Tag: technology

Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains, Sports AI

IS THERE A ROLE FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IN SPORTS?

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered, mostly correct!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question, was submitted by Riezl in Las Vegas and she wants to know is there a role for AI in sports?

Riezl, you came to the right place.  You pose a fascinating question worthy of a thorough answer. The answer is yes!  I will discuss how AI may impact sports betting, sport analytics, and sports medicine.  Let’s start with sports betting, but first a disclosure. I do not endorse gambling, nor any company mentioned in this article.   

SPORTS BETTING

MySports.AI is an application that uses advanced machine learning algorithms, to predict outcomes. A unique feature of Mysports.AI, is its ability to customize different betting strategies for each player, catering to various funds and betting cycles. The platform provides back-tested records, allowing players to analyze the profitability of various events under each betting strategy. Mysports.AI backers say the model has undergone tens of thousands of machine learning training sessions.

SPORTS ANALYTICS

Sport analytics was popularized by the movie, Money Ball.  Sports analytics involves collecting and analyzing relevant statistics to facilitate decision making.  Acceptance of analytics in sports is commonplace and soon AI will join the club.  New York University offers a sports analytics certificate https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/certificates/sports-management/sports and a required course is artificial intelligence and machine learning!

Sports are competitions set within a multi-billion-dollar business milieu.  Not surprisingly there are on-field and off-field analytics. On-field refers to improving the performance of teams and players.  For example, in the NBA the analytics indicate superior three-point shooting is essential.  No team can expect to hoist a championship trophy if they are dearth of three-point shooters. Holy Stephon Curry, Batman!  AI algorithms are being used in Formula 1 to improve racing tactics and to automated tire replacement strategies. Piccinotti (2021).  Even tennis racquets are going high-tech with the advent of rackets based on Real HawkEye computer vision system data! There are several on-field analytics AI firms including  GeminiSports.com.

Last, certain sports require considerable human judgment to determine the winner, i.e., gymnastics and ice skating. Recently, Fujitsu created an AI to analyze the performance of a gymnast’s movements using 3D laser sensors (Atiković et al., 2020).

Off-field analytics is concerned with the business of sports. Teams have multiple revenue sources, including ticket sales, merchandise, parking, television broadcast, etc. and expense centers. AI powered sports business analytics can discover ways to maximize revenues, reduce costs, improve fan acquisition, marketing strategies, and perhaps the financial impact of a new sponsorship.  As shown by Chmait et al. (2020a), the relationship between the success of athletes and their salaries is an important value proposition to explore. GWI.Com and others are focused on AI in sports business.

Sports Medicine Analytics and AI

If we enter the time machine and travel to 1995, we discover researchers such as Bartlett discussing potential applications of artificial intelligence in sports performance! In 2006, Bartlett published Artificial Intelligence in Sports Biomechanics: New Dawn or False Hope, wherein he correctly predicted multi-layer artificial neural networks (aka Deep Learning) will take center stage in sports technique analysis.  Other researchers such as Brockett, are using AI to detect patterns that lead to injuries. Fister et al. (2015) has researched whether nature-inspired AI algorithms can investigate safe and effective training programs since 2015.

I end with a proverb from Rwanda:  All proverbs have a good reason for existing.

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Blockchains, China, cryptography, Patents, Yogi Nelson

WHY ALL THE FUSS ABOUT 3924 3924, 3924, 3924, 3924, 3924, 3924

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered, mostly correct!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question, submitted by Albert from Iowa and his question is, why the number 3924?

Albert, you came to the right place.  Let’s talk about this number, 3,924.  According to the Blockchain Global Patent Authorization, as of December 2020, there were 3,924 patents granted for blockchain technology worldwide.  For a new technology, 3,924 is a staggering number and as I said previously the number reflects 2020 statistics.  Holy worldwide adoption, Batman!

