NewsBrief September 10, 2021

How to Organize Data Labeling for Machine Learning: Practical Approaches

(insideBigData) Organizing data labeling for machine learning is not a one sitting job, yet a single error by a data labeler may cost you a fortune. Now, you probably wonder how do I get high-quality datasets without investing so much time and money? If you do proper responsibility division and estimate the time needed for a given task and the tools to help you get it out of the way in a short while, you’ll have nothing to worry about. In other words, prior organization of data labeling for a machine learning project is key to success. Read More

Overcoming the Challenges of Machine Learning Models

(EnterpriseAI) Organizations are always fighting to operationalize their machine learning models and get them into production to help their businesses. Data scientists build machine learning models, but they are typically unaware of the production aspects of deploying or scoring those models. They usually refrain from touching production in case something goes wrong. It is also typically not their responsibility to do DevOps tasks such as deployment of models. Traditionally, these DevOps functions and the work of the data scientists have been siloed. With all this happening in the background, let us consider five challenges that machine learning models present in production. Read More

Army researchers seek to provide more data to soldiers through two projects

(C4ISRNET) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Research Lab made breakthroughs this summer on two neural networks projects that could assist commanders’ decision-making on the battlefield and provide soldiers’ health information through fibers in their uniform. The advancements come as the U.S. military is preparing for data-driven battle, in which gobs of data are transmitted across the battlespace, processed and used in a commander’s decision-making. Neural networks are a combination of algorithms that work together to recognize patterns in data through a process similar to that of the human brain. Read More

Experiences in ML Scaling, ML Project Delivery in Healthcare

(aitrends) Experiences with AI and machine learning at CVS Health and St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho, are having practical benefits to the two organizations. CVS Health is learning how to scale AI applications using machine learning, especially through the house of machine learning operations (MLOps) tools, according to Nels Lindahl, director of Clinical Decision Systems, speaking in a virtual session at the recent Ai4 Conference held virtually recently. And St. Luke’s Health Center put a COVID-19 prediction program, a supply chain purchase engine and a demand-based staffing application into initial production using AI and machine learning, said Dr. Justin Smith, senior director of advanced analytics at St. Luke’s, also at a recent Ai4 virtual conference session. Read More

Pentagon looks to address supply chain issues exposed by pandemic

(Federal News Network) Federal employees impacted by Hurricane Ida now have access to an emergency leave transfer program. Federal employees can donate unused annual leave to their colleagues affected by the storm in Louisiana, Mississippi, New York and New Jersey. Impacted employees must apply through their agencies to receive donated leave. It’s up to each agency to figure out who needs additional leave and who has leave to donate. The Office of Personnel Management said it will help coordinate the transfer of leave among federal agencies. Read More

How Supply Chain Transparency Boosts Business Value

(MITSloan) In November 2020, executives from Amazon, Ikea, Nike, and other high-profile companies were called before the U.K. Parliament to address claims that their suppliers might be using forced labor.1 Members of the House of Commons’ Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee were investigating the potential exploitation of Uyghur Muslims from the Xinjiang region of China.2 They directly challenged company representatives on how their organizations maintain visibility into and combat modern slavery within their supply chains. With businesses’ sourcing practices under such scrutiny, supply chain transparency has become an imperative in many industries. Emerging regulations such as the U.K. Modern Slavery Act and the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act are not the only drivers of this trend, however. Read More

Satellite Communications: DOD Should Explore Options to Meet User Needs for Narrowband Capabilities

(GAO@100) The U.S. military depends on systems of ultra high frequency (“narrowband”) satellites for secure communications. The newest system provides cell-phone-like voice and data service to military users and could provide a 10-fold increase in communications capacity. However, DOD isn’t fully using the system—due in part to the military services’ delays in delivering compatible radio equipment to users. As a result, users must continue to rely on an older satellite communications system, which is oversubscribed. Read More

Air Force tests new anti-ship tactics and munitions

(MilitaryTimes) What was old is once again new. In an effort reminiscent of U.S. aerial attacks in the Pacific theater during World War II, the Air Force announced that an F-15E used a specially developed GBU-31 2,000lb Joint Direct Attack Munition, along with new tactics, on a moving ship. However, unlike the SBD Dauntless or Helldivers of yesteryear, the F-15E isn’t designed for naval warfare. Nor, according to the Air Force, is the JDAM an “ideal” weapon for attacking ships. “For any large moving ship, the Air Force’s primary weapon is the 2,000-pound laser-guided GBU-24,” Maj. Andrew Swanson, 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron F-15E weapons system officer, said in a release. “Not only is this weapon less than ideal, it also reduces our survivability based on how it must be employed.” Read More

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Collects First Mars Rock Sample

(NASA) NASA’s Perseverance rover today completed the collection of the first sample of Martian rock, a core from Jezero Crater slightly thicker than a pencil. Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California received data that confirmed the historic milestone. The core is now enclosed in an airtight titanium sample tube, making it available for retrieval in the future. Through the Mars Sample Return campaign, NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are planning a series of future missions to return the rover’s sample tubes to Earth for closer study. These samples would be the first set of scientifically identified and selected materials returned to our planet from another. Read More

Mars helicopter Ingenuity flies low and slow on lucky flight 13

(Space.com) Number 13 was good luck for NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity, as the tenacious little craft seamlessly completed its 13th flight on the Red Planet on Saturday (Sept. 4). Ingenuity, or “Ginny” as it’s nicknamed, landed on Mars Feb. 18 tucked inside NASA’s Perseverance rover. The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) chopper has flown much longer and farther than mission team members originally expected, now with 13 flights under its belt when it was originally slated to make just a few short technology-demonstrating sorties. “Happy Flight the 13th!” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, which manages Ingenuity’s mission, tweeted Saturday about the craft’s latest successful Martian journey. Read More