AI in Action | April 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to help us solve the greatest challenges of our time from health care, agriculture, and education to transportation, energy, and national security.

When guided by ethics, transparency, and fairness, responsible AI can spark creativity and help usher in a more prosperous and sustainable future.

See how AI is improving our lives, growing our economy, and keeping us safe.

XRAI Glass allows people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to “see” conversations

A groundbreaking pair of glasses allows deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to add subtitles to their conversations in real time.  XRAI Glass uses AI technology to instantly transcribe spoken words into text that is displayed on the lenses, enabling wearers to read what is being said.  The glasses also identify and transcribe non-verbal cues and allow users to rewind conversations, ask the system to recall details, and summarize previous chats.  XRAI includes closed captioning capabilities for over 140 languages and dialects, enabling the technology to improve lives and facilitate greater accessibility for those who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, and non-native speakers.

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Deepmind’s AlphaFold is accelerating scientific breakthroughs

Deepmind’s AlphaFold AI system can predict the 3D structure of specific proteins at atomic accuracy, at scale, and in minutes.  Proteins are the building blocks of life; they underpin every biological process in every living thing.  Because a protein’s shape is closely linked with its function, knowing a protein’s structure unlocks a greater understanding of what it does and how it works.  In doing so, AlphaFold provided a solution to a decades-long challenge and is helping to accelerate scientific research and discovery across the globe through its publicly available AlphaFold Protein Structure Database.  Before AlphaFold, figuring out the exact structure of a protein could sometimes take years and millions of dollars, meaning scientists could only study a tiny fraction of them.  This slowed down research of diseases and finding new medicines and treatments.  Just one year after its release, AlphaFold had been accessed by more than half a million researchers from 190 counties and used to accelerate progress on critical real-world problems ranging from plastic pollution to antibiotic resistance.

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Zelma is using AI to provide parents, teachers, school administrators, and policymakers with critical insights to help shape the future of education

Zelma Education is a comprehensive, interactive, AI-powered U.S. state assessment data repository that makes U.S. school testing data more widely accessible and engaging for the public.  Powered by GPT-4, Zelma helps teachers, students, parents, and policymakers access educational insights by processing and presenting data in a user-friendly format.  Its capabilities include generating data visualizations, comparing school performances, and aiding decision-making in academic settings.  Zelma can lend important insight into proficiency trends and changes in achievement gaps over time.  By democratizing data and providing user-friendly tools, Zelma enables concrete conversations about student outcomes and directs public attention to student well-being, ultimately enhancing the education system for all stakeholders.

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Cisco’s Plan for Keeping AI Systems Safe From Attack: Using AI

Bloomberg

Dept. of Homeland Security embraces AI and other federal agencies are likely to follow

CNBC

U.S. farms are making an urgent push into AI. It could help feed the world

BBC

Bipartisan Policy Center to launch Google-backed ‘AI 101’ for Congress

The Hill

AI Spotlight

ICYMI: TechNet Day Panel with Leading AI Executives Discusses the Policies Needed to Advance America’s Leadership in AI

TechNet recently hosted a panel discussion with The Hill on the policies needed to advance America’s leadership in AI.  The event featured a conversation with TechNet member company executives Kent Walker, President, Global Affairs, Google; Kerry McLean, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Intuit; Michael Kratsios, Managing Director, Scale AI, and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer; and Rahul Sood, Chief Product Officer, Pindrop.  Ed Knight, TechNet Chairman and Executive Vice Chairman of Nasdaq, gave opening remarks.

The event was part of a successful “TechNet Day” in Washington, D.C., where TechNet’s AI policy priorities were discussed with key leaders from both political parties.  TechNet Day is TechNet’s annual marquee federal advocacy event that brings together leaders in Congress, the administration, and TechNet member company CEOs and senior executives to discuss the key issues impacting innovation, our economy, and our global competitiveness.

AI for America

About AI for America

AI for America is a $25 million initiative to educate the public about how AI is being used to improve lives, grow our economy, and keep us safe.  The initiative combines coalition building, advocacy, social media, and traditional media to demonstrate the immense economic and societal benefits of AI.  AI for America is funded by TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives.  TechNet advances public policies at the federal and state level that make the United States the world leader in innovation.  Its diverse membership includes dynamic American businesses ranging from startups to the most iconic companies on the planet.  For more information, go to technet.org and AI4America.com.