 The U.S. is the most prepared country worldwide to use AI technologies for its public services, according to Oxford Insights. The London-based consultancy released its 2021 AI Readiness Index, which rated the AI preparedness of 160 countries' governments based on 42 indicators. The U.S.: - The report answers the question, "How ready is a given government to implement AI in the delivery of public services to their citizens?"
- The U.S. was first thanks largely to the "unrivaled size and maturity of its technology sector."
- It has the most tech unicorns and highly valued public tech firms driving global research and commercialization of AI, the report said.
- The U.S. also scored highest in emerging tech company investments and computer software spending, pointing to a mature stage of AI development.
Rest of the world: - Rounding out the top five were Singapore, the United Kingdom, Finland, and the Netherlands.
- For the first time, East Asian countries comprised a quarter of the top 20 countries, driven by more advanced infrastructure and skilled workers boosting research capacity in the region.
- Nearly 40% of countries said they are drafting or have published national AI strategies.
NEXTGOV 
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 A project that uses machine learning and satellites to track atmospheric carbon emissions will reveal the 500 biggest emitters later this year. Former Vice President Al Gore, one of the backers of the Climate TRACE effort, said its goal is to obtain real-time or near-real-time measurements of where greenhouse gas pollution comes from, broken down by country, power plant, and industrial facility. More: - Gore made the remarks during a panel at this week's World Economic Forum Davos Agenda.
- He noted that current emissions data derives mostly from a single source that's based on countries' own self-reports, which are inaccurate and out-of-date.
- "We have already reported oil and gas operation emissions are at least double what they have reported," he said.
- To visually discern global emissions, the effort uses satellites and other remote sensing tech. It combines that data with verified measurements using AI algorithms, generating estimates of total emissions from a variety of sources.
- Gore first announced Climate TRACE in 2020. The nonprofit international coalition is made up of think tank RMI, TransitionZero, WattTime, and others.
THE HILL
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 A message from MODERN TREASURY Why you need to care more about payment operations. If your business moves money, you have payment operations. Payment operations include processes to initiate, approve, track, and reconcile payments. Just like the money they manage, payment operations are critical to a functioning business. In fact, survey data show that 86% of finance leaders view upgrading their payment operations as a priority. To better understand the current state of payment operations, Modern Treasury partnered with the Harris Poll to survey 300 leaders and uncover their top payment operations problems and priorities. In our first-ever report on payment operations, we reveal: - The costliest payment-related challenges companies face
- The 5 upgrades to payment operations leaders believe are most important
- The 7 most common barriers to upgrading payment operations
And more. Download the Report
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Meta AI researchers introduced a self-supervised algorithm that learns the same way in speech, vision, or text. The algorithm, called data2vec, is expected to support AI that can do multiple tasks and learn in a more generalized way. More: - In a blog post, researchers said data2vev is a step forward to building machines that learn about their surroundings without having to use labeled data.
- The self-supervised part of data2vec means it can build its own structured idea of how a system works through large quantities of unlabeled data.
- According to Meta, this approach is more efficient and scalable for machines to tackle more complex and unfamiliar tasks.
- The name data2vec alludes to Google's "word2vec" natural-language processing technique released in 2013.
- Testing on the ImageNet computer vision benchmark showed data2vec outperformed existing CV algorithms. It performed better than Meta's wav2vec 2.0 algorithm for speech and did as well as BERT for text.
TECHCRUNCH
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 Elon Musk's Neuralink is now hiring for a clinical trial director, suggesting that human trials of the brain-computer interfaces could start soon. Musk said in December that he hopes to begin human trials of the Neuralink brain implant this year, pending FDA approval. More: - The newly hired director will work closely with doctors and engineers as well as Neuralink's first human trial participants, according to the post.
- Following successful demos in a monkey and a pig, human clinical trials would begin on people with severe spinal cord injuries such as tetraplegics and quadriplegics.
- The project has a chance to "restore full-body functionality to someone who has a spinal cord injury," Musk said.
- The CEO has expressed more immediate use of the tech to study and treat brain/spine disorders. In the long-term, the goal is to sync the human brain with artificial intelligence and create "human/AI symbiosis."
- In 2020, the FDA presented Neuralink with a breakthrough device designation.
- In addition to a clinical trial director, Neuralink is hiring for a clinical trial coordinator. Both positions are based in Fremont, Calif.
INTERESTING ENGINEERING
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 A message from LOHIKA Web3: Why It Matters and How to Think About It in 2022. You may have heard about “Web3,” along with related technologies like blockchain, NFTs and smart contracts. What exactly is Web3? Is it the evolution of Web 2.0? Is it the future of the Internet? We don’t know all the answers, so invited a panel of experts who do. We’re hosting an online event with Capgemini AIE “Web3: Why It Matters and How to Think About It in 2022.” The panel: We will also discuss: - How engineering leaders should approach recruiting for team building web3 applications
- Whether an NFT represents ownership of digital art or if there’s more to it
- What will happen between central banks asserting their control of fiat currencies and decentralized currencies erasing boundaries and national sovereignty
Join us on February 10, 2022 at 10am PT / 1pm ET. Register Here
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IBM has agreed to sell a portion of its Watson Health AI business to a private equity firm, allowing the tech giant to further concentrate on its cloud computing operations. Offloading the business is "the next step" for IBM to focus on its platform-based hybrid cloud and AI strategies, according to software SVP Tom Rosamilia. More: - Francisco Partners, a private equity investor with a heavy tech portfolio, will acquire the unit's Watson Health Insights, MarketScan, Clinical Development, Social Program Management, Micromedex, and other offerings.
- These data assets, including health datasets and products, plus imaging software offerings, are collectively valued at more than $1B, sources told Bloomberg.
- In the new standalone company, the Watson Health management team will continue on in similar roles. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2022.
- While IBM spent nearly $4B to acquire businesses for the unit, Watson Health's products failed to meet the hype surrounding AI in healthcare.
- The business never became profitable, generating about $1B in annual revenue and struggling for market share.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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Recent AI M&As: - IBM announced plans to acquire data analytics software provider Envizi to integrate into its broader environmental, social, and governance AI software.
- Swedish company Furhat Robotics acquired Misty Robotics to expand its hardware capabilities and build products using its social robotics software.
- Reliance Industries' retail unit spent $132M to acquire a majority stake in e-commerce robotics startup Addverb Technologies.
- Mercedes-Benz announced it will buy an equity stake in lidar maker Luminar to integrate its sensors into self-driving vehicles.
- Experience management platform Raydiant announced the purchase of AI audience intelligence software provider Sightcor.
- Digital mental health firm Headspace Health acquired Sayana, developer of an AI self-care app.
- Vehicle tech company Magna purchased autonomous shuttle company Optimus Ride.
- Data intelligence company Fobi AI acquired digital wallet and mobile marketing firm Passworks.
- Newgen Software announced plans to acquire AI/ML data science platform Number Theory.
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- The role of machine learning engineer was the fourth fastest-growing job in the U.S. over the last five years, according to the 2022 LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise list.
- Honda was an investor in AI software company Helm.ai's recent $30M Series B round. The financing will help it further develop AI and computer vision technologies for ADAS and autonomous driving.
- Toyota-backed Pony.ai announced its sixth-gen autonomous driving system, built on Nvidia's Orin SoC. The processor will be mass-production ready and appear in Toyota Sienna vehicles that will undergo road testing in China this year.
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 |  | Beth is an Inside Analyst and a former public policy/investigative reporter. She has covered AI, VR, technology, and e-commerce for Inside. When she's not busy writing, she's hiking in Arizona's desert, playing pickleball, or trying out new Mexican food recipes. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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