and what is now possible as this gives insights into which aspects have the most success, which have not, and what the future of the Metaverse in medicine and other fields is.
Optimization
Google's new AI tool drives equity for darker skin tones
Millions of people search the web daily for images that reflect their unique dermatological needs, but scarce data under-represents people of color and other marginalized populations. The Yuan’s Oladimeji Ewumi relates how Harvard Prof Ellis Monk and Google Research teamed to redress this inequity.
Optimization
An epic AI Debate - and why everyone should fret over AI in 2023
A time capsule of AI thought leaders participating in a video debate in 2022 serves up a bounty of food for thought that will remain of interest for years to come. AI holds plenty of promise, but major grounds for concern are its less benevolent aspects and the inescapable reality that it still falls far short.
Optimization
AI eases cardiovascular disease prediction
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital devised a deep-learning model that predicts a person's 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease using a single chest X-ray. They presented the study result during the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in November, The Yuan contributor Oladimeji Ewumi reports.
Optimization
Baidu Research releases its top 10 tech trends for 2023
As one of China’s most well-established and preeminent tech companies, Baidu is at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and breakthroughs in areas like self-driving cars, robots, and quantum computing. 2023 marks the fourth year Baidu has released its top 10 trends and, in 2023 and beyond, plenty of exciting developments are likely in store for both China and the rest of the world.
Governance
The great chip war
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has rightfully grabbed many of the headlines over the past year, but an equally consequential development has been the intensifying economic clash between the US and China, including severe restrictions imposed on the export to China of advanced chips and other high-tech goods made using American tech.
Governance
ASEAN governments regulate AI Software as a Medical Device
The COVID-19 pandemic tested the efficiency of healthcare, especially in emerging markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Most of the industry’s pain points are being solved and automated by AI, and these solutions continue to learn and evolve as they crunch reams of data, but the question remains: Are the regulations ready to catch up with fast-learning AI software in the market?
Governance
Public health funding today keeps the doctor away
America’s chronic underinvestment in public health and disease prevention left it poorly prepared for the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the pandemic begins to wane, such mistakes are being repeated as public health spending is being cut back. A more proactive approach is needed to improve Americans’ health, increase the country’s readiness for the next pandemic, and free up funds to be spent on other priorities.
Governance
Can AI and robots have rights, duties? The EU’s legal approach
Some researchers suggest so-called ‘electronic persons’ will surpass humans in intelligence by 2050, potentially rendering humans obsolete.This scenario prompts a needed discussion on whether a universal standard of rights and obligations must be devised for robots and artificially intelligent persons. This article will focus on the current legal approach proposed by the EU.
Delta dialog
Community
AI must serve the common interest
AI has already delivered huge benefits to humanity and is poised to continue to do so, but a dearth of rules and transparency has allowed faulty or biased algorithms to frequently discriminate against those they are intended to help, reinforcing and aggravating existing inequalities. Change is clearly needed, but solutions remain elusive, two UN health and social sciences officials explain.
|
Jan 23, 2023
Make the most of the Summit of the Future
The UN is planning the Summit of the Future in September 2024, which will provide a good opportunity for humanity to form a more coherent response to the huge and mounting challenges it faces, but much remains to be done in the interim to ensure this summit truly lives up to its billing.
|
Jan 20, 2023
The age of megathreats
The world has changed drastically during the past few years, with economic crises, deglobalization, wars, pandemics, and climate change all upending lives and sowing fears about the future. Many problems that seemed abstract or remote not long ago are now part and parcel of the present and future, and demand urgent, smart responses to avoid catastrophes and get the world back on a solid footing, warns NYU Professor Emeritus of Economics Nouriel Roubini.
|
Jan 13, 2023
The end of real social networks
Social networks and social media have evolved from platforms to connect with friends and acquaintances into those more geared to advertising and the consumption of information. This becomes problematic as people get sorted into ‘bubbles’ by algorithms that feed them more content they want to see, thus reinforcing existing biases, a problem worsened by the speed at which falsehoods and disinformation spread. Unlike previous new forms of media, social media is fundamentally changing how societies work and humans interact. MIT Economics Prof Daron Acemoglu explains.
|
Jan 05, 2023
What to expect when one is expecting...GPT-4
ChatGPT became a sensation last year for its ability to spit out human-like text in response to questions. This year is almost certain to see the release of GPT-4, which promises to be even more impressive. Will GPT-4 represent the next step on the path to even greater advances, or will it be a major breakthrough in and of itself?
|
Jan 09, 2023
The Yuan takes to the air in new AI podcast series
Starting today, The Yuan will be airing a podcast series to allow our audience to experience our AI content in a convenient, immediate sound format. Our vibrant panel of expert guests will weigh in on the latest topics and developments in AI in lively exchanges that will seek to reveal what’s really going on behind the scenes.
|
Jan 01, 2023
Is this the cusp of a new era?
