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Uber, the innovative rideshare company that has taken transportation to new levels of accessibility, is continuously developing ways to make the world move more efficiently through technology. Acknowledging the importance of artificial intelligence, Uber appointed Zoubin Ghahramani, the brand’s Chief Scientist and VP for AI, to steadily focus on how AI can advance people’s daily needs.
##A lot of start-ups and tech companies started getting interested in AI about 10 years ago
Ghahramani started his career in academia focusing on artificial intelligence. As he noticed AI’s impactful transition from academia to the tech industry, he began to advise start-ups and big tech companies into understanding AI’s industrial landscape. Within this transition, he started his company, Geometric Intelligence, that was acquired by Uber.
##Uber has a different strategy than other brands when it comes to AI
A lot of major companies invest in AI for the virtual world whereas Uber invests in the physical world. The decisions machine learning is helping with really matter to people including whether they’re going to get to one place to another on time, can they make income off of Uber’s platform and are trips safe.
##Academia focus and industry focus are different
A challenge Ghahramani faced once working with Uber was learning if his focus in academia would be useful in the tech industry. Once learning he had to change his ideas of how AI could be impactful, he was able to help develop cutting edge ideas and implement them to deliver high-value products.

Key takeaways:

• To Uber, anything that goes from data to models and algorithms that makes predictions and optimized decisions counts in some way as a form of AI or machine learning
• The use of AI for the physical world is continuously developing to help make people’s lives safer and more efficient while optimizing the world, creating income opportunities and more