Samsung Research, the advanced R&D hub of Samsung Electronics’ SET (end-products) business, has ranked first in two of the world’s top global artificial intelligence (AI) machine reading comprehension competitions.

Samsung Research recently placed first in the MAchine Reading COmprehension (MS MARCO) Competition held by Microsoft (MS), as well as showing the best performance in TriviaQA^* hosted by the University of Washington, proving the excellence of its AI algorithm.

With intense competition in developing AI technologies globally, machine reading comprehension competitions such as MS MARCO are booming around the world. MS MARCO and TriviaQA are among the actively researched and used machine reading comprehension competitions along with SQuAD of Stanford University and NarrativeQA of DeepMind. Distinguished universities around the world and global AI firms including Samsung are competing in these challenges.

Machine reading comprehension is where an AI algorithm is tasked with analyzing data and finding an optimum answer to a query on its own accord. For MS MARCO and TriviaQA, AI algorithms are tested in their capabilities of processing natural language in human Q&As and also providing written text in various types of documents such as news articles and blog posts.

For example in MS MARCO, ten web documents are presented for a certain query to let an AI algorithm create an optimum answer. Queries are randomly selected from a million queries from Bing (MS search engine) users. Answers are evaluated statistically by estimating how close they are with human answers. This is a test designed to apply an AI algorithm to solve real-world problems.

Samsung Research took part in the competitions with ConZNet, an AI algorithm developed by the company’s AI Center. ConZNet features skillful capabilities through adopting the Reinforcement Learning^** technique, which advances machine intelligence by giving reasonable feedback for outcomes, similar to a stick-and-carrot strategy in a learning process.

With the recent acceleration in global competition to develop AI technologies, contests are widespread in areas of computer vision (technologies to analyze characters and images) and visual Q&A to solve problems using recognized images of characters as well as machine reading comprehension. The Beijing branch of Samsung Research won the International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR) hosted by the International Association of Pattern Recognition (IAPR) in March, putting them in a top-tier group for global computer vision tests. The ICDAR is the most influential competition in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technologies.

“We are developing an AI algorithm to provide answers to user queries in a simpler and more convenient manner, for real life purposes,” said Jihie Kim, Head of Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Research. “Active discussion is underway in Samsung to adopt the ConZNet AI algorithm for products, services, customer response and technological development.”

^* Competitions such as MS MARCO and TriviaQA allow contestants to participate at any time, and rankings are altered according to real-time test results.

^** The Reinforcement Learning is the most advanced Machine Learning AI algorithm, and cutting-edge AI technologies including AlphaGo are upgrading machine intelligence by applying this technique.

The question of how AI technologies understand human dialog and queries to suggest an optimum answer is one of the hot topics in the AI industry. Jihie Kim, Head of the Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Research AI Center, is also striving to develop the technology behind an AI algorithm that can talk with people naturally and propose solutions to a problem.

The Language Understanding Lab led by Dr. Kim recently grabbed global attention after placing top ranks at global machine reading comprehension competitions held by Microsoft and the University of Washington, respectively. Samsung Newsroom visited the Samsung Research AI center in Seocho-gu, Korea to interview Dr. Kim about AI performance in the machine reading comprehension competitions and a future evolution plan for AI algorithms.

Jihie Kim, Head of the Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Research

Q. Please tell us about the MS MARCO and TriviaQA competitions held by Microsoft and the University of Washington, respectively, where your team ranked first place.

Kim: There have been many global machine reading competitions recently where AI presents solutions to a problem. MS MARCO and TriviaQA are among the top five global competitions in machine reading comprehension. AI algorithms are tested on whether they can understand and analyze questions to offer answers. Those tests are designed by referring to internet users’ queries and search results.

Q. What do you think was the critical factor in excelling at the AI competitions which require such high levels of technical expertise?

Kim: The ConZNet algorithm developed by the Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Reseach is upgrading its intelligence by considering real user environments. The algorithm takes natural language into account such as how people deliver queries and answers online. We were able to win those competitions because the MS MARCO and TriviaQA competitions are about AI capabilities in real user environments. In truth, our algorithm was a bit behind other competitors in tests requiring a simple answer to a question after analyzing a short paragraph. But because such technologies have low relevance to real environments using AI technologies, we are focusing on the other tests such as MS MARCO in proceeding with continuous R&D.

Q. Do you apply the winning algorithms to customer services in real life?

Kim: An Open Lab event was held recently to introduce the labs at Samsung Research to other departments in Samsung Electronics. At the event, we had in-depth discussions with engineers in our home appliances and smartphone departments about AI algorithms. Departments dealing with customer services also showed high interest in what we do because AI-based customer services including chatbots are emerging as a hot topic. We hope that our technologies developed at Samsung Research will be naturally adopted to Samsung Electronics products and services.

