Tech Talk S02 E04: Google AI Can Spot Breast Cancer, New Phones in 2020, Turn Your Toaster into a Touchscreen

Google AI Can Spot Breast Cancer

Google has developed artificial intelligence that can scan mammograms and help detect breast cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Mammograms are currently the best way to detect this cancer, but a large number of false positives and false negatives are an ongoing issue.

Google’s AI has been shown to reduce the number of false negatives by 9.4% and false positives by 5.7% in the US. In the UK, where radiologists double-check results, the AI was still able to reduce false negatives by 2.7% and the false positives by 1.2%.

Google taught the AI to read the mammograms by training it to scan the images, and then look for signs of cancer by identifying changes in the breasts of 28,000 women. The results were matched against women’s’ medical outcomes.

With all the nuances in the human body, it’s not perfect. During initial tests, there were instances where doctors flagged cancer that the AI missed, and vice versa. The hope is that the AI can work with radiologists in the future, to correctly determine the results of the scans, and get people the treatment they need.

What to expect from phones in 2020

The end of 2019 started to see a shift in cell phones. With people on the go, becoming more reliant than ever on their phones, companies are making the shift to keep up with consumer expectations. In 2020, we expect to see:

5G taking over – 5G got a slow start in 2019, but with lightning-fast download speeds, seamless video calls, and gaming advantages, once this catches on, it will take off like wildfire. Companies are working now to make sure all phones are 5G ready or have a 5G variant.

Flip phones – Only now they will be known as foldable phones, are coming back. We saw a hint of the Motorola Razr and Galaxy Fold in 2019, coming in with a price tag between $1500 and $200. In 2020, these phones are expected to get company from and TCL.

Amazing Photography – Cameras are one of the biggest reasons people buy one phone over another. In 2020, expect to see more wide-angle sensors, periscope lenses, post-processing technology, and more 5x optical zoom.

Companies are already working these angles into their phones, so expect to see rollouts throughout 2020 different options.

Turn Your Toaster into a Touchscreen

UltraSense, a startup in San Jose, CA, has created a new technology that could turn any surface into a touchscreen surface. They have created a super tiny sensor, about the size of a pen tip that can change the way we interact with the world. Imagine touching the side of your metal toaster, and adjusting the temperature and cook time, to get the perfect piece of toast.

The sensor can turn anything into a touchscreen, including glass, wood, plastic, and ceramic materials by using their patented 3D ultrasound technology. TouchPoint, as the sensor is called, uses the ultrasound technology to detect how tiny soundwaves move through a surface. These waves can detect a finger touching a surface and can tell the difference between kinds of touches – think a finger moving, versus resting an entire hand on the surface.

Mass adoption of a technology like this could lead to no longer having switches and buttons on our phones or temperature controls on our heat and a/c. This could open an entirely new world of possibilities for the future.