When we use the term ‘Smart’ we are, more often than not, referring to our latest iPhone or Alexa device. Yet London itself is being smartened up rapidly. Indeed, our Mayor Sadiq Khan is currently working alongside the Smart London Board to ensure London is abreast of all technological developments.

Cities like London produce a whole lotta noise and a whole lotta data- and this is only set to increase. It is said that by 2025 two thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas. This rapid urbanisation of our society has brought with it a number of new issues, including overcrowding, congestion, sustainability and resource management. Machine learning technology can offer solutions to manage these issues by organising all this data and putting it to real beneficial use. It provides a way to turn all this information, all this noise, into actionable insight.

Image: London and Partners image of Sadiq Khan at London tech week

And London is ideally placed on the frontline of this AI revolution. Our population is meant to hit 10 million by next year. Our urban issues rapidly require smart solutions and there is a real appetite for this technology. New research by ATG has established that almost a quarter of Brits (24%) say they would happily fund smart city solutions using their own tax contributions.

Image: ITV

Machine learning is the ‘Smart’ in the solutions that everyone is referring to. This technology’s power lies in its ability to apprehend, process, inspect and evaluate data to influence everything from traffic, water and energy management. It has the potential to revolutionise the structures and processes of our urban environment and create a cohesion between social, economic and environmental opportunity.

Smart city initiatives will help us understand how cities are functioning and will become a vital source to city planners. Part of the power of this technology is its ability to identify many different elements of urban life simultaneously and in real time- suddenly cars, people and rubbish make up part of an all-encompassing metropolitan picture.  Machine learning is something that deepens with time as the computer learns to spot consistencies, so  it follows that the future will see it predicting changes and patterns.

Technologies, such as our InMotion platform, can be employed to automate pedestrian, road and traffic analysis. In London, for example, our roads are often in need of repair and maintenance- an estimated £150 million is spent each year on fixing potholes. Our technology works alongside sensors that fit directly onto vehicles that both spot portholes and share this data with the relevant local authority.

Likewise, this technology can also ease our clogged roads and help us deal with the increasing problem of traffic. Traffic cameras are placed strategically to automatically detect vehicles and this information is then sent back to authorities that can estimate the density of traffic on the road. The system can then alter traffic lights accordingly and reduce overall congestion safely and seamlessly.

The benefits of this technology are numerous- one of the most obvious being that it will drastically cut costs. If technology takes on the burden of traffic, pedestrian and road management, there is no longer a need to pay humans to do mundane tasks like watching traffic cameras. The knock-on effect of this is that automating these tedious jobs frees humans up to focus on creative thinking and strategy. Likewise, if traffic is flowing energy consumption will also be reduced, improving emissions and air quality. There is ,therefore, a very clear interconnection between social, economic and environmental remuneration.

As our city becomes more and more congested, it has become increasingly clear that our current urban infrastructure is no longer fit for purpose. Technologies like Jaggu’s are remapping the future of our urban spaces and making sure that no-one is left behind.

On Saturday at the South by Southwest conference congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) emerged as the unlikely champion of AI. For Cortez machine learning technology has the potential to do lasting social good and is something people should be excited by. Cortez made the point that loss of jobs is only a problem within an economic system that renders the unemployed defenceless and vulnerable: “Robots aren’t the problem, economics are”.

This is certainly a surprising interpretation by the staunchly socialist Cortez. The perceived take is that the rise of automation will eliminate the blue-collar class who are working in those tedious jobs that can be easily automated. In this version of robot dystopia, the government are left to support a growing number of unemployed whilst the rich get richer off cheap automated labour.

For Cortez the way to balance the scales is taxation. Ocasio-Cortez quoted Bill Gates’ suggestion that robots should pay taxes as reparation for the people they are replacing. However, Cortez is much more direct about what this would actually look like stating that the robots owners are the ones that should have to pay taxes –“What [Gates is] really talking about is taxing corporations at 90%, but it’s easier to say: ‘Tax a robot”.

AOC at the SXSW event on Saturday: Getty Images

This reimagining of the workplace might sound radical, but it is what we are already working on here at Jaggu HQ. Through automating thankless labour we are seeking to create a freer working environment, where humans can focus more on creativity and expression.