This naturally leads to the next question.  What countries lead in blockchain patents?  According to Lexology, U.S. companies accounted for 39% of all patents granted, South Korea comes in second with 21%, and China was a close third at 19%.  In other words, the US, South Korea, and China accounted for 79% of all blockchain patents globally up to year 2020.  But that is backward looking data.  If we want to understand the next wave, we must examine pending patent applications as that tells a forward-looking story. Okay, let’s do it.

In Digital Finance by Baxter Hines, he cites The Block as the source for pending patents.  According to that source, Chinese companies should dominate the next wave of blockchain patents.  In fact, the top five companies with blockchain patents pending are all Chinese.  Tencent, Alibaba, and Ant Financial alone have 1,263 patents pending whereas the top three American companies (Walmart, IBM, and Microsoft) have only 123.  Is there more to the story?  I think so.  Read on. 

Let’s go back to 2019.  In 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping identified the advancement of blockchain technology as a national priority and declared China will “lead the next wave of digital transformation” and called for greater study, investment, and regulation.  What happened next?

Well, in typical top-down authoritarian fashion, more than 35,000 firms responded to Xi’s appeal by registering their companies as “blockchain related” and expanding the use of blockchain technology into their businesses’ operations.  Holy jumping right on the task, Batman! But hold on there is more to the story.

Of the 35,000 that responded only 730 qualified for the Chinese government’s blockchain certification (2%).  Nevertheless, more than 10,000 blockchain patent applications were filed!  But quantity and quality are not always synonymous, and the Chinese government approved only a small fraction of the applications.  Perhaps, Xi needed to be more explicit in his order.  I suggest he try this next time: “Listen up comrades.  We need lots of high-quality world class blockchain patents.”  Lol!

Research and development into blockchain technology is big business.  There is a battle for blockchain technology supremacy between the US and China, with South Korea in the hunt also.  The winner of this battle will have an advantage across many developing technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).  Many technology analysts are forecasting a fuse of blockchain, AI, and the internet of things (IOT) converging into a tsunami of tech advancements in the next decade.  Hold on to your safety belts, Batman!

I close today with a proverb from Denmark, where people say:  Never advise anyone to go to war or to marry.  Wise words indeed!

Until next time.

Yogi Nelson

Blockchains

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL FINANCE ADOPTION ACCORDING TO MOODY’S?

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered, mostly correct!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question, comes from Oswaldo, in New York, and he wants to know what does Moody’s Investor Service (Moody’s) forecast for digital finance adoption in 2024 and beyond?

Oswaldo, you came to the right place.  On December 14, the Decentralized Finance office of Moody’s released a report, titled: 2024 Outlook: Digital Finance Slowly, Steadily Moves Towards Interoperability and Standardization.  The research was led by Christiano Ventricelli; here is the link:  https://www.moodys.com/research/Decentralized-Finance-and-Digital-Assets-Global-2024-Outlook-Digital-finance-Outlook–PBC_1386273?cid=web-ntrnlbnnr-16640  Before jumping into their forecast, first let’s understand who is Moody’s?

Moody’s has been around since 1908 and it offers credit ratings, macro-economic forecasting, and several other services, including Investor Service.   Moody’s produces research papers across numerous financial topics, including digital finance.  With that short introduction, let’s examine Moody’s four findings.

Mass Adoption Will Need More Interoperability and Standardization.  According to Moody’s, blockchain technology has numerous potential benefits, including greater efficiency and potential cost savings.  Blockchain enthusiasts agree.  I concur with Moody’s that until and unless blockchains reach interoperability the benefits of blockchain may not materialize.  What Moody’s did not say, but I will, is blockchains need a “Wi-Fi moment”.  Imagine if Wi-Fi was not seamless and users had to switch constantly to maintain a connection?  What a mess!  This is the state of public blockchains today. There are bridges under construction to connect blockchains, but most are too tiny, weak, and not suitable at enterprise scale.

