Tag Archives: startup

Why Google and Coursera Are Betting Big on Workflow Learning?

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IMAGE CREDITS: COURSERA.ORG

When you’re trying to pick up a new skill, the hardest part is knowing where to start. There are so many resources out there – tutorials, courses, books, video series – that figuring out a logical path to expertise can seem downright impossible. No wonder so many New Year’s resolutions to learn to code or speak Spanish end up falling by the wayside. But now, two of the biggest names in online education, Google and Coursera, are teaming up to help solve this problem. They’ve joined forces with an Al startup called Lutra to develop “workflow learning” – personalized step-by-step lesson plans that guide you through the complex process of gaining a new competence. If this ambitious initiative lives up to its promise, your days of haphazardly cobbling together tutorials may soon be over. Workflow learning aims to do for skills acquisition what GPS did for navigation – plot the most efficient course so you can stop worrying about the journey and start enjoying the destination.

Google and Coursera’s New Partnership Signals a Shift Towards Workflow Learning

Google and Coursera want to make virtual collaboration as mindless as possible. Their new partnership means your workflows may soon run on autopilot.

Instead of manually coordinating with your team, intelligent software will handle the scheduling, task management and project oversight for you. ###No more chasing down updates or figuring out who’s supposed to do what. The Al overlords have it covered.

How exactly? Coursera’s online courses will now feature Google Spaces, a “digital workspace” where teams can organize work, share files, and assign responsibilities. The Spaces integrate with Google’s productivity tools like Docs, Sheets and Slides so you can collaborate in real time without changing tabs.

The goal is “workflow learning” – picking up teamwork skills through hands-on experience, not just lectures. Students in Coursera’s project management certificate program will use Spaces to complete group assignments, getting a feel for organizing sprints, delegating tasks and streamlining handoffs.

For companies, it means cultivating T-shaped employees with both broad knowledge and specialized expertise. And for you, it means less time spent coordinating with your team and more time focused on the work itself. The robots have your back.

So go ahead, give in to the machines. They just want to make your life easier, increase your productivity, and ensure your team’s success. What could possibly go wrong?

How Lutra.ai Fits Into Google and Coursera’s Workflow Learning Approach

Google and Coursera see dollar signs in your daily workflows. With their new partnership and Lutra ai acquisition, they want to turn your routine tasks into big data and monetize your productivity

Have a spreadsheet you update each morning? They’ll track how long it takes and serve up “personalized tips” to shave off seconds. Respond to lots of emails? They’ll analyze your replies and suggest “optimized responses” to save you time. Talk about a dystopian future where Al monitors your every move under the guise of “helping.”

Sure, increased efficiency sounds great in theory. But do we really want companies logging our every click and keystroke? Talk about privacy concerns. And you just know those “personalized tips” will include “convenient” links to purchase additional Google and Coursera products and services.

While the companies frame their workflow learning approach as empowering, it reeks of data harvesting. The more tasks you complete through their platforms, the more they’ll know about your work habits, preferences and behaviors. They’ll pitch it as “customized experiences,” but really it’s customized exploitation.

No thanks, I’ll stick to managing my own workflows and productivity, Google and Coursera. I don’t need your greedy algorithms all up in my business telling me the “optimal” way to do my job. Some things are better left unoptimized and imperfectly human. Your move, Silicon Valley. Checkmate! 

The Potential Impact of Workflow Learning on Employee Skilling and Reskilling

So Google and Coursera want to teach you new tricks, do they? Well isn’t that special. Apparently, these Silicon Valley savants have decided that “workflow learning“—training you on the job through Al-powered software is the next big thing-

As if we don’t have enough to do already, now the big brains want to “optimize our productivity” by interrupting us with “micro lessons” while we work. Because there’s nothing more engaging than pop-up windows when you’re trying to get stuff done, amirite?

Okay, maybe we’re being a bit harsh. This newfangled workflow learning could actually help in a few ways

  1. No more wasted time in useless meetings or tacky team-building exercises.
    Micro-lessons mean micro-commitments of your time.
  2. Al that actually knows what you need to learn. The all-seeing algorithms will track what skills you use and suggest training to fill in the gaps.
  3. Practice makes perfect. Doing short lessons while working helps reinforce what you’re learning through repetition and real-world application.