AI will never be able to replace the spontaneous and subjective spark that is human creativity. Understanding being the uniquely human character trait essential to producing affecting work. This level of artistry is simply not something an emotionless bot is capable of replicating.

Technology can support humans by dealing with the more mundane parts of the working process, minimising the time spent on tasks like supermarket checkouts or analysing datasets, indeed, by automating some of these initial stages of work, AI frees up human beings to become more genuinely creative.

Human and AI connection: Getty Images

Here at Jaggu, we do precisely that, comprehending reams of data so creatives don’t have to. We automate the menial and thankless processes of content curation. In this way, we hope to free up creatives’ time to focus on the more pressing issue of creative development- providing them with all the information they need to make meaningful and exciting choices.

Cortez’ remarks speak to a wish to rediscover a more human economy. For her, automation is a way of allowing people to rediscover work that is more in keeping with the natural human condition and simply “enjoy the world we live in”.

Her commitment connects technological innovation with social responsibility and reflects our own view that AI can be used as a tool for good.

Automation is here to help not hinder.

AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is the buzzword of ‘Now’, the glittery zeitgeist companies are trying to sprinkle into every newsletter, department and investor meeting. But what actually is it and how is it understood? Very simply, AI is understanding developed in computer systems to execute tasks humans usually perform. In most cases, it involves the use of cognitive technologies designed to augment human intelligence through the ability to comprehend, reason, learn, and cooperate like we do. We’re surrounded by artificial intelligence in our smart devices. But with more interest in AI comes more misinformation as well. And many unfounded yet growing fears for the uncertain future.

A lot of people still react to the idea of AI with terror — truly believing that a cold, metal robot is coming to take their job and rule the world. With fear comes the fish tales and we have picked 5 of the most common to debunk:

FISH TALE 1: AI is a substitute for humanity

One of the most common AI related fears is that it is going to replace us and lead directly to mass job losses. However, the reality is so much further than the truth. The growth of computerisation in industries like production have created a palpable anxiety about how technology will limit human creativity and affect jobs. McKinsey’s recent research found that 45% of current jobs can be mechanised — a statistic that does little to calm people’s already growing anxieties. However, the reality is that most AI is developed to enhance the overall creativity of humans, working alongside us not instead of us. We need to reframe technology as an aid and not a substitution for human endeavour.

Fish Tale 2: All AI looks and acts human

There is nothing organic about Alexa and yet people often mistake her dulcet tones as an indication of human characteristics and qualities. It is important to remember that human sounding/appearing programmes like Siri are merely trained to respond in a specific way by a human programmer. Once you realise software is simply wired and installed to appear more like us those initially charming characteristics seem far less natural.

Next time Alexa tells you ‘she likes you’- just remember she is wired that way. It’s not true love. Sorry to disappoint.

Fish Tale 3: AI is only for huge companies with the mega-bucks

Technology and AI have associations with complex and mysterious science. People often think of expensive metallic robots and impressive drones when they hear the buzzword ‘AI. As a result, there is a common misconception that AI is only really beneficial to companies that already have a technological capability or extra money to spend.

The reality is that AI is often used in a much less shiny way and can be most valuable to businesses when its simple to use. Many new technologies are aimed at businesses from all ends of the spectrum with all sorts of focuses. You might not realise it but when you go onto a website and a little chatbot box pops up asking if you need assistance that is AI. As is your Google Maps. It is not ‘black box magic’ reserved for the elite.

Fish Tale 4: AI will take over our planet

Ruthless Robots are not coming to get us. This harks back to our earlier point that AI is not in any way human- it lacks the unique and beautiful capabilities of thought and emotion that define the human experience. Machines rely on people — the function because of people and are here to help not abolish.

As business models change, AI is emerging as the palatable people-helper we have all been looking for. The Robot revolution is not coming but instead technological advancement is here to make our lives easier and more effective.

Here at Jaggu our technology has gathered and analysed over 22,000 user generated images associated with The Six Nations. This unprecedented access to the spontaneous way people are interacting with the tournament online tell us how the world is visually making sense of Rugby.

The ‘Six Nations’ pictures people upload are digital footprints that can be read as maps. Each image contains clues about the emotions and behaviours of the poster. Everything from the timing, colours, locations and visual associations in a post tell us something about how people are interpreting the . These images are talking about Rugby and our AI understands their language.