Asset tokenization will keep growing, but reliable digital cash options remain elusive. Yes, asset tokenization will result in convergence between traditional and digital finance.  Agreed. And, yes, it’s true there are tech and regulatory risk considerations.  However, I part ways with Moody’s regarding digital cash adoption options.  Moody’s believes Central Bank Digital Currencies are better positioned to be a secure form of digital cash over stable coins.  In the USA probably true. However, across the globe government creditability on matters of monetary policy is at rock-bottom; hence, let’s withhold judgment.

Cryptocurrency market’s revival hinges on monetary policy and service operators’ regulatory compliance. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of industries whose viability hinge on monetary policy.  Cheap money is positive for crypto, and all assets. What drives crypto goes beyond interest rates and monetary policy.  Crypto is also an ideological movement.  Crypto enthusiasts want a new monetary policy–an alternative that Jerome can’t control.  Hence, suggesting the crypto market hinges on traditional finance is missing the point. 

As former federal bank regulatory compliance officer, I am unaware of any industry that can operate at scale outside regulatory compliance other than organized crime!  Holy criminal enterprise, Batman! Hence, the findings are not surprising.  And yes, crypto needs clarity.  Is it a security?  Is it a commodity?  Etc.

Digital asset regulatory frameworks advance, though regional differences will persist. Bingo, Moody’s is on target.  Europe, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates are all establishing regulatory clarity.  Therefore, regional differences will arise in crypto as they do in traditional securities regulations.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF soon.  An Ethereum spot EFT is on the horizon. The SEC recently sued Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the USA, for selling unregistered securities.  Between the Coinbase case, and the 2024 Presidential Election, clarity maybe on the horizon.

I close with a proverb from Moldova: Wine is a traitor.  It starts as a friend and ends as an enemy.

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Artificial Intelligence, Yogi Nelson

IS BULGARIA A LEADER IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EDUCATION?

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis. Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered, mostly correct! Here no question is too mundane. As a bonus, a proverb is also included. Today’s question, comes from Fernie, in Las Vegas, and he wants to know if Bulgaria is a leader in artificial intelligence education and research?

Fernie, you came to the right place. Rather than answer directly, I will share information about a certain institute located in Sofia, Bulgaria, and let you decide. Let’s jump right into it by shouting out the Institute for Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Technology, INSAIT.
https://insait.ai/

INSAIT is a mere toddler; it was founded in April 2022. INSAIT is the first university in Eastern Europe dedicated exclusively to computer science and AI technology education. INSAIT is part of Sofia University, but functions autonomously. Holy independence, Batman!

INSAIT is backed by technology elites, including two of Switzerland’s most prestigious universities and global technology behemoths, i.e., Google, DeepMind, and VMware, etc. INSAIT says its sole focus is on scientific excellence, conducting world-class research, attracting outstanding international scientist, and training the next generation of technology leaders. Let’s peruse their course offerings, beginning with machine learning.

Machine Learning. INSAIT defines machine learning as the area of computer science that focuses on extracting knowledge from large data sets and using this knowledge for making predictions and decision making. INSAIT believes the combination of colossal data sets and increasing access to powerful computation means there are exciting opportunities for data-driven algorithms.

Computer Vision. According to INSAIT, computer vision is an interdisciplinary field that studies algorithms through which computers can comprehend images at a high level. INSAIT says, and with good reason, there are numerous applications for computer vision, including autonomous driving, robotics, object recognition, gesture analysis, tracking, scene understanding, medical images, and embodied AI. Will AI be peeking through my window? LOL.

Quantum Computing (QC). Quantum computing is hyper computing. QC can leverage the properties of quantum states. Look out!!! QC is revolutionary and will make what is now impossible or impractical, possible in seconds. Holy no speed limits, Batman! INSAIT is focused on the software side of QC, including programming languages, optimization, verification, and algorithms.

Cyber Security. INSAIT intends to become a cyber security tour-de-force. INSAIT says it will focus on cryptography and developing new security protocols, including communication systems. Holy bat shield, Batman!

Automated Reasoning. Reasoning is what makes human intelligence and allows us to draw conclusions based on logic, says INSAIT. Not surprisingly, INSAIT has a focus on automated reasoning related to fundamental math and logic questions. Their automated reasoning program examines decision making under uncertain conditions. Fabulous! All of life works under uncertain conditions! LOL!