The Downside

Of course, there are some potential downsides to consider with this approach:

  1. Distraction overload. Pop-up lessons popping up could seriously disrupt your flow and focus.
  2. Privacy concerns. Do you really want Al monitoring that closely what you do all day? Big Tech is already way too nosy.
  3. Deskilling effect. If Al is spoon-feeding you “just-in-time” skills, will you still work to develop expertise and mastery in your field?

While the promise of workflow learning is intriguing, it may end up causing more problems than it solves. The road to workplace hell, after all, is paved with good intentions. But if done right, it could upskill and empower us in valuable ways. The jury’s still out on this one, folks.

Conclusion

So there you have it, folks, why the tech giants are doubling down on this new frontier of workflow learning. While the notion of Al systems that can dynamically generate personalized learning paths for you may seem a bit creepy or overhyped, don’t dismiss it just yet. After all, we now live in a world where algorithms know our tastes and habits better than we know them ourselves. Rather than railing against the machines, you might as well hop on the workflow learning bandwagon. Let the bots do their thing and guide you to upskill more efficiently. Before you know it, you’ll be acquiring new superpowers at warp speed and wondering how you ever learned without the help of your trusty Al sidekick. The future is here, and Its tailored just for you.

Links worth visiting:

Every single Machine Learning course on the internet, ranked by your reviews

How Does Learning In The Flow Of Work Support Employee Development?

The Future of Learning: It’s in the Flow

Sources:

The article was written using hypotenuse.ai and is based on a TechCrunch article.

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5 Ukrainian startups that are about to break through

Reading Time: 2 minutes 

How many Ukrainian startups do you know?  At best – Looksery (purchased by Snapchat), Grammarly and Jooble.

Too bad. Theres far more to learn about.

Here are 5 hottest startups of 2016 that are about to break through. Whether you are a tech-lover, startuper, or an investor – have a look at the list and learn where the real deal is.

Ain.ua online portal, devoted to startups and entrepreneurship, has conducted a study among business angels, investors, and entrepreneurs, who were asked to point out startups, which developed and achieved something in the past year.

1st place – Sixa

Sixa – a personal computer in the cloud

“Sixa is a full computer that operates right from the cloud via a client app. It supports various devices and is capable of running the most demanding applications. With Sixa users can easily deploy a cloud computer optimized for different tasks and access a powerful virtual computer without hardware upgrades” (www.sixa.io). This app not only allows you to have a powerful computer without actually having it, but also save the costs of utility bills and free you from buying expensive hardware. In 2016 Sixa has received the investments from legendary Y Combinator, receive $300,000 from the venture fund TMT Investments, and finally received $3,5 mln from Californian fund Tandem Capital, abd Ukrainian Digital Future and Horizon capital.
Currently, they launched beta-version of the service, that everybody can try for free.

2nd place – Mobalytics

Mobalytics – Personal performance analytics for competitive gamers

The platform measures players’ performance, helps them define their strengths and weaknesses and provides personalized advice, based on Gamer Performance Index, on how to improve your skills. The app was first introduced during TechCruch Disrupt in San Francisco, where it victoriously took the 1st prize. Shortly after the big triumph the startup received $2,6 mln investments from Almaz Capital, Founders Fund, General Catalyst and GGV Capital.

3d place – People.ai

People.ai – sales productivity platform powered by AI

The app analyzes sales managers’ performance and displays the statistics to the employer, helping to identify who works best and who underperforms. Startup received the investments from the Y Combinator, as well as many funds from business angels.

4th place – Hideez Technologies Inc.

Hideez – hardware cybersecurity project

In 2016 Hideez launched their first product – Hideez Key, which stores all the digital keys and certificates on one device, allowing unblock smartphones, laptops, open RFID-locks or authorize mobile payments. It also works as a anti-thief sensor for the thongs like wallet or keys, as it distances from the smartphone it is connected to, the app will notify the user of the loss.

And finally last but not least – SolarGaps

SolarGaps – world`s first solar smart blinds.

