In 2016 Google released Google Assistant which is an AI based virtual personal assistant, essentially their version of Siri or Alexa. These are owned and operated by two other tech giants: Apple and Amazon respectively. Google has been continually improving Google Assistant and started integrating it in more of their products, like the Chromecast and Nest. Google wants to be your personal assistant, whether you are at home or on the move.

This week Google made some big announcements regarding their AI personal assistant. Not only will it be integrated in two new smartphones, three smart speakers and a laptop but Google themselves will develop the hardware. To really gain an edge over the competition, like Alexa and Siri, they decided to create their own ecosystem instead of relying on third-party hardware producers. The aim is to increase their market share and to do this quickly. Google has designed a dedicated Google Assistant button that can be found on the Samsung Galaxy S8, their own new laptop and you can even get Google Assistant on your iPhone. New functions include quicker access to emergency calls, meaning Google isn’t just putting Assistant in more devices but also increasing its usefulness. While such an approach isn’t uncommon for a company like Apple, it is for Google. They are known for their hands-off approach, specifically related to Android where they worked with a great variety of third-party hardware partners. By taking matters into their own hands they can set the standard and they shouldn’t aim low. Amazon’s Alexa has a sizeable advantage and they recently announced a deal with Sonos, increasing their user base.

The end goal isn’t to sell more devices however, it’s all about data. Google knows that the more data you have, the more you have advertisers to offer and getting consumers to use their AI based personal assistant is one way of gathering more data. Without third-party hardware producers Google maintains full control of the Assistant and its future, allowing them to join the two other tech giants in the fight over who your personal assistant is going to be.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-takes-assistants-fate-into-its-own-hands/

Have you ever been lost? Luckily you live in the right age where the solution is beneath the tips of your fingers.Ten years ago, Apple presented the first iPhone. Bundled with it came the first mobile version of Google Maps. Google Maps grew in popularity due to its ease of use plus the fact that one year later it was also available on Google’s own brand new Android OS. Soon Google Maps had become the defacto choice for the consumer segment. Google Maps also relies on its users to make the maps better by using anonymously gathered data from its users coupled with clever algorithms. In addition the aggregated information is also used to generate real-time traffic data.

Starting from the early 2000s stand alone navigation devices, built by the likes of TomTom and Garmin, gained rapid popularity. The release and continual improvement of Google Maps and similar applications shook up the navigation industry once again, like GPS devices had done before. Maps competes with stand alone devices on all three value principles: 1) Google is the cost leader since its free and the devices aren’t. 2) Constant updates and re-releases, making them the leading innovator. 3) Seamless integration with the user’s phone, winning on customer intimacy. It should be no surprise that within a few years of Maps’ introduction the market for GPS navigation devices has become nearly non existent.

The navigation industry wasn’t the only one affected by the release of Google Maps though, as it came with many other innovations and effects. One of these innovations is Streetview which allows you to look at streets in over 50 countries as if you were standing there yourself. While this doesn’t disrupt an existing industry, it does provide additional value for the users with a service that didn’t exist previously.  

The combination of a free standard online service -for end customers- with tailored services -for business-, redefined map making and completely disrupted the traditional map industry. Instead of having actual production or printing sites, the tech company has developed a platform on which everyone can easily access. Users save time & money and do not need to buy a map for each city and country.  

How can a free service like Google Maps generate revenue? Mostly through advertising.
Google also offers businesses a premium variant of its Maps API.
In the second quarter of 2017, Google websites such as YouTube generated more than 15 Billion dollars, more than 70 percent of Google’s total revenue. Maps has more than 1 billion monthly users and Morgan Stanley analysts say Maps could hit $1.5 billion in incremental revenue in 2017.
In the future, Google Maps could help to reduce traffic and improve directions based on more IoT sensors in devices like traffic lights, crosswalks and traffic signs. These opportunities, combined with the sustainable business model create a positive outlook for Google Maps, but a new disruptor could be just behind the horizon.

Created by Group 6

Last week researchers from Stanford University released a study for which they had created an algorithm based on deep neural networks, which is able to determine whether an individual is heterosexual or gay based on just one picture. The success rate of this algorithm for men is 81% and 71% for women. The use of similar systems by governments or companies to detect facial features is becoming more and more common and this research highlights the threat to the privacy and potentially the safety of gay men and women. By showing the danger beforehand the researchers hope to protect those individuals (Wang & Kosinski, 2017).

However good their intentions may have been, not everyone is happy with their work. The journal that was going to publish the paper has placed it under ethical review and the researchers themselves have received death threats. This showcases a bigger problem related to AI and ethics since the use of AI by social scientists is becoming more widespread but good ethical guidelines are lacking and can be decades old. Other studies have also gotten into trouble, like NamePrism. This app can determine ethnicity and nationality based on just a name with the intended use of preventing racism, but it can also be used for the exact opposite (Chen, 2017).

Some progress is now being made towards creating ethical standards, which includes the researchers behind NamePrism who have teamed up with others to create Pervade. They aim to put together a clear and transparent process for AI research (Chan, 2017). OpenAI is another non-profit aiming to create AI that benefits society as a whole and warn them about the (ethical) downsides of AI development. Co-founder Elon Musk has even called the progressive development of AI the biggest existential threat to humanity. Luckily we are not there yet, but creating some ethical guidelines and rules concerning AI research and development seems like a good idea for the sake of all of us (Dowd, 2017).

Sources:

https://osf.io/fk3xr/

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-research-is-in-desperate-need-of-an-ethical-watchdog/

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/elon-musk-billion-dollar-crusade-to-stop-ai-space-x