AI Articles

SQLServerCentral.com is a well known web site for knowledge sharing on all things SQL Server related, as well as other DB technologies.  It’s a community driven web site that publishes a daily newsletter with articles from their contributors, as well as contributors on other web sites.  Since data is the basis for machine learning and AI, the newsletter also started to cover various AI related topics.  Listed below are a few articles from July 31^st newsletter.

 

AI/Machine Learning/Cognitive Services

 

ML{.NET} Introduction Machine Learning (ML) has come from a buzzword that is nice to have in your application to a must-have feature that works and adds value. Data scientists develop ML models in various ML Frameworks like TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, PyTorch, Azure ML, etc. Before ML.NET became available to all developers, adding the ML functionality to .NET applications required knowledge in some ML frameworks to build and train ML models.

 

AI in real-life: A Q&A with Gavin Day From AllAnalytics In this Q&A with MIT/SMR Connections, Gavin Day, Senior Vice President of Technology at SAS, shares real-life examples of artificial intelligence (AI) at work, discusses picking the right problems...

 

Detecting Financial Fraud with Machine Learning From BlueGranite Blog According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing more than $3.3 billion to fraud in 2020, an increase of $1.5 billion since 2019. Contributing to this uptick in...

 

Rise of the Cyborgs: Using AI/ML to Enhance Human Intelligence (Part 1) From Dataversity Click to learn more about author Assaf Egozi. Modern organizations house a growing number of “citizen data analysts.” These individuals hold a wide range of positions in the enterprise, from...

 

An overview of Azure Cognitive Services From SQLShack Microsoft Azure has been a leading cloud service provider over the past few years. In this article, we are going to look into an overview of various cognitive services...

 

Sean Gallagher and an AI expert talk about our crazy machine-learning adventure From Ars Technica Join our headline experiment post-mortem today, July 28, at 1 pm Eastern time!

 

 

Custom Lingual Adaptation (Preview)

“Custom Neural Voices” is a part of Microsoft’s Cognitive Services suite of technologies.  It allows users to develop highly realistic, humanlike voices by using Microsoft's groundbreaking neural text-to-speech technology. A user will simply record audio samples and then upload training data. Once the voice is created, it can be used in applications for Text-to-Speech or Voice Assistant.

 

In addition, once the voice is created, it can be used to speak fluently in 13 other languages:

1. German (Germany)
2. English (Australia)
3. English (Canada)
4. English (Canada)
5. Spanish (Spain)
6. Spanish (Mexico)
7. French (Canada)
8. French (France)
9. Italian (Italy)
10. Japanese (Japan)
11. Korean (Korea)
12. Portuguese (Brazil)
13. Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)

 

This will provide developers the ability to give their application a voice and persona that can be applied to 13 different languages/dialects.  Global companies such as  BBC, Swisscom,  AT&T and Duolingo have built realistic voices that resonate with their brands.

 

To learn more about custom voices, as well as getting started tutorials, visit https://speech.microsoft.com/customvoice.

 

Aug '21 Technical Events

Virtual User Group Meetings

• Aug 3: ONDT (https://www.meetup.com/ohio-north-database-training/)   
• Aug 18: Hudson CodeCraft (https://www.meetup.com/hudson-codecraft/)
• Aug 19 : GLUG.Net: (https://www.meetup.com/GLUGnet/events/)
• Aug 26: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group (https://www.meetup.com/Cleveland-C-VB-Net-User-Group/) 

 

Virtual Conferences

• Jul 29: Dot Net Conf (https://focus.dotnetconf.net/)
• Jul 30: CincyDeliver (http://www.cincydeliver.org/)  
• Aug 18-20: Code PaLOUsa (http://www.codepalousa.com/) 
• Aug 19-20: JavaScript & Friends Conference (https://www.javascriptandfriends.com/)
• Oct 29-31: Azure Community Conference (https://azconf.dev/)
• Nov 8-12: PASS Data Community Summit (https://passdatacommunitysummit.com/)

 

Jul '21 Technical Events

Virtual User Group Meetings

• Jun 25: OWASP Cleveland (https://www.meetup.com/owasp-cleveland-group/events/277983962/)
• Jul 6: ONDT (https://www.meetup.com/ohio-north-database-training/)   
• Jul 15: GLUG.Net: (https://www.meetup.com/GLUGnet/events/)
• Jul 21: Hudson Software Craftsmanship (https://www.meetup.com/Hudson-Software-Craftsmanship-Meetup/ )
• Jul 22: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group (https://www.meetup.com/Cleveland-C-VB-Net-User-Group/) 
•  

Virtual Conferences

• Jun 25: Global Azure Data & AI Fest (https://aka.ms/june2021-globalazuredataandaifest)
• Jul 30: CincyDeliver (http://www.cincydeliver.org/)
• Aug 18-20: Code PaLOUsa (http://www.codepalousa.com/)

 

Jun '21 Technical Events

Virtual User Group Meetings

• Jun 1: ONDT (https://www.meetup.com/ohio-north-database-training/)   
• Jun 3: Twin Cities .Net UG (https://www.meetup.com/tcdnug/events/278422491/)
• Jun 16: Hudson Software Craftsmanship (https://www.meetup.com/Hudson-Software-Craftsmanship-Meetup/ )
• Jun 17: GLUG.Net: (https://www.meetup.com/GLUGnet/events/)
• Jun 24: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group (https://www.meetup.com/Cleveland-C-VB-Net-User-Group/) 

 

Virtual Conferences

• Jun 17: BlazorDay (https://blazorday.net/)
• Jun 25: Global Azure Data & AI Fest (https://aka.ms/june2021-globalazuredataandaifest)

May Virtual Tech Events

Virtual User Group Meetings

• May 4: ONDT (https://www.meetup.com/ohio-north-database-training/)   
• May 19: Hudson Software Craftsmanship (https://www.meetup.com/Hudson-Software-Craftsmanship-Meetup/ )
• May 20: GLUG.Net: (https://www.meetup.com/GLUGnet/events/)
• May 27: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group (https://www.meetup.com/Cleveland-C-VB-Net-User-Group/) 

 

Virtual Conferences

• Apr 24: Global AI Student Conference (https://aiconf.education/)
• May 4: MDC (https://mndevconf.com/)
• May 7: Stir Trek (https://stirtrek.com/)
• May 10: SQL Day Poland (https://sqlday.pl/en/)

 

5 Reasons to Attend the Global AI Night 2021

The Global AI Night is a an online community event organized across the world by local communities that are passionate about artificial intelligence on Microsoft Azure.  For one night, you will get to join various speakers as they share their experience with AI features in Azure.  The event is free of charge, virtual, and open to all. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20^th  4-9 PM EST.  Not sure if you should register?  Here are the top 5 reasons why you should!

 

1. Interact with AI experts actively working in the field

The event will speakers from around the US and the world.  These are professionals actively working in the AI field.  Not only will they share their experience, but you can interact with them directly during the session.  Despite the online presentation, speakers and organizers strive to make it as much of a roundtable discussion as much as possible.  This means you can ask questions at any time, either verbally or via the chat window.  In addition, their contact information will be made available for additional questions.

 

2. Expand your skillset

Working in IT, one always has to keep up with modern technology.  Not keeping up means falling behind in your career.  Attending free events, such as the Global AI Night is a great way to learn, without travel or additional expenses.

 

3. Explore new ways how AI can be used in your organization.  Be a pioneer

Not using AI in your workplace?  This doesn’t mean your organization can’t benefit from AI.  Learning to use AI can help you identify applications that can benefit your end customer by integrating various AI features.  Learn AI and learn to be a pioneer among your peers by bringing added features to your applications.

 

4. Discover free learning resources

With each session, every speaker will present links where you can find more information and helpful tutorials.

 

5. Learn what to do, what not to do, and Gotcha’s

Each speaker will present a session and a walk-thru of creating working demos.  In addition, they will also discuss their own learning experiences, problems encountered.  They will show what to do and what not to do.  Speakers will also cover the hidden gotchas and issues they encountered so you can avoid them.

 

 

For more info on the Global AI Night 2021, please visit https://globalai.community/global-ai-night-april-2021/usa-cleveland.

 

To RSVP, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-ai-night-2021-cleveland-tickets-148258271481  

 

Looking forward to seeing you online on April 20^th.

 

Azure Health Bot

Bots have been available to developers and consumers alike for many years.  They have been used in many facets of everyday life that many times we don’t even realize.  The intelligence behind these has continued to become more sophisticated and specialized for specific business sectors.  In addition, Microsoft has made the bot development experience very easy and straightforward for developers. 

 

Continuing in the path of specialization and ease of creation, Microsoft has a developed a Health Bot, with strict focus on health care.  It’s backed by a pre-trained Machine Learning model with focus on the healthcare terminology.  This empowers developers to quickly build and deploy AI-powered conversational bots.  In addition, the bot service follows industry compliance requirements and HIPAA standards.  These bots can be used in any healthcare related environment to assess a potential sickness of a patient, inquire about certain medications/supplements for a specific scenario, etc.  The bot can also be combined with the Text to Speech service to provide a more human-like interaction with users.