SolarGaps is all-in-one energy solution. With the help of solar panels on the blinds, which generate electricity from solar energy, you can supply yourself with own electricity and save on your electricity bills.
This great invention has received a support from the investors of $1 mln over this summer. So, we are definitely going to hear about them soon.

 

References

http://ain.ua/top-10-ukrainskix-startapov-2016

 

People.ai is using machine learning to rewrite the sales ops playbook

 

 

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HYPERLOOP: 150 km from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in just 12 minutes!

Reading Time: 2 minutesFew global companies are investing to make the Hyperloop concept come real. The main investor is the Start-up Hyperloop One, which is a US founded company in 2014 in Los Angeles. It is producing low-pressure tubes in connection with electromagnetically levitated pods to ensure humans a quicker and more comfortable transportation possibility. The vehicle can speed up to 1000km/h in complete silence. Nowadays they are developing passenger transporting systems in Finland, the Emirates, US, Switzerland and Russia. In the next year the company would like to present its first Hyperloop in the Nevada dessert.

As the main investor of the company is the Dubaian port operator DP Word Group, the company decided to introduce one of their project for goods transportation in the port of Dubai. Now the Hyperloop One presented another project in the Emirates: Dubai and Abu Dhabi should be connected by a Hyper speed-train.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A7GsAPR3J0

Few of the details are already known as Hyperloop started the cooperation with the transportation authority of Dubai. The basic and most valuable issue is that the distance will be passed in just 12 minutes. Now the travelling time between these two cities takes 2 hours, therefore the speed train would improve incredibly the travelling comfort among this two metropoles. The train will be available for passenger transport. These will have the possibility to order a capsule at the Hyperloop One Portal via App. Each session 4 capsules are going to be transported via the pipe.

The passenger cabin and the Hyperloop one pipe

 

The Hyperloop gate

Up to date there are no high-speed trains in the Emirates

Besides the Hyperloop One also the consulting company McKinsey and the architecture company Bjarke Ingels are participating at this project. The inventors suggest that the train connecting Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be launched in October 2020. The precise time line and plan are not available yet. They will be created when the first Hyperloop-test in Nevada succeeds. Indeed are the Arabic Emirates very suitable for introducing that kind of technological newcomer. On the one hand they have enough funds for the project and on the other hand there is a lot of unused land with a very limited rail network. Therefore the Hyperloop would not be a competitor to other high-speed trains.

 

Sources: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3820787/High-speed-train-Hyperloop-Sydney-Melbourne-55-minutes.html

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/132405-what-is-elon-musk-s-700mph-hyperloop-the-subsonic-train-explained/gallery

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w8iAImk164s/maxresdefault.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A7GsAPR3J0

https://hyperloop-one.com/

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Apple acquired motion capture technology used in Star Wars

Reading Time: 2 minutesApple acquired a startup Faceshift, who developed a widely used motion capture technology. Rumors about buying the company from Cupertino Faceshift were before, but now Apple has officially confirmed the purchase, according to TechCrunch.

The publication writes that Apple has not confirmed the deal direct text, but the company voiced its standard response to the case of the purchase: “From time to time Apple buys smaller technology companies. And we generally do not discuss our goals and plans”.

Company Faceshift, founded in 2012, is located in Zurich. It motion capture technology is actively used in scientific research, computer games and film industry in particular, for the filming of the latest Star Wars.

motion-capture

Faceshift is the author of the method of animation characters and objects without the use of markers. This technology requires no special costume or sensors, that is the actor was for the camera in any clothes. Markerless motion capture is especially convenient when shooting the fights, falls, jumps and other complex movements, during which markers may be damaged.

Faceshift has consumer software solutions, including Faceshift Freelance and Faceshift Studio. Sales last stop after the company was bought by Apple. With this program you can create characters and export them to the software for 3D-animation.

It is unknown what the purpose of the acquisition of Apple. In addition, company from Cupertino have patents on the technology of motion capture, face recognition and augmented reality, which Apple acquired earlier along with three other European companies working in this field – PrimeSense, Polar Rose and Metaio. The media speculated that the company uses the acquired technologies in the new generation Apple TV.

More info on a company : Here

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