Dr. Kim and the developers of the Language Understanding Lab at Samsung Research are participating in an ideation meeting.

Q. What is your future evolution plan for advancing AI technologies in language understanding?

Kim: ConZNet is an acronym for “Context Zoom-in Network.” The name implies that understanding the context of what people say is critical. We need to advance AI technologies to help them understand and analyze short sentences. AI algorithms also need to have capabilities to analyze real-time news reports rather than existing data to give answers to customer queries. We are also developing technologies where an AI algorithm can answer, “there are no proper answers to your query,” as well as search for right answers. The so-called “rejection problem” is an AI technology with a high level of technical difficulties.

Q. Please tell us your ultimate goal in developing AI technologies.

Kim: The strengths of Samsung in the AI industry are that we can build a knowledge system about connections between machines and applications, and customer demands in the internet of things (IoT) environment comprised of personal devices, based on Samsung Electronics’ diverse product lineup. This will help us to achieve the goal of realizing a user-oriented AI system by collaborating with global partners in the industry. Samsung Electronics recently began to launch global AI Centers and we will lead the effort of working with AI experts at the new centers abroad.

At Samsung Research, Drs. Seung and Lee will play a central role in building up fundamental research on AI that will advance human knowledge with the potential for revolutionary business impact. “Samsung is a company with a long history of pursuing innovation, and is committed to tapping the full potential of artificial intelligence,” said Dr. Seung. “I look forward to working at Samsung to help discover what lies ahead in AI.”

DR. Sebastian Seung

Now an eminent computational neuroscientist, Dr. Seung originally studied theoretical physics at Harvard University. Before joining Princeton University in 2014, he worked as a researcher at Bell Labs and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He serves on the Advisory Committees of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) program on Learning in Machines and Brains. He is also an External Member of the Max Planck Society, the winner of the 2008 Hoam Prize in Engineering, and the author of Connectome.

DR. Daniel Lee

Likewise, an authority in AI and robotics, Dr. Lee earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from MIT. After working as a researcher at Bell Labs, he joined the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001. Lee is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), a Fellow of the Institute of the Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and on the Executive Board of the Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) Foundation, which runs the premier machine learning conference in the world.

“I am eager to be joining Samsung Research and to help develop next-generation technologies for Samsung Electronics,” said Dr. Lee. “Fundamental research and understanding of machine learning and robotic systems will be key to fulfilling the promise of AI.”

Drawing inspiration from the brain, the two researchers jointly developed algorithms for machine learning by nonnegative matrix factorization. Later on, Dr. Seung devised an electronic circuit modeled on the brain’s cerebral cortex and featured on the cover of the journal Nature, published one of the first walking robots with reinforcement learning, pioneered the application of convolutional networks to image segmentation, and helped found the field of connectomics that reconstructs the brain’s wiring diagrams with AI.

Dr. Lee has developed a number of leading machine learning algorithms in addition to cutting-edge robotic systems throughout his career. He has pioneered innovative algorithms for unsupervised and reinforcement learning which draw inspiration from the brain’s neural circuitry. He has also led research teams to build advanced intelligent robots for a variety of tasks, including self-driving cars, humanoid robots, and collaborative robot teams.

Samsung Research, which reorganized as an advanced R&D hub of Samsung Electronics’ SET Business last year, recently established global AI Centers in five countries including Korea, the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Russia. Leading the latest effort, Samsung Research plans to continuously increase its number of AI Centers and advanced researchers to expand its R&D on AI platform.

Samsung Research has led the latest effort in expanding the global AI research capabilities of Samsung Electronics and has converged its AI expertise with the creation of the new AI Centers. Samsung Research also oversaw the creation of the new AI Centers in Seoul last November and in Silicon Valley in January. With the addition of the three new AI Centers, Samsung Research will operate five AI Centers around the world.

Also, by securing global AI experts, Samsung Research plans to expand its number of advanced AI researchers to a total of about 1,000 globally by 2020.

“Samsung has a long history of pursuing innovation and we are excited to be bringing that same passion and technology leadership to AI,” said Hyun-suk Kim, President and Head of Samsung Research at the opening ceremony of the new AI Center in Cambridge. With the new AI Centers and recruitment of leading experts in the field, our aim is to be a game changer for the AI industry.”

Hyun-suk Kim, President and Head of Samsung Research at the opening ceremony of the new AI Center in Cambridge, is giving out a congratulatory address at the AI Center Cambridge, U.K. opening on May 22, 2018.

Top Talent from AI Field to Help Lead New Centers

The Samsung AI Center-Cambridge will be led by Andrew Blake, previously Director of Microsoft’s Cambridge Laboratory, and a pioneer in the development of the theory and algorithms that can make it possible for computers to behave as seeing machines. With cooperation from distinguished experts in the field, such as Professor Maja Pantić (Imperial College), Samsung AI Center-Cambridge will play a pivotal role in advanced AI research for Samsung Research.

