Four Weekly Tech Newsletter – Nov 8

A round up of the latest tech stories, curated for you weekly, by Four.

Lead articles from November 8

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Artificial intelligence at work

This November, The Fintech Times shines a light on the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). From automation to intelligent analytics and decision making toolkits, AI has taken the world of work and made it work harder. The human-machine connection – artificial intelligence continues to slip into the cracks across the office, workspace and system, providing a helping virtual hand that never sleeps.

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AI and COVID-19: can the machines save us?

Early this spring as the pandemic began accelerating, AJ Venkatakrishnan took genetic data from 10,967 samples of the novel coronavirus and fed it into a machine. The data scientist did not have a particular hypothesis, but he was hoping the artificial intelligence would pinpoint possible weaknesses that could be exploited to develop therapies.

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How to protect back ups from ransomware

Ransomware is getting smarter, attacking backups to prevent recovery. Prevent this from happening by taking a few simple steps. Despite a recent decline in attacks, ransomware  still poses significant threats to enterprises, as recent attacks continue to demonstrate.

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Why robots and artificial intelligence creep us out

People tend to accept robots with humanlike characteristics up to a point. Then, things get strangely uncomfortable.Robots have appeared in film for more than 100 years, with the first depiction occurring in the silent film “The Master Mystery,” starring magician-turned-wannabe-actor Harry Houdini. Previously referred to as “automatons” before “robot” became commonplace, these metal machines have been portrayed as delightful helpers à la C-3PO and WALL-E and as villains, like the T-800 from “Terminator” or VIKI from “I, Robot.”

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Artificial intelligence in healthcare is racist

Last year, it came to light that six algorithms used on an estimated 60-100 million patients nationwide were prioritizing care coordination for white patients over black patients for the same level of illness. Historically, less is spent on black patients than white patients, so the algorithm perpetuates bias.

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AI will change how we think about leadership

The increasing attention being paid to artificial intelligence raises important questions about its integration with social sciences and humanity, according to David De Cremer, founder and director of the Centre on AI Technology for Humankind at the National University of Singapore Business School. While AI today is good at repetitive tasks and can replace many managerial functions, it could over time acquire the “general intelligence” that humans have, he said in a recent interview with AI for Business.