Feb 10
The Explanation

Explainable AI – Is Everybody Reading the Same Articles?

By Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning No Comments

Everybody is Reading the Same Articles on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

In a Scientific American article titled Ethics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, the author posits the following question: “If we don’t know how AIs make decisions, how can we trust what they decide?”

The author claims “AI also took away the transparency, explainability, predictability, teachability and auditability of the human move, replacing it with opacity.” And makers of certain classes of AI systems are quick to agree. Tesla, for instance, once claimed it had ‘no way of knowing’ if its autopilot self-driving system was used in a fatal crash.

I, too, expressed concerns about biases and algorithmic opacity in deep learning algorithms and suggested that industry must engage proactively in promoting algorithmic transparency and taking responsibility for the outcomes their software produces.

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Jan 31
Problème d’eau. Où trouver l’eau

Batteries, Coffee and T-Shirts: Sustainability in the Automotive Industry

By Automotive, Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared Vehicles No Comments

One of the strongest arguments for the broad adoption of electric vehicles is, of course, that they do not pollute. Considering that transportation, including cars, trucks, airplanes, trains and ships, produces about one-third of greenhouse emissions in the U.S., this is a powerful argument.

Astute analysts point out that the environmental penalty of generating the electricity needed to charge EVs must also be taken into account when calculating the net impact of electric vehicles. Indeed, the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the U.S. produce nearly as much pollution as transportation, making  up some 28% of greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, countries that generate electricity from renewable sources do much better. For instance, Costa Rica is generating 95% of its electricity from hydro, geothermal, solar and wind.

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Jan 17

Electric Vehicles: Who Cares About Acceleration?

By Automotive, Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared Vehicles No Comments

Market studies show that travel range and purchase price are top of mind considerations for prospective electric car buyers. So why are so many journalists, bloggers and the automotive press so enamored with performance metrics and can spend hours comparing acceleration and top speed figures?

Seriously, how many EV owners care if their car can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 10 seconds, while the Porsche Taycan in “Launch” mode can do the 0-60 mph sprint in 2.6 seconds?

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Jan 14

Famous Last Words: I Wouldn’t Ever Sit My Butt in a Self-driving Car

By Automotive, Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared Vehicles No Comments

In a 2018 Medium article, the author, a self-described as high-performance driving instructor, professional driver and race car driver, proclaimed: “A self-driving car will never be able to make the split-second decisions that can save a life.” She continues: “I wouldn’t ever sit my butt in a self-driving car. I will never trust them. Ever.”

The article was written in 2018 and the author was probably right then. She is probably right today, despite the usual hoopla about self-driving cars at CES 2020.

But I suspect the author’s statement will go down in history as yet another “famous last words.”

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Dec 17
Detroit Industry (Diego Rivera, 1933)

Collaboration is the New Competition: Industry Consortia and Why You Should Join One!

By Business Strategy, Internet of Things (IoT) No Comments

The Hype Will Let You Down!

No business executive can escape the onslaught of breathless headlines advertising new technologies and promising a sunny future for early adopters.

Nowadays, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, often wrapped together in an enterprise digital transformation initiative, dominate the headlines.

Vendors, industry analysts and business experts predict a bright future and a quick return on investment in these promising technologies if you only follow a small number of seemingly simple steps. And it seems that many businesses rely on optimistic analyses and are lured by lofty promises and jump on the bandwagon for fear of missing out.

And most of them will fail.

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