The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence)

In this engaging conversation, Richard Socher, Co-founder and CEO of You.com and former Chief Scientist at Salesforce, shares his journey from academia to creating an innovative, ML-powered search engine. He discusses how You.com prioritizes user needs over ad revenue, utilizing AI for better search results and features like code completion and essay generation. Richard also highlights the importance of trust in AI and the need for responsible oversight, alongside insights into his previous work on Salesforce's AI Economist project.

In this engaging discussion, Aljosa Osep, a postdoctoral researcher specializing in robot vision, shares his insights on advancing technology for 3D scene understanding. He delves into his innovative work on Text2Pos, which aligns textual descriptions with localization cues, enhancing robot navigation. Osep also explores groundbreaking approaches to forecasting using LIDAR data, redefining object tracking in dynamic environments. His research aims to push the boundaries of robotic vision beyond autonomous vehicles, ensuring smarter, more adaptable robots in various applications.

In this discussion with Kate Saenko, an associate professor at Boston University and a consulting professor at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, she dives into the exciting world of multimodal learning. Kate highlights the significance of integrating vision and language, revealing innovations like DALI 2 and CLIP. She addresses bias in AI sourced from vast online datasets and shares insights on reducing labeling costs through effective prompting techniques. The conversation also touches on the challenges facing smaller labs in a resource-dominated landscape, alongside strategies for robust model generalization.

Fatih Porikli, Senior Director of Engineering at Qualcomm AI Research, discusses groundbreaking advancements in computer vision. Topics include a cutting-edge framework for panoptic segmentation that combines semantic and instance contexts, and novel strategies for optical flow estimation enhancing accuracy. He also delves into the IRISformer, a transformer model designed for rendering complex indoor scenes from single images. Additionally, Fatih highlights the importance of workshops and practical demos at the CVPR conference to engage and inspire future innovations.

In this engaging conversation, Adam Wood, Director of Data Governance and Data Quality at Mastercard, shares his insights into the complexities of data governance on a global scale. He discusses the challenges of navigating regional regulations like GDPR and the importance of metadata management. Adam highlights the role of feature stores in data lineage and emphasizes the need to mitigate bias in data science. Moreover, he sheds light on investments in tools that enhance data quality and collaboration within data science teams.

In this engaging conversation, Mike Del Balso, Co-founder and CEO of Tecton, shares insights from his experience building machine learning platforms at Uber. He discusses the evolution of data infrastructure, highlighting the shift to cloud-based systems and the importance of feature platforms. Del Balso elaborates on the ML Flywheel concept, emphasizing how data can supercharge machine learning. He also tackles the challenges of assembling effective ML teams, offering strategies to avoid common pitfalls and enhance collaboration across teams.

Shayan Mohanty, CEO of Watchful and former Facebook systems architect, dives into the world of data-centric AI. He discusses the complexities of data labeling and the benefits of techniques like active learning and weak supervision to enhance efficiency. Shayan also explores the challenges organizations face with hand-labeled data and the biases that arise, emphasizing the need for a more integrated approach in machine learning operations. He shines a light on the critical mindset shift required to embrace this innovative strategy for better outcomes.

Adrien Gaidon, head of ML research at Toyota Research Institute, shares his insights on principle-centric AI and self-supervised learning. He presents an intriguing fourth perspective in the data-centric AI debate. The discussion covers innovative applications of synthetic data, particularly in autonomous vehicles, and the ethical challenges of machine learning. Adrien emphasizes integrating fundamental principles with data to foster advancements in AI, and how a curiosity-driven approach can enhance model robustness in high-stakes fields like healthcare.

D. Sculley, a director on the Google Brain team known for his insights on technical debt in machine learning, dives into the evolving concept of data debt. He discusses the integral role data quality plays in data-centric AI and highlights common sources of data debt. The conversation touches on innovative strategies like causal inference graphs and stress testing for improving model robustness. Sculley also explores the community's proactive steps to mitigate these issues, emphasizing a shift towards more accountable data practices.

Rob Walker, VP at Pegasystems, returns to share his expertise in AI and machine learning for customer engagement. He tackles the 'next best' decision-making dilemma and distinguishes it from recommender systems. The conversation dives into machine learning's coexistence with heuristic methods and tackles challenges around responsible AI practices. Rob also discusses the significance of feature stores and the balance between traditional models and deep learning, all while gearing up for the upcoming PegaWorld conference.