The AI Engine automatically divided these 22,000 ‘Six Nations’ images into 9 visual groups that we like to call ‘clusters’. In order to further make sense of these patterns, we then grouped these clusters into 5 concise ‘categories of meaning’. These ‘thematic subheadings’ reveal global visual language patterns when it comes to #SixNations

First Impressions

The overall visual feeling is that Rugby’s fanbase is diversifying. The Six Nations is beginning to look far beyond normal sporting demographics, emerging as inclusive, accessible and appealing to international fans, women and families.

These visual interpretations show that the Six Nations fanbase is becoming a core entertainment for those previously ignored by the sport. Moving out of a non-inclusive ‘masculine domain’. As traditional gender roles are being questioned a change is underway. Women make up 50% of the global population and the Six Nations fanbase is beginning to mirror that.

The second key insight here is that Six Nations fans are no longer passive spectators. They’re active, vocal, creative and expressive — sharing content, protesting and having a greater influence on the sporting event itself.

The Six Nations is visually unfolding as a unifying force- one that is most welcome in today’s divided political climate.

1. ‘A Game for all’ 30.3%

The largest these categories of meaning we have named a ‘A Game for all’. This group comprises of clusters of images that communicate that the Six Nations fanbase is now more inclusive and diverse than ever before. Female fans have become equal to male fans and children and babies often feature in these pictures too. These clusters feature families, mothers, fathers and grandparents all enjoying the games communally in pubs, taking selfies and sharing drinks together.

This visual meaning category tells us something about people’s motives for watching Six Nations. Most people associate the tournament with being connected to a larger group- using Rugby to bond and spend quality time with friends and family of diverse sexes and ages. There seems to be a sense of belonging for fans — a being connected to a larger group through the sport. The Six Nations, visually and online, is about the simple enjoyment for all that comes from watching sports as a leisure activity.

It is also notable that the data we collected for this AI analysis was from a global pool. The largest majority of posts come from the UK and Ireland but there also many other geolocations pretty evenly scattered around the globe. From these visual interpretations we can therefore glean that the SixNations fanbase is not limited to the local places where the games are being played or where the teams are from. There is also a cluster of unusual cultural images from around the world — a Chinese New Year greeting, the Eiffel Tower, a Palm tree and bizarrely a Pikachu. As people can tune into any game around the world there is a sense that the SixNations is becoming a more global form of entertainment. Fans are enjoying the games anywhere and everywhere.

2. ‘Spreading the News’ -28.19%

The second largest category features images of details about the fixtures and teams of matches- screenshots of timetables, articles and chalk boards outside pubs. They are interesting insights into how Six Nations fans are becoming active and influential participators in the sport- ambassadors sharing the news.

There is an inherent, underlying desire in these posts to be actively involved in the sport in some way- a dialogue from fan communities that is attempting to bridge the gap between the event itself and the viewers stake in it.

There is also a strong sense here of the commercial value of the Six Nations to pubs and businesses during this time.

3. ‘Alcohol’ (with a specific focus on Guinness!)- 27.6 %

There is a large category of meaning here focused on alcohol- revealing that the Six Nations is visually being interpreted as a diversion from everyday stress or boredom. An ‘Escape’ from the mundane and chance to drink and forget. These are simply images — a beer bottle, a glass of wine or more commonly a pint of Guinness. It seems the SixNations is more about the pleasure that goes alongside it than the pure game itself. Its value resides in the excuse is gives to people to relax and enjoy a drink.

The Drinks Cluster

These clusters are also testament to Guinness’s successful sponsorship campaign. When they began in 2018 one of their key aims was to unite its messaging and appeal to both older core Rugby fans but also bring in the younger fans in an attempt to brand them as part of the Six Nations experience. Judging by how predominant these Guinness posts are and how many young people seem to be in the images- the brand has succeeded in what itset out to do.

The Guinness Cluster

4. ‘The Game Itself’ 13.91%

The final category of meaning is devoted to clusters focused on the game itself. It features images of the games themselves (live and from home) and pictures of the Captains. Fans have traditionally been seen as passive- they’re supposed to watch and do little else. However, these images show them in a new light. Six Nations Fans are using social media as a tool to express themselves and get involved in the action. Once again, we are seeing a very active form of fandom.

The Captain Cluster

These Fan posts about the game itself are interesting as they show that fans are becoming part of the visual event narrative by sharing and producing media in huge volumes. The value of this to brands and the sponsorship opportunities that come with it should not be underestimated.

Live Game Cluster

It is clear from the way that the world is visually interpreting the Six Nations that the game itself has become secondary to the other motives that drive fans to the Sport. These motives of entertainment, connection, escape and bonding have become synonymous with the event- drawing in fans from all over the world, from all ages and all genders as well. The Six Nations fans are an active and vital part of the event and their images tell an unfolding story about what Rugby is beginning to mean to a modern audience.

AI is the zeitgeist of now. It is everyone’s favourite buzzword, bandied around town and sprinkled over every start-up’s homepage. And rightly so. This is AI’s glittering moment- big data, algorithms and deep learning all working together to make our lives and businesses run more smoothly and efficiently than ever before. But AI’s real superpower lies in it’s potential to save our planet and tech giants are beginning to cotton on. Microsoft for Earth is a 50 million dollar, 5 year programme to deliver AI solutions to companies tackling climate change, water, biodiversity and water. As the natural world fast deteriorates there seems a real opportunity to harness technology’s power for good, using it to transform those processes that have led to and exasperated climate change. Here is how AI is fighting for our Earth:

AI is catching poachers

As the mass extinction of many of our planet’s most endangered species intensifies, so must our efforts to counter illegal wildlife poaching. A staggering 200,000 elephants are killed in Africa each year. That is a chilling 55 per day.

AI can help. Conservationists have been using computers and a mixture of game theory and algorithms to predict future poaching strategy. Using data collected by local patrols on previous poaching activity, the computers generate new patrolling routes that lead to the locations where poaching is most likely to happen next.

Now conservationists are further applying deep learning to make these poaching insights update in real-time. Infrared cameras were previously used to detect night-time poaching activity but the work required to sift through thousands of images, and monitor which were poachers and which were simply animals, was time-consuming and inefficient. With deep learning, a computer can be trained to automatically make this distinction. Connecting drone camera technology with laptops back at base stations speeds up patroller’s response time- which means catchin’ those bad guys faster and more frequently.

AI is smartening up our agriculture

As the environmental impact resulting from intensive farming practices increases, so does the demand for more efficient changes in food production. Farmers around the world are using AI analytics to increase food production to meet the ever-growing global demand, whilst simultaneously limiting waste.

Like vehicles in our cities, tractors can be fitted with sensors that record real-time data on the condition of the soil, the soil moisture, and the amount of sun and rain the plants have received. AI sensors can even help detect the early stages of crop disease and other issues. The analysis of the data collected gives farmers the actionable insights they need to keep feeding the world in an organised, precise and safe way, lowering water usage and waste.

Visual recognition and real-time environmental monitoring can also be deployed to gather data on livestock’s daily movements, as well as analysing growth indicators, pregnancies and other health-related matters. It can automate the feeding of animals and analyse and forecast supply and demand. Farmers can therefore better plan for production- meeting demand more efficiently and eliminating the need for harmful chemicals.

AI’s ability to predict weather patterns also has a place in agriculture, allowing famers to decide when is the best time to produce certain crops in any given year- making sure they don’t use our precious resources growing the wrong stuff at the wrong time.

AI is smartening up our cities

Smart cities, powered by AI platforms, are changing the structure and life of our urban areas. With better organisation and planning comes a more efficient way of living and building, creating cities that provide clean, healthy living conditions for all- free of congestion and pollution.

Air pollution in Beijing Photo: Kentaro IEMOTO

AI Sensors can provide specific recommendations on how best to reduce air pollution — a specific factory that should be closed down or a need to reduce the number of car drivers. There is an increased accountability that comes with being able to directly pinpoint guilty sources.

AI can prevent natural disasters

In 2018 there have been 11 major natural disasters that have resulted in loss of life and property. Organisations such as Global Forest Watch, Microsoft Earth and Chesapeake Conservancy are using AI to make near real-time, unfolding digital maps that monitor our world’s vital signs and provide predictions about what will happen next. The power of this technology lies in its ability to alert us to when a watershed is most likely to flood, patterns that indicate impending deforestation or keeping track of the daily health of our remaining coral reefs.