Natural Language Processing. Speech perception is central to human language. According INSAIT, natural language process is the study of computational techniques for automated processing and analysis of speech and text. INSAIT aims to develop principled algorithms for processing massive amounts of text and speech data and insights based on linguistics. INSAIT keep in mind, the spoken word is only half of all communication!

INSAIT also supports graduate studies in data management, algorithms, and computer programming languages. A complete buffet of AI graduate education for the amazing price of $36,000 per year, including room and board. If I were 22 again I would … but I’m closer to 122 LOL.

Time to end with a proverb from Bulgaria, where they say, “A slip of the foot is not nearly as dangerous as a slip of the tongue.

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Artificial Intelligence, Yogi Nelson

IS IT POSSIBLE TO EARN $10M PROVING WEAK AI CAN SUPERVISE STRONG AI?

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis. Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered, mostly correct! Here no question is too mundane. As a bonus, a proverb is included. Today’s question is from Victor, in Altadena, CA. He wants to know if he can earn $10M by developing a Weak artificial intelligence (AI) system capable of supervising a Strong AI.

Victor, you came to the right place. On December 14th, Open AI released a research paper titled, Weak-to-Strong Generalization (system) in which they explored the very question you asked!

https://openai.com/research/weak-to-strong-generalization

Open AI starts with a premise; the premise is Strong AI systems will be vastly more intelligent than humans in 10 years. Holy left behind Batman! Open AI says our current method of controlling AI relies on human supervision. However, future AI systems (Strong AI) will be capable of extremely complex and creative behaviors making it difficult for humans to reliably supervise them. Sounds like a sci-fi horror movie! Based on that premise, OpenAI has the following hypothesis–humans can control weak AI systems and weak AI systems can be designed, built, and used to control much stronger AI systems. Therefore, controlling Strong AI systems in the future should be possible. OpenAI says their hypothesis has been proven correct in a lab setting. Let’s unpack their research and findings.

I’ll quote from the report. “The research suggest there remains important disanalogies between our current empirical setup and the ultimate problem of aligning superhuman models.” In other words, more work is needed.

Open AI says, it may be easier for future models to imitate weak human errors than for current strong models to imitate current weak model errors, which could make generalization (control) harder in the future. Nevertheless, we believe our setup captures some key difficulties of aligning future superhuman models, enabling us to start making empirical progress on this problem today.” Said succinctly, we know managing superhuman models is likely to become a major issue, but we are working on it! Are you reassured?

Let’s examine the three findings:

Finding 1: When ChatGPT2 was used to supervise GPT-4, the resulting model typically performs somewhere between GPT-3 and GPT-3.5 and Open AI was able to recover much of GPT-4’s capabilities employing weaker supervision.

Finding 2: Naive human supervision, such as reinforcement learning from human feedback, could scale poorly to superhuman models without further work.

Finding 3: It’s feasible to substantially improve weak-to-strong generalization.

After discovering that Weak AI in the lab was able to control Strong AI, Open AI says it is committed to undertake two actions.

To start, AI has committed to releasing open source code to make it easy to get started with weak-to-strong generalization experiments today. In other words, the computer codes used in the research will be publicly available to researchers thus putting more brain power to work. Fantastic! https://openai.com/blog/superalignment-fast-grants

Second, OpenAI will launch a $10 million grants program for graduate students, academics, and other researchers to work on superhuman AI alignment broadly. https://openai.com/blog/superalignment-fast-grants. Outstanding!

In summary, the Open AI report said, 1) managing future superhuman AI models is likely to be a problem; 2) preliminary research suggest Weak AI could manage Strong AI models; 3) more research is needed; and 4) $10M in grants is available to any one capable of designing a Weak AI system capable of controlling a Strong AI system.

We end with a proverb from Mali, where they say: When an old woman dies, a library burns to the ground.

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson