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DeepMind sounds more and more like IBM Watson by the day. Both created AI engines for games (Jeopardy, Go) and are now focusing on the medical market. The two e

DeepMind sounds more and more like IBM Watson by the day. Both created AI engines for games (Jeopardy, Go) and are now focusing on the medical market. The two examples of actual AI applications cited in the article focus on DeepMind's healthcare efforts: The company is working with the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK on a project around the early detection of acute kidney injuries. Critics, however, argue that the collaboration with DeepMind is wider than the company and the NHS previously disclosed. In addition, it’s also working with the Moorfields Eye Hospital on looking at how it can use the hospital’s eye scans to diagnose eye conditions better and faster. The NHS, however, mostly used its own algorithm in its project, with DeepMind focussing on the front-facing app. Suleyman argued that this is due to the fact that it’s still early days for this collaboration, which only started 12 months ago. So in the health space they're currently doing anomaly detection and building applications for their clients. Sounds very Watson/consulting. Lots of money in healthcare due to the amount of data generated and the complexity of building regulation-compliant. Judging from their website, they've also built an algorithm for reducing cooling energy usage in Google's data centers. There are a ton of IoT platforms that are currently competing to connect a bunch of industrial/medical/automotive/aerospace and defense devices and servers, analyze that data with machine learning and statistical techniques, make it easy for users to build their own cloud/edge applications, and eke out every last drop of efficiency they can for their customers. DeepMind is fortunate to have Google's brand, infrastructure, and reach. I'm just not sure what else separates them from any other "AI" (read machine learning/algorithm-building/efficiency consultancy) out there.

tfgg 10y ago
AFAIK the health stuff at DeepMind is just one part, the research division is the main bit. Not like IBM Watson consultancy-pretending-to-be-AI-research. > I'm just not sure what else separates them from any other "AI" (read machine learning/algorithm-building/efficiency consultancy) out there. probably the amount of pure research they produce: https://deepmind.com/research/publications/ https://deepmind.com/research/publications/
- dpandey 10y ago
  Those are 2 very different things as much as we'd like to believe they're one since they're within the same company. I wouldn't be surprised if google sunsets the company and absorbs the employees in its more profitable products.
  - deong 10y ago
    No way I could see that happening. I mean, they might conceivably decide to fold the group into Google Research rather than keep the DeepMind name, but I doubt they'd do even that due to the name recognition that DeepMind has garnered even among the general public. The idea that they'd take the people and put them to work making Blogger better or something? Not a chance. AI research is pretty much Google's core function. They'd no more break up that functional area than Apple would take Jonny Ive's team and put them answering support calls.
    - dpandey 10y ago
      On the contrary, DeepMind is a subsidiary in the new alphabet structure and is looking at a stick wielding CFO with a profitability question on her face. If they don't figure out compelling products in reasonable time, the researchers will become part of google research (maybe retaining the deepmind name as part of a group within google research) and the engineers will become absorbed or find new jobs. Also, DeepMind is not such a big name outside our little geek community. Try it with someone :)
      - RushAndAPush 10y ago
        Deepmind isn't completely separate from Google. They have a team that helps apply their research to google products. I find it highly unlikely the team would be dissolved considering how successful and prestigious they are becomeing.
      - dpandey 10y ago
        I wasn't implying that DeepMind (or its research team) are going to be dissolved. My point was: I wouldn't be surprised if that happens if they don't find compelling products to make money off of given Alphabet's revenue focus. Also it can go the consultancy type route it currently seems to be headed for and consultancies can make a lot of money (look at IBM), so they could be a great business. But that might leave the researchers unsatisfied with their impact. My point was that ideally we like to believe that research supports products, but generally speaking, most of Google research or Microsoft research papers are rarely applicable to their products. And good researchers like being independent (that's how you woo them - with the promise of independence) so you can't usually dictate what they work on.
nl 10y ago
Google's translation technology and much of the stuff in Google Now was built by the DeepMind (and Google Brain) groups.
tim333 10y ago
>I'm just not sure what else separates them from any other "AI" (read machine learning/algorithm-building/efficiency consultancy) out there. Probably mostly the CEO https://backchannel.com/the-deep-mind-of-demis-hassabis-156112890d8a#.yxomyvkgz https://backchannel.com/the-deep-mind-of-demis-hassabis-1561...

tfgg 10y ago

AFAIK the health stuff at DeepMind is just one part, the research division is the main bit. Not like IBM Watson consultancy-pretending-to-be-AI-research. > I'm just not sure what else separates them from any other "AI" (read machine learning/algorithm-building/efficiency consultancy) out there. probably the amount of pure research they produce: https://deepmind.com/research/publications/ https://deepmind.com/research/publications/

dpandey 10y ago
Those are 2 very different things as much as we'd like to believe they're one since they're within the same company. I wouldn't be surprised if google sunsets the company and absorbs the employees in its more profitable products.
- deong 10y ago
  No way I could see that happening. I mean, they might conceivably decide to fold the group into Google Research rather than keep the DeepMind name, but I doubt they'd do even that due to the name recognition that DeepMind has garnered even among the general public. The idea that they'd take the people and put them to work making Blogger better or something? Not a chance. AI research is pretty much Google's core function. They'd no more break up that functional area than Apple would take Jonny Ive's team and put them answering support calls.
  - dpandey 10y ago
    On the contrary, DeepMind is a subsidiary in the new alphabet structure and is looking at a stick wielding CFO with a profitability question on her face. If they don't figure out compelling products in reasonable time, the researchers will become part of google research (maybe retaining the deepmind name as part of a group within google research) and the engineers will become absorbed or find new jobs. Also, DeepMind is not such a big name outside our little geek community. Try it with someone :)
    - RushAndAPush 10y ago
      Deepmind isn't completely separate from Google. They have a team that helps apply their research to google products. I find it highly unlikely the team would be dissolved considering how successful and prestigious they are becomeing.
    - dpandey 10y ago
      I wasn't implying that DeepMind (or its research team) are going to be dissolved. My point was: I wouldn't be surprised if that happens if they don't find compelling products to make money off of given Alphabet's revenue focus. Also it can go the consultancy type route it currently seems to be headed for and consultancies can make a lot of money (look at IBM), so they could be a great business. But that might leave the researchers unsatisfied with their impact. My point was that ideally we like to believe that research supports products, but generally speaking, most of Google research or Microsoft research papers are rarely applicable to their products. And good researchers like being independent (that's how you woo them - with the promise of independence) so you can't usually dictate what they work on.

nl 10y ago

Google's translation technology and much of the stuff in Google Now was built by the DeepMind (and Google Brain) groups.

tim333 10y ago

>I'm just not sure what else separates them from any other "AI" (read machine learning/algorithm-building/efficiency consultancy) out there. Probably mostly the CEO https://backchannel.com/the-deep-mind-of-demis-hassabis-156112890d8a#.yxomyvkgz https://backchannel.com/the-deep-mind-of-demis-hassabis-1561...