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The Struggle for Accurate Measurements on Your Wrist
July 26, 2015
Until recently, I didn’t know a thing about how my roughly 25-minute bike commute across San Francisco—or any other part of my day, really—affects my body, other than that I inevitably arrive at work sweaty and a bit out of breath when I’m in a big rush. How high is my heart rate? Do my sleep habits affect it? How many calories do I burn? These questions have been on my mind as a number of activity trackers and smart watches have hit store shelves over the past couple of years, promising...
July 26, 2015
Until recently, I didn’t know a thing about how my roughly 25-minute bike commute across San Francisco—or any other part of my day, really—affects my body, other than that I inevitably arrive at work sweaty and a bit out of breath when I’m in a big rush. How high is my heart rate? Do my sleep habits affect it? How many calories do I burn? These questions have been on my mind as a number of activity trackers and smart watches have hit store shelves over the past couple of years, promising...
Why Google’s Neural Networks Look Like They’re on Acid
July 26, 2015
The main difference between our visual processing and that of neural networks is the amount of feedback from different areas of the brain, says Melanie Mitchell, a professor of computer science at Portland State University, who has written a book on neural networks. Google's neural network is “feed forward”—it's a one-way street where data can only travel upward through the layers. By contrast, our brains are always communicating in a million directions at once. Even when we’ve only seen...
July 26, 2015
The main difference between our visual processing and that of neural networks is the amount of feedback from different areas of the brain, says Melanie Mitchell, a professor of computer science at Portland State University, who has written a book on neural networks. Google's neural network is “feed forward”—it's a one-way street where data can only travel upward through the layers. By contrast, our brains are always communicating in a million directions at once. Even when we’ve only seen...
Lessons From the Rise of LegalZoom
July 25, 2015
Yesterday I applied Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation to Big Law. Basically, disruptive innovations...
July 25, 2015
Yesterday I applied Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation to Big Law. Basically, disruptive innovations...
Exiting Stealth Mode, 24M Takes On the Battery Industry
July 25, 2015
Aiming to completely overhaul the lithium-ion battery industry, MIT-based scientist Yet-Ming Chiang on Monday publicly unveiled his latest startup, called 24M. The company uses a novel battery composition based on a semi-solid material that eliminates much of the bulk of conventional lithium-ion batteries—which are typically made up mostly of inactive, non-energy-storing materials—while dramatically increasing the energy density. Chiang and 24M CEO Throop Wilder also say that they can reduce...
July 25, 2015
Aiming to completely overhaul the lithium-ion battery industry, MIT-based scientist Yet-Ming Chiang on Monday publicly unveiled his latest startup, called 24M. The company uses a novel battery composition based on a semi-solid material that eliminates much of the bulk of conventional lithium-ion batteries—which are typically made up mostly of inactive, non-energy-storing materials—while dramatically increasing the energy density. Chiang and 24M CEO Throop Wilder also say that they can reduce...
Legal Leaders Increasingly Open to the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Practice
July 25, 2015
Survey sees a considerable drop-off in the number of legal leaders who believe computers could never replace legal professionals. The industries and jobs most frequently associated with automation and artificial intelligence often fall in the skilled labor arenas—fabrication and assembly, for example. But as artificial intelligence grows smarter, jobs that have historically had a closer affiliation with the humanities may also become fodder for software automation, including man in the legal...
July 25, 2015
Survey sees a considerable drop-off in the number of legal leaders who believe computers could never replace legal professionals. The industries and jobs most frequently associated with automation and artificial intelligence often fall in the skilled labor arenas—fabrication and assembly, for example. But as artificial intelligence grows smarter, jobs that have historically had a closer affiliation with the humanities may also become fodder for software automation, including man in the legal...
Google Reveals Health-Tracking Wristband
July 24, 2015
Google Inc.’s life sciences group has created a health-tracking wristband that could be used in clinical trials and drug tests, giving researchers or physicians minute-by-minute data on how patients are faring. The experimental device, developed within the company’s Google X research division, can measure pulse, heart rhythm and skin temperature, and also environmental information like light exposure and noise levels. It won’t be marketed as a consumer device, said Andy Conrad, head of the life...
July 24, 2015
Google Inc.’s life sciences group has created a health-tracking wristband that could be used in clinical trials and drug tests, giving researchers or physicians minute-by-minute data on how patients are faring. The experimental device, developed within the company’s Google X research division, can measure pulse, heart rhythm and skin temperature, and also environmental information like light exposure and noise levels. It won’t be marketed as a consumer device, said Andy Conrad, head of the life...
Texas High Court OKs Attorney/Client Arbitration Clause
July 24, 2015
The ethics of lawyers signing up clients with contracts that make sure fee disputes never reach a jury is certainly debatable, but such arbitration clauses are not "unconscionable," according to a recent ruling by the Texas Supreme Court. The decision reverses and remands a decision by Corpus Christi's 13th Court of Appeals denying a motion to compel arbitration sought by the firm Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams. The intermediate appellate court found it "unconscionable" to sign up a client...
July 24, 2015
The ethics of lawyers signing up clients with contracts that make sure fee disputes never reach a jury is certainly debatable, but such arbitration clauses are not "unconscionable," according to a recent ruling by the Texas Supreme Court. The decision reverses and remands a decision by Corpus Christi's 13th Court of Appeals denying a motion to compel arbitration sought by the firm Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams. The intermediate appellate court found it "unconscionable" to sign up a client...
Lawyer Training Amid Vanishing Jury Trial
July 24, 2015
Lawyers might be able to do something to recover the "vanishing civil jury trial" in federal courts, according to three U.S....
July 24, 2015
Lawyers might be able to do something to recover the "vanishing civil jury trial" in federal courts, according to three U.S....
IBM Watson for Contract Analytics at Legal OnRamp
July 23, 2015
OnRamp describes itself as offering “hosted software and services to help legal departments deliver results more efficiently with higher quality and lower cost.” I recently spoke with Paul Lippe, CEO (and former GC of Synopsys, an AI software company for computer-aided design), and other management to learn more about their use of IBM Watson. Borrowing from IBM Watson’s notion of “cognitive computing,” Paul calls contracts the “cognitive backbone” of the enterprise. Yet he points...
July 23, 2015
OnRamp describes itself as offering “hosted software and services to help legal departments deliver results more efficiently with higher quality and lower cost.” I recently spoke with Paul Lippe, CEO (and former GC of Synopsys, an AI software company for computer-aided design), and other management to learn more about their use of IBM Watson. Borrowing from IBM Watson’s notion of “cognitive computing,” Paul calls contracts the “cognitive backbone” of the enterprise. Yet he points...
Seven Ways to Make Mediation More Successful
July 23, 2015
Difficult as it may be to believe, Texas lawyers have been using mediation to resolve disputes for more than 25 years. Mediators, during this time period, have developed a broad array of methods of resolving even the most complex problems. Texas lawyers have also received training in mediation advocacy, negotiation, and utilizing various alternative dispute resolution processes. Regrettably, there has been little cross talk between Texas lawyers and Texas mediators about making mediation more effective...
July 23, 2015
Difficult as it may be to believe, Texas lawyers have been using mediation to resolve disputes for more than 25 years. Mediators, during this time period, have developed a broad array of methods of resolving even the most complex problems. Texas lawyers have also received training in mediation advocacy, negotiation, and utilizing various alternative dispute resolution processes. Regrettably, there has been little cross talk between Texas lawyers and Texas mediators about making mediation more effective...
