Everything is awesome

By Ryan Heath

Presented by Connected Commerce Council

With help from Derek Robertson

National Science Foundation headquarters outside Washington. | NSF

In the second installment of our regular Friday feature, the Future in Five Questions , Sethuraman Panchanathan, a computer scientist who is the head of the National Science Foundation weighs in on the potential that science has to change the world. 

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

What's one underrated big idea?

Unleashing every bit of talent in this nation. I don't think we have taken full advantage of the talent — every day I wake up thinking it’s a missed opportunity. We have to take full advantage of all the domestic talent, and then welcome global talent like (there’s) no tomorrow.

I want people in schools to have what I call ‘STEM spark’ – that moment where science lights up. I had my STEM spark when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Back in India, the U.S. consulates got the moon rocks, and displayed them. Seeing that rock, knowing it came from the moon, and what that made possible, made 8-year-old me truly excited.

What’s a technology you think is overhyped? 

I don't think any technology is overhyped.

Take AI, for example: AI has been criticized over the last several decades as hype. But it’s like any science process: You take risks, you fail, you get up and you do better. You may not get the perfect solution the very first time, but that doesn’t make it overhyped.

What book most shaped your conception of the future?

I look for nuggets of unbelievable ideas. For the moment the book I'm finding very valuable is Jumpstarting America by Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson. It gives reinforcement to my thinking that, yes, there are many places of innovation and potential in America.

What has surprised you most this year?

Our resilience through this COVID moment. I shouldn’t say I am surprised, but I am grateful and mind boggled. I came in as director at NSF during the pandemic, and the unbelievable human grit and tenacity people have exhibited, they’ve delivered much more than what they did in the previous years.

What could government be doing regarding tech that it isn’t?

Our economic and national security depends on our ability to invest heavily in the technologies of today and tomorrow, unleash innovation everywhere by building ecosystems of innovation in every region of the country, and quickly develop our domestic talent across every geographic and demographic background. Investment in future technologies like AI, quantum, semiconductors and alternative energy hold massive implications for national security and climate change. It is therefore imperative that the Federal Government double down now on these.

A message from Connected Commerce Council:

Small businesses face big consequences from overregulating tech. By breaking up integrated services, it gets harder and more expensive for smaller shops to reach customers. That’s why 87% of small businesses are concerned that antitrust legislation is going to make digital tools more expensive and less useful. Say yes to supporting small business success. Vote NO on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S.2992).

Last year, Google trained an AI on a massive dataset of Reddit comments with the goal of better detecting emotion in typed language .

It sounds high-concept, but like anything else in computing it’s subject to one of the field’s oldest laws: garbage in, garbage out. Researchers at Surge AI recently dug into the dataset and discovered that about a third of it is egregiously mislabeled by people unfamiliar with U.S. idioms. A few particularly noteworthy (or, honestly, just entertaining) examples:

• “daaaaaamn girl!” — labeled as “anger”
• “Hi dying, I'm dad!” — labeled as “neutral,” in Surge’s telling most likely “because labelers don’t understand dad jokes”
• “Yay, cold McDonald's. My favorite.” — labeled as “love”
• “These 2 are repulsive little kids” — labeled as “approval” (??)
• “But muh narrative! Orange man caused this!!!!!” — labeled as “neutral”

The post’s author, Edwin Chen, uses these examples to make the point that in AI research the quantity of items included in a dataset is often mistakenly prioritized over their quality, leading to subpar moderation when the tool is unleashed on actual content. — Derek Robertson

Watermelon slices sit in a pitcher of ice water at a poolside cafe at a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. | AP/Lynne Sladky

And now, for an almost literal afternoon snack: Researchers in Florida are using AI to help protect watermelon, a $200 million cash crop for the state, from blight.

As Hannah Farrow reports for Pro s , the USDA-supported research is meant to protect watermelon from something called “downy mildew,” which can destroy an entire crop in days. A scientific study published by the researchers describes how they used machine learning models to better detect various stages of the mildew’s progression and therefore make it easier for farmers to quickly treat it or remove the affected crops.

The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has a $300 million program that in part directs funds to research on AI tech in farming , in everything from robotics to early-detection efforts like this one to evaluating data with the goal of making farms more efficient and sustainable. (There’s pure AI-driven altruism in agriculture, too: Last month researchers unveiled an AI that can detect chickens’ distress calls on factory farms.) — Derek Robertson

A message from Connected Commerce Council:

• Experts weigh in on what the new top banking regulator should do about fintech, including crypto .
  
• Is crypto Twitter cracking insider trading cases before the Department of Justice?
  
• The VC scene is growing its physical presence beyond the Bay Area (although most of the money is still there .)
  
• You’re likely being tracked digitally in more ways than you know .
  
• Military software developers are racing to more accurately predict the outcomes of battles .

Stay in touch with the whole team: Ben Schreckinger ( bschreckinger@politico.com ); Derek Robertson ( drobertson@politico.com ); Konstantin Kakaes ( kkakaes@politico.com );  and Heidi Vogt ( hvogt@politico.com ). Follow us on Twitter @DigitalFuture .

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A message from Connected Commerce Council:

Small businesses run on tech. Integrated digital tools help Frank DiCarlantonio at Scaffidi’s Restaurant reach customers, scale up, and compete. In fact, 75% of small business leaders say digital tools are important to their operations. But Congress is aiming to break up the digital tools and services that small businesses rely on—making them more expensive and harder to access. It could be the difference between success and closing their doors for good. Don’t forget about small businesses. Vote NO on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S.2992).

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