To get started, follow the Step by step guide to creating your first health bot.

For more information, please visit the following links:

• Azure Health Bot
• Migrating your Microsoft Healthcare Bot to Azure
• Learn about Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare

 

Global AI Night 2021

The Global AI Night is a an online community event organized across the world by local communities that are passionate about artificial intelligence on Microsoft Azure.  For one night, you will get to join various speakers as they share their experience with AI features in Azure.  The event is free of charge, virtual, and open to all. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20th 4PM-9 PM EST and it will be virtual.

 

To learn more about this event, please visit https://globalai.community/global-ai-night-april-2021/usa-cleveland

 

If you’re interested in sharing your AI story, feel free to submit your presentation at https://sessionize.com/global-ai-night-2021-cleveland/

 

Join us for a night of AI and expand your skill set.

 

Apr/May '21 Tech Events

Virtual User Group Meetings

• Apr 6: ONDT (https://www.meetup.com/ohio-north-database-training/)   
• Apr 15: GLUG.Net: (https://www.meetup.com/GLUGnet/events/)
• Apr 21: Hudson Software Craftsmanship (https://www.meetup.com/Hudson-Software-Craftsmanship-Meetup/ )
• Apr 22: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group (https://www.meetup.com/Cleveland-C-VB-Net-User-Group/) 

 

Virtual Conferences

• Apr 20: Global AI Night - Cleveland: (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-ai-night-2021-cleveland-tickets-148258271481)
• Apr 24: Global AI Student Conference (https://aiconf.education/)
• May 4: MDC (https://mndevconf.com/)
• May 7: Stir Trek (https://stirtrek.com/)
• May 10: SQL Day Poland (https://sqlday.pl/en/)

 

Free Microsoft Certification Courses!

 

SkillMeUp.com is hosting four free events in March and April! Each Saturday will prepare you to pass a new Microsoft fundamentals certification exam!

 

Free Live Courses

 

Microsoft Azure March 20th │ $250 Free   Power Platform April 3rd │ $250 Free

 

Security Compliance & Identity April 10th │ $250 Free   Microsoft 365 April 17th │ $250 Free

 

Meet the Instructors       Dwayne Natwick Cloud Training Architect Lead Dwayne Natwick is a lifelong learner and teacher. Dwayne delivers live training, creates curriculum, writes blogs and more! He is an expert in Azure and cloud computing. Dwayne has over 30 years of experience in the IT industry, holding multiple positions and certifications.

 

Brian Nielson Senior Cloud Training Architect Brian has 26 years of professional IT experience. He has exceptional knowledge of Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, and Open Source software. As a consultant he is used to solving highly visible and complex problems. Brian is well-versed in current technological trends and familiar with a variety of business concepts. He can meet ever-changing technology needs with innovative and up-to-date solutions.

 

 

Podcast: SQL Server For Developers

I recently had the pleasure of being featured on Azure DevOps Podcast.  The host, Jeffery Palermo, interviewed me about a topic I’m passionate about “SQL Server For Developers”.  These are features available within SQL Server that make some specific development tasks easy to implement.  Some of these features include:

File Streams: “Pointers” that allow you to store a BLOB within the SQL Server File Groups and maintain security over it, not storing it in a DB and bloating the table size.

Temporal Tables: Tables that automatically maintain historical changes to every record with a time span of those changes.

FileTables: Tables that duplicate a structure of a specific folder, giving developers the ability to quickly query the files one they’re dropped in the folder.

 

I discuss these topics and more on the podcast.  For the full podcast, please visit http://azuredevopspodcast.clear-measure.com/sam-nasr-on-sql-server-for-developers-episode-122#

Mar '21 Tech Events

Virtual User Group Meetings

• Mar 2: ONDT (https://www.meetup.com/ohio-north-database-training/events/275862156/)
• Mar 17: Hudson Software Craftsmanship (https://www.meetup.com/Hudson-Software-Craftsmanship-Meetup/ )
• Mar 18: GLUG.Net: (https://www.meetup.com/GLUGnet/events/)
• Mar 25: Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group (https://www.meetup.com/Cleveland-C-VB-Net-User-Group/) 

 

Virtual Conferences

• Feb 27: Scottish Summit (https://scottishsummit.com/)
• Feb 27: Data Saturday (https://datasaturdays.com/events/datasaturday0001.html)
• Apr 24: Global AI Student Conference (https://aiconf.education/)
• May 4: MDC (https://mndevconf.com/)
• May 7: Stir Trek (https://stirtrek.com/)
• May 10: SQL Day Poland (https://sqlday.pl/en/)