Structure News: Here comes the "don't be evil" AI company

Where AI Is Always Open December 18th, 2015 / by Tom Krazit This week, we'll show off the Structure 2015 archives, learn how Twitter keeps the Fail Whale at bay, and ponder Elon Musk's newest gamble. STRUCTURE NEWS THE COMPLETE STRUCTURE 2015 ARCHIVES ARE LIVE I've finally finished going over all the Structure 2015 sessions, and the results are here. Two days of great speakers and discussions created one of the strongest Structure events we've ever put together, and the insights, predictions, and revelations shared in these videos will resonate for years to come. If you missed out on Structure 2015, or just missed a few sessions, we've got you covered. Also, don't forget about the next event on our calendar: Structure Data 2016. Scheduled for March 9th and 10th back at the familiar Structure venue of UCSF Mission Bay, Structure Data is our annual look at the world of big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Several great speakers are already confirmed, such as Andrew Ng of Baidu and Jeff Dean of Google, and there's more to come. Ticket prices go up at the end of 2015, so grab a couple now.   INDUSTRY NEWS GOOGLE PROMISES TO REIN IN RUNAWAY QUERY COSTS One of Google's advantages in the public cloud market is its BigQuery data tool, but it's pretty easy to rack up a big bill using the service before you know what happened. Fortune reports that Google has introduced a new metered pricing system that allows users to set daily limits and even gives them advice on how their workload might be more efficiently configured. THE QUANTUM COMPUTING ERA IS COMING…FAST After Google's announcement last week that its D-Wave quantum computing project is making progress, John Naughton at the Guardian weighs in with a look at what might be the future of computing. There will be untold benefits from such an expansion of computing power, but Naughton identifies a problem: our encryption standards will look like cereal box decoder rings. CHINA'S BAIDU SAYS TO DEVELOP SELF-DRIVING BUSES WITHIN THREE YEARS The race to the autonomous vehicle future is well underway, and Baidu (helped no doubt by Structure Data 2016 speaker Andrew Ng) is joining the race. Baidu wants to have self-driving buses on the road in three years and to have entered mass production within five years, according to Reuters. TWITTER DETAILS HOME-BREWED FRAMEWORK FOR SIMULATING HARDWARE FAILURES Twitter has come a long way since the days of the Fail Whale, and its infrastructure planning has a lot to do with that. Venturebeat takes a look at a service Twitter has set up internally to test its service against imaginary hardware problems in hopes of identifying problems before they summon the Fail Whale. EU STRIKES DEAL ON DATA PROTECTION RULES After throwing out its existing data protection agreement this summer, the European Union has settled on a new law that governs how tech companies use and store personal data of European customers. According to Politico, the tech industry isn't happy about the massive fines that would result from violating the law, not to mention the headaches that could arise from making sure they comply. CLOUD NATIVE COMPUTING FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES NEW MEMBERS, BEGINS ACCEPTING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTIONS One of the newest standards organizations in town is gearing up for the age of the container. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation announced that it has begun taking contributions to its code base, and while this might slow the pace of innovation within the container world, it also helps spread the use of the technology.   BIG PICTURE He's an incredibly ambitious tech titan with dreams of setting up a community on Mars: Elon Musk doesn't waste his time. As more and more people and companies study artificial intelligence, an arms race of sorts is inevitable, and Musk's decision to create the OpenAI foundation only signals how important this technology is to the future of the tech industry. OpenAI, as described by Backchannel's Steven Levy, is a "hedge" against the notion that massive companies like Google, Facebook, and others pouring billions into artificial intelligence research won't create a world that's something like Blade Runner crossed with The Terminator. It's a little dramatic, for sure, but even technology lifers like Musk and Y Combinator's Sam Altman (Musk's co-chair at OpenAI) are a little unsettled about the future of artificial intelligence. A lot of people in the AI community will scoff at OpenAI, and with good reason. A billion dollars (the initial commitment to the foundation) sounds like a lot of money, but Google and Facebook probably spent that much on AI last week. Artificial intelligence is so complex and nascent that human talent is key to developing AI that truly works, and even though the OpenAI team (pictured above) looks to be a serious collection of AI talent, there's a reason why Structure Data 2016 speakers like Peter Lee of Microsoft and Jeff Dean of Google are prized assets to those companies. And even well-meaning foundations with many stakeholders can have trouble settling on a clear course of action. Still, as with most things Musk throws his money behind, it's worth watching. Competition tends to bring out the best in people and companies trying to invent the future, and if one of those companies intends to really follow the "don't be evil" pledge, it's probably a good thing.       DISCOVER MORE   Click here to unsubscribe from this list. Our mailing address is: Structure 405 El Camino Real, #215 Menlo Park, CA 94025 Add us to your address book Copyright (C) 2015 Structure All rights reserved. Forward this email to a friend. 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