The Cloud Blog – Page 2 of 5 – The cloud blog is a place where you can find all the information related to cloud transformation into the real world.

Open Your Eyes through Facebook AI

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Kapil Munjal

Facebook AI – New Possibilities – thecloudblog.in

“Do you feel sad when you see an excellent photo clicked, but find the eyes of the person closed in it? If the answer is yes, then this solution from Facebook can help – Facebook AI. “

I would call it a much needed innovation where the whole world is concentrated on clicking images of themselves and their dear ones. A large amount of images captured are not up to the mark and we always thought of clicking it correctly. Facebook being totally dependent on its users who uploads loads of images everyday and some are not being uploaded due to issues. This will now make those images relevant and will get uploaded. This technology being available on Facebook only will create better positioning for them as well. I would say that this is a step in the right direction. Facebook will be giving more value to its users and earn their loyalty through this. So, be ready for Facebook AI to save our day.

Innovation is the key

If we look at the world from top, then you will see that its kind of saturated with its issues and approach. The big organizations are finding it hard to move ahead. These organizations and their visionary founders are looking towards space, Machine Learning capabilities, Artificial Intelligence, Medical innovations etc. Every business you run always has scope to move ahead. The only thing you need is to look for different arenas which can help you deliver more to the customer. Facebook being a social platform provides functionalities which give more so that they stick to this platform. No need to mention the players like Amazon, Google, SpaceX, Tesla – who are the front runners in innovation and are advancing ahead a fast pace.

How do you identify areas to deliver more to the customer?

Sometimes we avoid small things which might be a big chunk but is not recognizable. Just like this innovation of opening the eyes by Facebook AI, it looks like an issue which happens due to the devices owned by the users, or their imperfection to take shots or may be due to lighting. It looks like something not created or owned by Facebook, but they identified it as an area where they could get more loyalty from its users by delivering better experience and renewed memories.

Eyes being closed is mostly common when we click images of kids which are usually our best memories. As it could not be clicked correctly, we used to delete or discard such images. But now we have this innovation from Facebook to assist us. Facebook will allow this functionality to be used only when you upload images to Facebook ,will create more content for the social platform.

I would say opportunities are everywhere which could be due to someone else but you can always take a step ahead and deliver better.

How Facebook AI plans to achieve it?

This is like photoshopping your images without using Photoshop. If you are a designer, then you must have heard of Adobe Photoshop. It’s a popular tool which is used by designers all over the world to create graphics for web/print etc. What Facebook AI has achieved, was previously being done by designers with this tool…of course it needs a very good tool knowledge. So, bringing the eyes to life is an achievement as it is now being done through a program without intervention of any designer or any tools.

Now, let’s look at how they would have worked on the algorithm to achieve this important milestone –

a) Again, Data is the key

b) Find previous images to understand your eyes structure

c) Find face dimensions from current images and previous images from library

d) Calculate the size of the eyes by checking the face dimensions in the image

e) Change the size of the eyes copied from other images

f) If this is the only image available, then you probably need to supply some images. Or, wait for some guess work to be implemented

g) If its the only image, then be prepared for some surprises. Without any sample availability, it will be tough to guess the exact eyes structure, its colours, dimension etc.

These are some of the steps which this algorithm will have to go through before achieving the right output.

If you have given deep thoughts into AI algorithms and feel that there could be more steps which would be required, then do share your thoughts in the comments section below for everyone to understand.

SpaceX changing the way we travel or “Space Travel”!

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Kapil Munjal

“Imagine travelling from New Delhi to New York in 1 hour – The next level of Travel!”

Today we struggle with the huge amount of hours required in inter-continental travel. New Delhi to New York takes around 24 hours, even New Delhi to Europe take more than 8 hours. All this is going to change as per the plans shown recently by Elon Musk for his venture “SpaceX“. SpaceX is working on a plan to transform travelling on earth, where a rocket will take you to space and then re-enters the earth and brings you to your destination. As per SpaceX’s achievements in the past related to Space Science, it looks like as if the perfection has been achieved in Rocket Science. This perfection is now turning into commercial aspirations of the corporation.

Is it really something achievable?

We usually say “Nothing is impossible!”, then how can we doubt something on which so many Govt. Agencies / Pvt. Corporations have worked in the past 70 years. It’s only that it has been planned to execute in a different way now. Although, such references of travel can be found in many science fictions but it’s only now that we feel confident to achieve it. It’s just a matter of time when we achieve what seemed impossible years ago. The same thing is with SpaceX vision. There have been multiple articles on the internet saying this is too ambitious, a logistics nightmare etc. But they are just viewpoints. If we really want the answer, then we should look at it from the perspective of mastering the space travel.

Now-a-days, we hardly get to hear any incidents where space rockets failed or any casualties happened due to that. It gives a clear signal that humans have mastered space travel. A famous phrase “This is not rocket science”, will will be irrelevant 10 years down the line.

In order to prove their current capability, Elon showed the journey of rocket inventions happened at SpaceX. You can check out the below picture from the presentation where evolution is shown pertaining to their Rocket Capability.
(Image Courtesy – SpaceX)

Space Travel – Disruption in the air

Air travel has come a long way in the last 200 years, which will be redefined by SpaceX by introducing travel through space designed rockets.

Elon seems to be obsessed with the way humans travel – First Electric Cars and now Space Rockets.

In today’s world, where most of the digital work could be achieved even from a distance then why do we want to shift to the next level. This level is going to change how we used to imagine travel. The disruption will be huge as there will be a new category of travel available. The regulatory authorities need to work on new regulations for this industry, the people need to change their mindset.

Wheel -> Bullock Cart -> Motor Vehicle -> Air Travel – Space Travel

Shift in Strategy

Why such a sudden shift from Space exploration to providing services in current times. It is only due to the need to commercialize operations at the earliest. Till now, the funding received has only been for the space missions(Space Travel / Reaching Mars) but the time has come for SpaceX to generate revenues for its investors. Any commercial venture is not viable if it can’t generate revenues for its investors. The change in strategy is right one if SpaceX wants to continue exploring the space and be relevant in the future.

In spite of all the failures, the true strength of SpaceX is now visible to the world. Now we understand, what a brilliant vision and perseverance can achieve.

“An ever emerging world of possibilities is right upon us, we just need to realize our strengths and conquer!”

Digital Connectivity Version 2.0 – Are we ready yet?

Posted on November 20, 2017 by Kapil Munjal

“Your Fridge does not allow you to order beer as it can impact your liver – your watch doesn’t allow you to eat sugar as you are diabetic – you can’t sleep more than 8 hours as your home automation system doesn’t allow. A connected world is coming our way. Prepare for it and prepare really well!”

All we have been doing till now is interacting with humans/animals or other living creatures. It’s only few years since we are interacting with computers also, but it was not a nuisance in our lives. But now, the humanity is moving to a stage where non-living objects will be talking to us in the form of alerting or stopping us from doing what we like. Just visualize – if your watch alerts you to not eat sweets as you are a diabetic. Your home automation system doesn’t allow you to order beer because you have liver condition.

Till now, we are not into such kind of restrictions. As humans beings, we are owners of our own decisions and actions. The next generation of technological advancement is going to put a lot of restrictions on humans which could be good as well as bad. Its just that we need to prepare well for this next wave of digital connectivity.

Why are we moving towards such a world – do we really need it?

The humans have a tendency to evolve – for the better or worse it is up to an individual to decide. Our very existence has been dependent on the our evolution to move ahead. On this course of evolution, we have done some really bad things to environment, fellow humans, animals, trees & plants etc. Its our expedition to move ahead which forces us to evolve whether its good or bad. There was a time of slavery where humans were kept as slaves to do industrial work. A time when we kept on releasing harmful gases which damaged our very protection from Sun – the ozone layer. When we started cutting trees to convert the places into concrete jungles. So, all these expeditions have seen some good and some bad stuff happening to all of us.

Even after going through rough times and difficult situations, we can’t ignore that we have progressed, developed, evolved during this very course. The next part of the evolution is a connected world where everything and everyone will be tracked and controlled through devices. You may like it or not but its coming our way and going to catch us.

IPification of everything and everyone

Now, what is IPification? It’s just a term which I am using where an IP address is being assigned to an object as well as human. We all know that IP addresses are used to communicate over internet and all the digital connected items have one to communicate. Here, I have added humans as well because there are inventions going on where connected device will be embedded in humans. And for these devices to communicate over internet it will be mandatory to have IP address. So, ideally it will become IPification of humans.

How far is it?

All evolution changes from mankind has taken quite longer duration but this one is coming really fast and will strike us soon in the next 10 years at a very large scale. Like other inventions and evolution, this will also come first in the west and then it will move to east. Even if early adoption will be in the west, but its mass production will be in surely be in the east (China or India). I see it coming sooner than the other changes, as we have mastered the art of moving ahead faster by involving Artificial Intelligence into our systems. We have also got quantum computers now which are million times faster than the current computer systems – I would say “the traditional hardware”. And also the greed of business/politicians will also play a crucial role in early adoption of such technologies.

“We are on the verge of fast paced life where divided opinions may not find a place – as everyone will have to accept the destiny to bind with the Digital World”

Advobot – Advocate as a Service

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Kapil Munjal

“Advobot! A bot fighting your case instead of a lawyer! “

As the whole world is moving towards digitization then how can the legal system be left behind. If you go online, you will find huge number of sites which connect lawyers, clients, advisers. These are mere platforms which helps you to gather information, connect with experienced people and fight a legal case. But the story is going to be different once AI takes over and facilitate invention of “Advobot”. The whole legal system will be dependent and available through bots.

Challenges against Judiciary System

Well, in the beginning all the new ideas seemed unrealistic but finally when they were realized…they took over the world. If we look at the current judiciary system, then you will find it completely outdated – 19th century system. Hardly 10% of the processes are digitized and the adoption itself has its challenge when it comes to those employees who are going to retire soon. As per the latest study, there are over 3 crore cases pending in various courts. These numbers are expected to go up as there are more cases filed everyday as compared to the number of cases resolved. Such situation clearly indicates the need for a faster judiciary system especially in India.

Reluctance to use such automation

Every new beginning always has naysayers, so will this one be. It will definitely get some negative attention in the beginning as its impact is on a bigger ecosystem. The acceptance will come only when people will see its benefits superseding the negative impacts.

Such bots will enable lawyers to dig deeper into the laws/sections and bring out the best argument on their cases. In a way, its going to be an ease for the current players in this field. But this will also impact jobs as it will reduce the dependence on human intelligence. Advobot will help in fighting difficult court cases with less human intelligence in fact it can take it to such levels where a lawyer doesn’t even need to look at the case at all.

I expect it to be a short term reluctance but eventually it will go away when people realize the benefits arising from such services.

How it can be achieved?

Not everyone has idea regarding today’s technical advancements in the field of Machine Learning and Artifical Intelligence. These technical changes have brought drastic impacts in achieving Self-driving cars, solar energy advancements etc. These technologies are bringing a tectonic shift in the way new innovations are being done. The best use of these technologies has been in the fields of space exploration, robotics and climate control. Moreover, its not limited to these fields only. There are other implications of these technologies which are currently being explored and legal technologies is one of them.

Too good to be true? Checkout rossintelligence.com

Still if you think its too good to be true, then you must check out ROSS Intelligence. It’s an AI based system which assist lawyers in doing superfast research on their cases and deliver better productivity to their clients. This system has been designed to facilitate lawyers with – a) Improved Workflow Integration, b) Bill Less, Deliver More advantages.

Final Thoughts

One such system “Advobot” is expected for Indian Judicial system as well, where our whole legal system is available through AI to explore and provide extra terrestrial intelligence for the pending cases with super-sonic speed. Looking at the development happening in the Indian technology ecosystem, the day is definitely not too far when we will have such systems in place for our Law System.

You can share your views below on the need of such system for Indian judicial machinery.

Entertainment as a Service (EaaS) – Tapping into the mind

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Kapil Munjal

Entertainment as a Service – thecloudblog.in

“A bot which entertains on the kind of jokes only you like”, how does it feel?

All humans have peculiar taste towards entertainment, some like jokes, some like horror, some like games, some like driving etc. etc. This peculiar taste in entertainment creates the need for entertainment bots which understand your mood and play what gives you happiness. I am referring here the interactive entertainment industry which runs into trillions of dollars … maybe more. We know the journey from radio, TV to the internet but we hardly know why this industry has grown to be the number one. This industry touches on a very personal spot of human life that is to be happy.

We all want to be happy all the time and we look for this happiness in the outer world in different forms. Instead of switching channels or watching movies, we just access the entertainment bot and ask it to check our mood and show us what we would like. This is something not available today, but when it gets launched then it will surely be called “Entertainment as a service” or “EaaS”. The personal aspect will come from Machine Learning which will check the mood of a person by tapping into the human brain and show as per the mood.

Interesting but far fetched

It may look a little far fetched but this will eventually come as browsing the internet or surfing the channels is a waste of time. There was a time when people hardly had access to TV, which was a big surprise to watch real-life visuals. Kids used to think that the actors are inside the TV and dancing. As the world progressed, all these technological innovations seem intrinsic to our daily routine. Similarly, EaaS, when arrive will become an intrinsic part of our daily routine and would not seem far fetched at that stage.

Need for such service

Its human tendency to reach higher than the others. The quest for higher targets has left very less time for ourselves and this will be the use case for saving time and play something as per your mood and taste. In today’s internet age, the customized entertainment is in our hands which is a step ahead of the Radio/TV revolution. EaaS will be the next step in this quest which will change the way technology entertains us.

AR – a feather in the crown

Augmented Reality is the latest game changer in the entertainment industry. Combined with your previous years personal data, it can do wonders. Augmented reality is making communication as real as it could be. Now, combined with the fun quotient if we go ahead and bring alive some characters as per your thoughts and give your mind a soothing / fun feeling then it would be another remarkable change for EaaS.

Conquering the unthinkable

“How would you feel if you don’t have to open your eyes to watch your entertainment program?”, this is what we saw in a previous article “Computing with Skin and Mind – Facebook Building 8 Initiative” which talks about Facebook working on a technology to reach the brain through the skin. We can refer to the movie “Matrix“, where people were plugged into systems to learn new skills. If everything goes well with Facebook’s plans, then we might encounter such technologies in the near future.