Huge changes have taken place in the world in the past three years, though whether these mark the beginning of a new era is still uncertain, and if so, what that era might look like.
|
Dec 15, 2022
Africa can leapfrog to the latest healthtech
Africa is strapped for healthcare workers even as it faces a slew of endemic diseases. Innovative personalization, prevention, and education driven by digital healthtech are the answers to the second-largest continent’s staffing woes and disproportional disease burden, argues telemedicine platform and online pharmacy CEO Yaya Mbaoua.
|
Dec 09, 2022
The RNA vaccine revolution: how did Moderna change the game?
mRNA vaccines are not new but are now receiving far more attention as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccines and the speed with which they were rolled out was especially notable and holds great promise for other future applications post-pandemic.
|
Dec 14, 2022
Fixing the world’s public health data problem is critical
Issues of inadequate or missing data collection, and fragmented, incompatible health systems hampered the response to COVID-19 and threaten to do so in future outbreaks. Fortunately, several possible solutions could at least partly remedy this problem.
|
Aug 29, 2022
COVID experts have solutions for the aging immune system
During their studies of COVID-19 and the organ damage it can cause, experts have learned more about organs themselves, as well as the human immune system and immune responses to pathogens and are devising ways to slow or even reverse the decline in aging immune systems.
|
Aug 11, 2022
An automated machine learning COVID-19 pipeline
Researcher Parisa Naraei details how AI chatbots glean better data and attain fuller analyses, faster insights, and precision answers in the war against COVID-19 and relates the nuts and bolts of crafting these conversational AI apps.
|
Aug 03, 2022
What does Meta AI’s diplomacy-winning Cicero mean for AI? (Hint: It’s not all about scaling)
Meta’s new AI, called Cicero, is able to successfully strategize and negotiate with humans in playing the game Diplomacy, and it may have the potential to surpass other AI that play games such as Go and chess. Nevertheless, much remains unknown, and it could be a long time before its implications for AI as a whole are fully understood.
|
Dec 13, 2022
Life and crime in the meta-thingy: Introduction
‘Seeing is believing.’ The Four Imaginary Friends dispute the nature of truth vs. semblance as they seek to pick apart the fundamental nature of Web 3.0 and the metaverse and their distinctions and overlap.
|
Dec 08, 2022
Metaverse in medicine: hope or dope?
Much has been made of the Metaverse and its potential for change, and this is certainly so in healthcare. Amid all the hype, it is important to take a look at what the Metaverse actually is and what is now possible as this gives insights into which aspects have the most success, which have not, and what the future of the Metaverse in medicine and other fields is.
|
Nov 02, 2022
Google's new AI tool drives equity for darker skin tones
Millions of people search the web daily for images that reflect their unique dermatological needs, but scarce data under-represents people of color and other marginalized populations. The Yuan’s Oladimeji Ewumi relates how Harvard Prof Ellis Monk and Google Research teamed to redress this inequity.
|
Jan 26, 2023
An epic AI Debate - and why everyone should fret over AI in 2023
A time capsule of AI thought leaders participating in a video debate in 2022 serves up a bounty of food for thought that will remain of interest for years to come. AI holds plenty of promise, but major grounds for concern are its less benevolent aspects and the inescapable reality that it still falls far short.
|
Jan 24, 2023
AI eases cardiovascular disease prediction
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital devised a deep-learning model that predicts a person's 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease using a single chest X-ray. They presented the study result during the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in November, The Yuan contributor Oladimeji Ewumi reports.
|
Jan 18, 2023
Baidu Research releases its top 10 tech trends for 2023
As one of China’s most well-established and preeminent tech companies, Baidu is at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and breakthroughs in areas like self-driving cars, robots, and quantum computing. 2023 marks the fourth year Baidu has released its top 10 trends and, in 2023 and beyond, plenty of exciting developments are likely in store for both China and the rest of the world.
|
Jan 11, 2023
The great chip war
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has rightfully grabbed many of the headlines over the past year, but an equally consequential development has been the intensifying economic clash between the US and China, including severe restrictions imposed on the export to China of advanced chips and other high-tech goods made using American tech.
|
Jan 25, 2023
ASEAN governments regulate AI Software as a Medical Device
The COVID-19 pandemic tested the efficiency of healthcare, especially in emerging markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Most of the industry’s pain points are being solved and automated by AI, and these solutions continue to learn and evolve as they crunch reams of data, but the question remains: Are the regulations ready to catch up with fast-learning AI software in the market?
|
Nov 04, 2022
Public health funding today keeps the doctor away
America’s chronic underinvestment in public health and disease prevention left it poorly prepared for the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the pandemic begins to wane, such mistakes are being repeated as public health spending is being cut back. A more proactive approach is needed to improve Americans’ health, increase the country’s readiness for the next pandemic, and free up funds to be spent on other priorities.
|
Oct 04, 2022
Can AI and robots have rights, duties? The EU’s legal approach
Some researchers suggest so-called ‘electronic persons’ will surpass humans in intelligence by 2050, potentially rendering humans obsolete.This scenario prompts a needed discussion on whether a universal standard of rights and obligations must be devised for robots and artificially intelligent persons. This article will focus on the current legal approach proposed by the EU.
|
Sep 30, 2022
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