CFI Podcast

CFI Podcast: Machine Intelligence, from University to Industry

Cameron Schuler and Frank Chen

Posted January 11, 2017

From the significance of Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo wins to recent advances in “expert-level artificial intelligence” in playing an imperfect/ asymmetric information game like poker, toys and games have played and continue to play a critical role in advancing machine intelligence.

One of the pioneers in this area among others is the Alberta Innovates Centre for Machine Learning — now the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (amii) — which in 2007 solved the long-standing challenge of checkers, and in 2015 produced the first AI agent capable of playing “an essentially perfect game” of heads-up limit hold’em poker. But what does that mean for the evolution of such technology out of play and into production? Out of universities and into industry? (Especially when many such university programs and talent are being hollowed out by companies and they’re reliant on intellectual property or provincial support, as is the case of this University of Alberta based institute). And how can CEOs and others embrace learning about this tech somewhere in between?

So… what will it take to make AI “real”? What about genetic algorithms, treating computers like people, and other near- and far-future possibilities? This episode featuring the executive director of Amii, Cameron Schuler, and CFI deal, research, and investing team operating head Frank Chen covers all this and more. The conversation was recorded recently as part of our inaugural CFI Summit event.

image: Nyks / Wikimedia Commons

Contributors
More From These Contributors

The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of CFI or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by CFI . While taken from sources believed to be reliable, CFI has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. In addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; CFI has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.

This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by CFI . (An offering to invest in an CFI fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by CFI , and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for CFI to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.

Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

More About This Podcast

The CFI Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.

Learn More
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
go to top