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Latest Data Digest: Headlines from the World of Information Technology News

Weekly Roundup of Significant Data News, spanning July 9, 2022 to July 15, 2022, features articles on the development of smart jean pockets and the verification of online information.

Latest Data-Related News Highlights
Latest Data-Related News Highlights

Latest Data Digest: Headlines from the World of Information Technology News

In a significant stride towards modernizing the legal system, the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission is implementing machine learning to streamline the process of sorting through vast amounts of audio and video recorded evidence. This innovative approach aims to efficiently locate crucial pieces of information such as confessions or key witness statements, thereby reducing the time-consuming manual review of recorded evidence.

The commission plans to utilise machine learning algorithms for automated processing and categorization of recorded material. This initiative leverages AI technologies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of legal defense by managing the growing volumes of digital evidence.

By automating the analysis and sorting of digital evidence materials, public defenders can focus their attention on the most pertinent parts of the evidence. This move aligns with broader trends in criminal justice where AI is deployed for hypothesis generation, pattern recognition, and risk prediction in judicial processes.

While the technical details of their machine learning implementation have not been publicly disclosed, this use case underscores the potential of AI to alleviate human workload in evidence review.

Meanwhile, in the realm of consumer technology, Amazon is deploying smart shopping carts at a Whole Foods store in Massachusetts. Equipped with sensors and an AI system, these carts can identify which groceries shoppers place or remove from the cart, providing an interactive touch screen showing the location of nearby groceries.

Elsewhere, Microsoft has developed a smart fabric designed for jeans' pockets. This fabric uses sensors and a machine learning model to recognise the presence or absence of common objects.

In Edinburgh, United Kingdom, officials are installing 11,000 smart waste bins around the city. Each bin contains a sensor that can alert officials when it is full and collect data on usage.

On the scientific front, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created an AI system that can identify drug molecule candidates by predicting how proteins will bind to the molecule. In tests, this AI system identified promising drug molecules 1,200 times faster than current methods.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has also ventured into AI, creating a system that can transform user-submitted text and sketches into images.

These advancements in AI and machine learning are transforming various sectors, from shopping to waste management, and from legal defense to drug discovery. As these technologies continue to evolve, we can expect to see even more innovative applications in the near future.

[1] Source: Virginia Indigent Defense Commission Press Release [2] Source: AI Now Institute Report

  1. The implementation of machine learning by the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission signifies a step towards modernizing the legal system, aiming to enhance the handling of digital evidence by leveraging artificial intelligence technologies.
  2. The commission's project aims to automate the analysis and sorting of recorded evidence, allowing public defenders to focus on the critical parts of the evidence rather than spending time on manual review.
  3. In consumer technology, Amazon is experimenting with smart shopping carts equipped with AI systems to identify groceries shoppers place or remove from the cart, thereby providing an interactive shopping experience.
  4. Microsoft has developed a smart fabric for jean pockets that uses sensors and a machine learning model to recognize the presence or absence of common objects, aiming to bring smart technology into daily life.
  5. In Edinburgh, officials are installing smart waste bins with sensors that alert officials when they're full and collect usage data, marking an innovation in waste management.
  6. Researchers at MIT have created an AI system that can predict how proteins will bind to drug molecules, helping to identify promising drug candidates 1,200 times faster than current methods in the field of environmental-science and data-and-cloud-computing.

[1] Source: Virginia Indigent Defense Commission Press Release [2] Source: AI Now Institute Report [3] Source: [Various - specific sources not provided for the last three sentences]

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