IBM leads, and they are big words, the earthly patent registry in the last quarter of a century. To be specific, in the last 26 years. Of the 9,100 patents registered last year, almost 20% of them were related to artificial intelligence (AI) to help people speak, protect the earth’s lakes and combat voice impersonation or “vishing”.
“IBM is committed to leading the way in technologies that change the way the world works, and solving problems that many people have not even thought about,” says Ginni Rometty, IBM president and CEO. “Especially with innovations in artificial intelligence, cloud, blockchain and security for companies.” Almost half of the 9,100 patents filed by IBM in 2018 relate to pioneering advancements in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, security, blockchain, and quantum computing.
Of the patents related to AI stand out those that help people to converse and protect the earth’s lakes and waterways. In addition, 1,400 security patents were registered, in which artificial intelligence also plays an important role, such as combating voice spoofing.
In this area, IBM has patented an AI system that, with the permission of the primary user, can analyze conversation patterns between two parties to identify attempts by one party to mislead the other. The system could send an alert message in real time to warn a possible victim of “vishing” – voice phishing – and help the company’s IT experts to prevent and better manage security threats to computers and mobile devices. .
Phishing occurs when a person or computer system attempts to obtain confidential information from unknown victims. Recently, phishers have resorted to “vishing”, in which innocent victims are called directly, and “vishers” use a voice over IP (VoIP) system to mask their identity.
Other IBM patents granted in 2018 include Project Debater, IBM Research’s first artificial intelligence system that can debate complex topics. The inventors of the American firm patented a method to use machine learning to identify evidence, such as relevant text segments in unstructured text data, that supports or opposes an argument or topic of consideration. This could help provide breakthroughs in the way machines and humans interact in conversations.
IBM’s inventors also patented an intelligent system that could be used to identify and monitor vertical temperature profiles and gradients that affect marine life in lakes and other aquatic ecosystems. Combined cloud analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) mapping have helped design the world’s smartest lake, Lake George.
IBM researchers also patented important inventions in quantum computing, including a new way to miniaturize components to improve the performance of quantum computers. The new patents were awarded to a diverse group of more than 8,500 IBM inventors in 47 different US states and 48 other countries.
