AI

The Model of Health

If you look at 2020 funding for healthcare AI startups, each quarter keeps on raising the bar. In Q3, funding reached its highest level in three years. 

But with great term sheets come great responsibility. Experts worry that lack of representation in training data could lead to false diagnoses and suboptimal patient care. These concerns are also preventing some AI products from going to market. 

The good, the bad, and the risky 

People have faith in using machine learning models in healthcare because, at their best, they can help surpass human limitations to expedite drug discovery, diagnoses, and other medical breakthroughs. 

The problem: An ML model is only as good as the data it’s trained on. And issues with that data—like narrow scope and existing biases—can easily compound over time. 

• For example: A model trained mostly on medical data from a predominantly white area could have trouble diagnosing black women. 

Accounting for these types of discrepancies is key, especially before an AI healthcare product goes to market.  

But there are potential roadblocks to solving these issues. The healthcare sector is “notorious for having siloed data, and must also contend with patient data privacy concerns,” Deepashri Varadharajan, lead AI analyst at CB Insights, told us. 

• One potential fix: Federated learning—a more privacy-focused approach to ML—could allow companies to collaboratively form more representative data sets without sharing raw data. 
• “We’re already seeing...partnership models in AI-enabled diagnostics and drug R&D,” says Varadharajan. 

The trajectory 

The FDA’s current regulatory framework doesn’t cover adaptive or continuously learning algorithms. So far, the FDA has only approved “locked” AI/ML algos, or ones that always provide the same output under the same conditions. 

Eighteen months ago, the FDA published a proposed regulatory framework for AI/ML-based software used for medical purposes, but nothing’s finalized yet. 

Looking ahead: Things came to a head at a recent FDA public advisory committee meeting, when speakers raised concerns about model bias, lack of large and varied data sets, and the life-or-death implications of this tech. 

• “AI and ML algorithms may not represent you if the data do not include you,” said Terri Cornelison, a chief medical officer with the FDA. 

POLICY

The Biden Tech Agenda

What will a Biden-Harris White House mean for the tech industry? 

Think tank Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) predicts the new administration will increase funding for emerging tech R&D, reskilling programs, and rural broadband infrastructure (or closing the digital divide). U.S.-China geopolitical tensions will persist, but trade policies may be more favorable for tech companies.  

• Something that may please Big Tech: A Biden White House will revisit executive orders limiting high-skill immigration. 
• Something that may not please Big Tech: A Biden White House may re-examine Section 230 protections for content platforms…and support more stringent regulation, corporate taxation, and antitrust enforcement. 

The incoming administration also supports ramped-up funding for clean energy, which likely translates to more monies for auto electrification, EV charging stations, etc. VW’s CEO Herbert Diess waded into the topic Thursday, saying the Biden-Harris ticket was “more aligned with our worldwide strategy to fight climate change [and] go electric.” 

Big picture: With any new president, there are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. We don’t know which tech policies will be prioritized—or others that may come to the fore. 

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HARDWARE

Game of Phones, Ep. Q3

Samsung regained pole position in global smartphone shipments during the third quarter of 2020, per Canalys data. The South Korean company shipped 80.2 million handsets, up 2% year over year. 

• Huawei overtook Samsung in Q2, but it fell back into second place with 51.7 million shipments. Xiaomi finished at No. 3 for the first time.  

Five different types of Samsung Galaxy phones were in the top 10 most popular models. But the iPhone 11 and iPhone SE were the top two most popular smartphones globally. 

Which brings us to the elephant in the room…

Apple was the fourth largest smartphone vendor in Q3, with 43.2 million shipments and 12.4% market share. Even though Samsung bested Apple on its own turf (the U.S. market), expect Q4 to be a different story. 

The 5G-ready iPhone 12, which opened for preorder Friday, should give Apple a boost in smartphone sales and market share. It may not vault Apple to the top globally, but the iPhone is the most-favored smartphone. It pains me (Ryan) to admit it, but that’s not changing anytime soon.

BITS & BYTES

Stat: Two-thirds of the U.S.-based AI startups named “most promising” (in Forbes’s 2019 list) have at least one immigrant founder, according to a recent report. 

Quote: “Masa, myself, should be most supervised. More external directors mean better governance.”—SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, discussing the company’s relatively strong quarter. 

Read: Jenny, our director of growth, recently broke down the Brew’s approach to subscriber growth. Engagement > scale.

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WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Sony is launching a business that sounds like a drone unit. 
• Virgin Hyperloop completed its first human passenger test. 
• The U.K. military says it could have 30,000 robotic soldiers by the 2030s. 
• Ford is expanding its self-driving command center in Miami. 

WHAT'S BREWING THIS WEEK

Monday: Africa Tech Festival begins. 

Tuesday: Xbox Series X and S launches; Apple’s “One More Thing” event; Lyft earnings. 

Thursday: PlayStation 5 launch; Earnings (Tencent, Unity, Cisco, SMIC, Foxconn).  

Friday: World Kindness Day. 

TECH THINGAMABOBS

For shaken, not stirred: Virtual reality artist Anna Zhilyaeva made a VR portrait of Sean Connery—and recorded the process for YouTube. 

For bougie booze: It started as an April Fools tweet by Elon Musk...and now it’s reality. Tesla officially introduced premium branded liquor, Tesla Tequila, for $250 a bottle. 

ICYMI

• Bitcoin passes $15,000 
• Retail robots: a tale of two automata
• A dangerous “deepfake ecosystem”