Technology news

Artificial Solutions unveils software toolkit to allow developers to build platform independent intelligent, humanlike conversations into their mobile apps.
Artificial Solutions, the natural language interaction (NLI) specialist that enables users to have a meaningful, humanlike interaction with technology, announced today that it will be unveiling Teneo Toolkit at Mobile World Congress (MWC). With Gartner already predicting that voice will be a disruptive technology to watch in 2012, the Teneo Toolkit will allow developers to easily include Artificial Solutions’ patented technology and enable their mobile apps, software programs or devices think, reason and converse in an intelligent, humanlike manner, regardless of platform, device or language.

noHold, Inc., developer of the most interactive and diagnostic Virtual Assistant technology and Confederated Knowledge, announces that leading companies in Hi-Tech industries like PC, and networking are choosing to connect their Virtual Assistants via Confederated Knowledge.

noHold creates Virtual Assistants for web based self-service that increase customer satisfaction, reduce support costs, and capture actionable customer intelligence. As products and services become increasingly interconnected, the need for support across company boundaries is imperative. Confederated Knowledge or CK, is a patent pending feature that allows one Virtual Assistant to connect with multiple Virtual Assistants. For example: When you have an issue with your PC, it could be related to the security software, a peripheral device or the Internet Service Provider (ISP). CK empowers you to start the conversation on your own terms and get answers from a network of interconnected Virtual Assistants.

On November 1, 2011 I gave a talk to Google on natural language processing, including chatbot technology and issues in understanding simple English sentences for a story-game demo which tries to act out the sentences. Download the PDF or read full text below.

Fresh Perspectives

I am an AI research engineer. I want to create things that people use, but that stretch the boundaries of the possible. Whatever I work on, I research it and then try to come at it with a fresh perspective. A fresh perspective is something Google and I have in common, though we approach things from opposite directions. Typically my fresh perspectives involve understanding a domain and then writing a new application-specific scripting language to encapsulate insights I have gleaned. Google’s perspectives come from access to massive amounts of data and hardware.

I research everything. I even researched how to give this talk. I thought about making a lot of clever PowerPoint slides. Then I read up on using and abusing PowerPoint. I abandoned that plan.

Mobile devices are playing an increasing role in the lives of millions of people across the world, across all generations. As more and more online technologies deploy into the mobile realm, Virtual Agent technology is following this trend. Apple’s implementation of Siri, the voice-to-text virtual assistant feature they have added to the iPhone 4S, opened the world’s eyes to mobile virtual agent technology. Android also has added Vlingo, a similar feature that combines voice-to-text and voice recognition technology with its powerful “intent engine” to help users complete their desired action.

The day when artificial intelligence (AI) reaches the stage of self-awareness is “lifetimes” away, the innovation officer at MyCyberTwin has claimed.

Speaking to Computerworld Australia about the possibility of intelligent machines roaming the earth, MyCyberTwin’s chief innovation officer and co-founder, John Zakos, said such a leap in technology may take lifetimes.

Websites have become the service channel of choice for an increasing number of customers and citizens. Studies show that people prefer to visit websites when they need to solve an issue, gather information or make a purchasing decision. Yet, what’s missing from the online experience is the personal service that differentiates the web experience and guides the visitor to the information or solution that they are looking for. Industry analysts have identified that a new generation of Virtual Assistants (intelligent website avatars)  can offer this personal touch.

noHold, Inc., developer of the most interactive and diagnostic Virtual Assistant technology and Confederated Knowledge™, has teamed up with Motorola Mobility, Inc (NYSE: MMI) to develop the Motorola Modem Virtual Assistant which is available to Comcast subscribers now.  noHold and Motorola are providing an integrated and effective first-line-of-support to respond to customer inquiries, which allows service providers to improve customer satisfaction and reduce support costs.

Creative Virtual Ltd has taken web self-service to the next level for two more customers with their recent integration of Google search functionality with the V-Person™ (virtual agent)  solutions deployed on the Milton Keynes Council and Renault UK websites.

Milton Keynes Council’s) online virtual assistant Shak now has the added power of Google search. When a user asks a question or enters a keyword, Shak searches both the V-Person knowledgebase and the Milton Keynes Council website for matches. Results of the site search are displayed in the ‘Google Search Results’ tab and, when no matches are found in the virtual assistant knowledgebase, in a page loaded in the background. This integration means that visitors to the Council’s website are now able to find the answers to all their queries with the ease of one user friendly interface.

Learn more about Milton Keynes Council’s most recent updates to ‘Ask Shak’

Avatars can change our mindset according to recent research by Jeremy Bailenson, co-author of the book Infinite Reality. For example, when people view themselves digitally aged by decades, they are more likely to increase their contributions to retirement accounts. What if your avatar were to virtually gain weight? Most likely you would hit the gym straight away.

MyCyberTwin, a new generation of artificial intelligence technology, today announced the launch of its low cost Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) to the small-medium business (SMB) and developer market. The latest product offering is designed for businesses to quickly and efficiently deploy state-of-the-art chat solutions across their web and social media properties.  MyCyberTwin’s IVAs offer SMBs the ability to answer customer questions instantly and accurately, decrease staff costs, increase sales and customer engagement, and find out what customers are really thinking by capturing the analytics of the interaction.