Photo: CC BY-SA3.0

Conservationists now have constant and direct access to deeper insight on the health of our ailing planet- spotting whenever things start to worsen. If people and governments receive these earlier warning signs that conditions are ‘right’ for a disaster, proactive precautions could be taken. AI, through its ability to comprehend and analyse weather patterns, and common results from those patterns, can provide alerts infinitely faster than any manual process can. With technology we can predict how long a natural disaster may last and its severity, based on our 360 understanding of conditions.

AI for our planet is a real opportunity to make a lasting and tangible difference in the fight against climate change. It seems only fitting that we, as the responsible party, come up with the solution- AI has the power to do that very necessary good.

To the inexperienced, AI is most commonly associated with complicated digital platforms and ruthless robots that are coming for your jobs. Certainly creativity, and all the disciplines that rely on it, are not the first thing that come to mind when thinking of AI. However, now that marketing is more data driven than ever, AI, and its’ assistive technologies, finally have a meaningful place within the creative sphere.

The use of data motivated marketing has become the norm across a variety of different sectors. With the creative process becoming increasingly reliant on data comprehension, AI has the opportunity to move from ‘Extra’ status to that of ‘Supporting Artist’.

Understandably, the growth of computerisation in industries like production have created a palpable anxiety about how technology will limit human creativity and affect jobs. Indeed, recent research from McKinsey found that 45% of current jobs can be mechanised — a statistic that does nothing to quell growing suspicions that AI equals displaced workers and human unemployment. However, if we reframe technology as an aid and not a replacement to human endeavour, it becomes less a dirty word and more a palatable ‘people helper’. A digital paintbrush as it were and not a potential Picasso.

Obviously, AI will not replace the spontaneous and subjective spark that is human creativity. Empathy is a uniquely human character trait, essential to producing affecting material that engages markets- something an emotionless bot is not attempting to replicate. However, AI technology can become a vital tool for creative minds, supporting human processes and not leading them.

Georges-Pierre Seurat: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-86

Technology can support creatives by dealing with the more mundane parts of the working process, minimising the time spent on tasks like analysing datasets and looking for marketing insights. Indeed, by automating some of these initial stages of work, AI frees up creatives to become more genuinely creative.

Here at Jaggu, we do precisely that, comprehending reams of data so creatives don’t have to. We automate the more menial process of content curation and analysis that might have taken a creative team weeks of complex process management. In this way, we hope to free up creatives’ time to focus on the more pressing issue of creative development- providing them with all the information they need to make meaningful and efficient choices. We seek to make the marketing world both trackable and measurable , providing a way to quickly and effectively read digital footprints as maps for their next creative strategy. We truly believe that technology can make a real and tangible difference to creativity.

At the end of the day, if agencies and brands can quickly establish the value of data, the more likely it is that their creative ideas will hit the mark.We are here to automatically enhance the human creative process not replace it. The Arty Androids have arrived.

Marketers who want to optimise their content and understand their audiences are watching the evolution of large-scale image analysis intently. The potential value of having unsolicited access to the spontaneous lives of consumers is clear, the how is less so.

At the risk of stating the obvious, images are of fundamental importance to marketers in this highly visual world. Much of what people post on their sites is their most aspirational selves- the people they want to be and the moments that want to have and be seen having. All of this presents a unique opportunity for creatives to be part of a specific conversation that their consumers are already having -a window into how to sell people the right stuff, in the right kind of way.

The problem, however, is the images themselves- there are just too many of them, updating in a constantly refreshing cycle. Take all the data and images that are stored within image-friendly platforms like Twitter and Instagram. There are more than 3 billion images shared on these social media sites every single day. The work required to find insights at this unprecedented scale, sifting through millions of images, image captions and videos- is stretching human capacity and taking precious time away from the creative process.

This scale of content means that creative departments now have a tough balancing act on their hands, trying to marry the creative side of the process– forming powerful narratives– with the infinitely less sexy tech side of data analytics. The two areas do not always sit well together. According to Dotted’s 2018 Marketing Survey, almost three-quarters- that’s 72%- of marketers feel that a culture of data collection and analysis is killing their creativity. Many blamed inefficient and costly data-collection processes.

AI solutions like Jaggu are here to help. Machine Learning technology cantake the mundane out of marketing -helping them gain insights into their audiences quickly, at scale and in real time. These insights become an invaluable tool for understanding how brands’ (or their competitors’) products are being interpreted by consumers- the language used, the visual associations being made, the locations chosen, the timings of posts and the emotions that underpin them. Jaggu technology can also help brands find out who their consumers actually are, how they feel, what they care about, and how they are relating to and influencing one another. It can even help marketers predict how their consumers might react to future situations.

Suddenly creatives have the key to understanding how to market to their specific audiences in the right way, bridging the gap between what their brand needs to say and what their consumers actually want to hear.

Take for example our recent collaboration with a global skincare brand. They wanted to find information that would help them sell millennials skincare products. In just a few days, we were able to hand them data analysis that confirmed that over half of teens are influenced by ethics when buying a brand. Our technology also deduced that young people associate skincare with products that prep their faces for make-up — social-media-friendly masks that get them glow-y enough for the next selfie. By making these marketing insights immediate for the brand, this data suddenly became the inspiration for and not confirmation of their marketing strategy- propelling their creative designs in the right direction from the outset and saving them valuable time.

As you can see our AI technology is in no way a replacement for creative marketers, it remains a creative’s job to turn this information into meaningful creative strategy. With our help, it will no longer feel impossible to look at endless images but instead it will feel like a lucrative opportunity to better connect with consumers.

If marketers invest in an automated analyst they’ll be one giant leap ahead of their competitors.

Intelligent video analytics is a huge step forward in how we can better use software as a way to make sense of the world around us.

The world around us is constantly shifting and transforming and is full of so much more information than a static, single frame can give us. If businesses truly want to understand why, what or how something is happening, they need to analyse our world in motion.

Of course, a computer recognising a polar bear or a cat from a still picture is still relatively impressive. The bigger test however lies in AI’s ability to understand that cat in a shifting, real-time video stream- noting it as not only “a cat” but also as “animal”, “mammal” and “feline”. This sophisticated level of understanding requires a really considerable amount of computing power.

Enter Jaggu Video — an AI platform which gives you the power to automatically understand what is happening in live videos. It is the digital eyes with the brains to match. Our technology identifies not only different objects in video but activities, patterns of movement, behaviour, locations, anomalies, demography, logos, genders and colours. It filters and processes all this data in real time- automatically interpreting an unfolding visual scene.

Action Training

The science behind this technology is known as deep learning. It involves training simulated neural networks to recognise different ‘stuff’ from a large number of examples. A team of paid staff watch videos and add keywords- providing the system with the examples it needs to learn. Here at Jaggu this semantic understanding is highly complex- our AI has a hierarchical knowledge and identifies categories as well as objects in live, action-packed footage, first noting “vehicle” then recognising it as “a car” and then finally naming it an “Aston Martin”.

Shelf Life

Retail is a competitive sector driven by constantly shifting shopper behaviour. It’s therefore more important than ever that retailers understand what is taking place in their shops and react quickly –customer and in-store insight being the new vital tools for a successful competitive advantage. In fact, Peak’s data science team recently found that retailers using AI grow 30% faster than those who don’t.

Jaggu Video monitors and measures in-store staff and consumer behaviour providing valuable insight into where retail organisations can improve their marketing, operational and staffing strategies. By giving retail business owners a live, constant stream of ‘shelf truth’ this technology frees up time spent on manual shelf inspections, improves product availability (and reduction of Out of Stocks) and can even reorder stock for you automatically. By analysing this situational and behaviour data, Jaggu helps companies understand the motivation for why, when and how a consumer makes a purchase decision at any given time. And, of course, this information is entirely objective- free of human error or bias.

Data Traffic

A live stream of automated video analysis for the council

Jaggu Video can also apply to traffic management- helping to measure pedestrian flow and vehicle traffic to dynamically improve congestion and reduce pollution. Jaggu’s AI-based systems utilises intersection cameras to manage traffic flow, by providing insights for various parts of the day and night. Furthermore, with the Chancellor today announcing a £420 million fund in the Budget to fix a record pothole problem, technology that could improve incident reporting and facilitate preventive maintenance of the road infrastructure seems more relevant than ever.

A city could also gain real-time, meaningful data for optimising the organisation of planned infrastructure. For example, this might involve planning where to position street lights in accordance with where crowds tend to congregate for events. When combined with other applications like smart parking, we hope our platform could also help with shaping infrastructure changes or future development.

AI Insight. Human Interpretation.

While our AI is great at identifying what’s going on in a video at a high level (e.g. someone is brushing their teeth or looking at their phone), we do not claim to be able to extract all the context needed to make those uniquely human calls. Ours is a collaborative technology that aids, not makes, decisions.

For example, Jaggu Video can identify that a “person is running,” but it will not be able to interpret if their pace is due to missing the bus or being late for work. This vital next step is still left up to people that see the data- we just help you get to an actionable response faster.

Our Intelligent video analysis is better focusing human attention on what matters most, to dynamically change the way users make sense of the world around them. After all, actions speak louder than words and we want to help you listen.

‘Jaggu’ is a discovery analytics company that comprehends complex data in real-time. This technology offers brands and agencies tangible results from which to base creative decision-making. A ten-strong team of engineers, researchers, executives and creatives offer digital data solutions to creative problems to some of the biggest names in marketing.

Jagadeesh Gorla began his educational journey at a remote state school in Peddapur, India. 10 years, a few English lessons and a MS and PHD later and Jagadeesh now lives and works in London, heading up his very own AI start-up specialising in automation and discovery analytics.

“Yes, my story does deserve a book series” Jagadeesh jokes, “perhaps in the ‘Inspirational non-fiction’ section”.

Here are a few of his founding thoughts…

Jaggu, what are you trying to solve ?

In today’s digital world, we produce, comprehend and disseminate information around-the-clock at work, at home and on the move. You probably respond to emails, take a picture and comment on some social media all before you’ve even had your breakfast. A substantial part of the knowledge economy is about comprehending all this constantly evolving information so that creative-problem-solving and decision making is fully informed. In all honesty this process of extracting information and making subtle judgements is mundane, expensive and time consuming. Using machine learning in these early creative stages relieves so much of that unnecessary resource pressure and frees up the human workforce to concentrate on the much more exciting issue of development.

What does assistive technology look like in day-to-day working life?

Over the last two decades, machines have subtly entered into our lives as assistants, meeting little resistance along the way. Take the simple example of search engines- they assist us daily by providing an ordered list of the ‘most likely’ contents to satisfy our needs (based on their comprehension of what those needs actually are). Indeed, there are very few people in the world today that could imagine their lives without the assistance of their trusty ‘Google’ right-hand man.

At present, there are an estimated 300+ million, and growing,‘knowledge workers’ in the world- people whose jobs rely on the organisation and comprehension of data. These repetitive, mundane tasks can potentially be automated by machines instead. If you are using Outlook or Gmail at work, you may not realise it, but you are actually already being assisted by machines… so why stop there? ‘Knowledge Industry’ workers (E.g, Marketing insight) are currently underserved by intelligent software. This is due to the unique and multi-layered nature of the tasks they perform, which has hitherto been deemed too complex for machine learning.

What is the purpose of ‘Jaggu’?

“Software (machines) as the ultimate, ameniable colleague”

Every business has its own particular set of procedures and solutions they use to solve their customers problems. Automation of these procedures, through machines, would help to accelerate growth and free up time for further development. It would also enable operational efficiency, speed of innovation and a shift in focus to creative problem solving. An intelligent automation software would therefore act as a never tiring, ever-present assistant! Machines don’t need a human level of intelligence and/or emotion to help grow the business- in fact it is precisely their lack of it that makes them such valuable asset. By 2025, it is estimated that the Automation of Knowledge Work will have a $5–$7 trillion impact on the world economy.

I have been fortunate enough to be part of the recent revolution in machine learning. Here at ‘Jaggu’ we have first-hand experience in building complex intelligent systems currently being used by 200+ million customers across three different industries (Gaming, Media and Retail). Using our collective experience at Jaggu and our customers’ feedback, we are determined to build intelligent software to automate repetitive and mundane data work- so you don’t have to. May the journey continue…

Parting thoughts…

We are always on a lookout for ambitious researchers and engineers to experience our exciting journey. A taste of what it would be like working with us can be described by the slight modification of old British saying (learning the ropes) … You don’t learn the ropes, you build them!