Samsung AI Center-Cambridge will be led by Andrew Blake, pictured.

“This new Center signifies our commitment to the advancement of AI,” said Andrew Blake. “Our research will help us to better understand human behavior while exploring areas like emotion recognition, and further expand the boundaries of user-centric communication to develop AI technologies that ultimately improve people’s lives.”

Samsung AI Center-Toronto will be led by Dr. Larry Heck, Senior Vice President of Samsung Research America (SRA), and an expert in virtual personal assistant technologies and also the Leader of the SRA AI Center. The AI Center in Toronto will bolster its research efforts in core AI technologies with strategic cooperation from major universities in Canada.

Samsung AI Center-Moscow is expected to capitalize on Russia’s expertise in mathematics, physics, and other fundamental sciences. It plans to include leading AI experts such as Professor Dmitry Vetrov (Higher School of Economics) and Professor Victor Lempitsky (Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology) to lead its research on AI algorithms.

Key Principles Driving Samsung’s AI Vision

In its vision for AI, Samsung focuses on five core aspects to drive its research. These include AI that is: “user-centric,” realizing personalization through a multi-modal interface; “always learning,” through continuous self-learning from data; “always there,” as an ambient service; “always helpful,” with minimization of user intervention and response to requests; and “always safe,” ensuring user safety and privacy. As they work around these focuses, the new AI Centers will leverage cutting-edge research environments along with the regional strengths of the researchers to carry Samsung’s AI capabilities to new heights.

Through ongoing initiatives including hosting an AI Forum last year, Samsung has been cooperating closely with renowned AI scholars in preparing to set up research bases across areas of expertise. Samsung will continue to expand areas of expertise and technology across the globe, including of particular importance, the eastern area of the U.S.

In the coming years, Internet of Things (IoT) devices embedded with AI will generate a vast array of data that can provide fascinating insights about the lives of users, enabling them to take advantage of intelligent services optimized for their own personal preferences and behaviors. How AI-enabled devices provide consumers with the most optimized options will be critical to the success of AI technology for the near future. To provide a user-centric ecosystem, Samsung aims to build an AI platform under a common architecture that will not only scale quickly but also provide the deepest understanding of usage context and behaviors, making AI more relevant and useful.

For more details on Samsung Research and the global AI Centers, please visit the official Samsung Research webpage at http://research.samsung.com.

Attendees at the AI Center in Cambridge, the U.K opening on May 22, 2018 are smiling for a group photo

For example, in the home, when a user wakes up in the morning on a rainy day, the home lights will gradually brighten, while music fit for a rainy day is selected and played in the background. A cup of coffee will be prepared as soon as the user says “coffee” while stepping into the kitchen and the refrigerator will also recommend meal ideas for the day, asking the user whether he or she would like to buy ingredients online.

In the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, Samsung Electronics is uniquely positioned to bring this world of connected AI services to life, based on the almost half a billion connected devices the company sells every year. In fact, given the typical lifecycle of a device, there are more than a billion Samsung devices actively used around the world at any given time.

Samsung’s device portfolio also is the industry’s broadest, and includes mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and wearable devices, office devices such as PCs, signages and Samsung Flip, devices for the home such as Samsung Smart TVs, Family Hub and FlexWash and FlexDry, and much more.

At this year’s CES, Samsung highlighted its latest innovations in its vision to drive the Internet of Things (IoT) supported by AI. Samsung Smart TVs now integrated with Bixby, are able to play music and shows personalized for users, as well as show who is at the front door or what is inside the refrigerator. The Family Hub refrigerator, also integrated with AI, recognizes the voices of different family members and provides each of them with a personalized daily schedule.

Moving forward, Samsung will continue to remain focused on holistically integrating AI into a connected setting, such as the home or the office, in contrast to other players primarily pursuing implementation of AI on a few devices and services. In the following months, Samsung will integrate not only Samsung devices, but also IoT devices and sensors developed by external partners into the SmartThings eco-system, allowing a single SmartThings app to control everything. Furthermore, Samsung also plans to integrate AI into all its connected devices by 2020.

In the coming years, many IoT devices with AI support will generate a vast array of usage patterns and scenarios. How AI-enabled devices learn and analyze complex usage patterns and provide consumers with the most optimized options will be critical to the success of AI technology for the near future. In other words, the success of AI will boil down to how well the devices understand the users.

Therefore, Samsung’s perspective on AI is to build an eco-system that is user-centric rather than device-centric. To pursue that goal, we will start by building an AI platform under a common architecture that will not only scale quickly, but also provide the deepest understanding of usage context and behaviors, making AI more relevant and useful.

For the past decades, Samsung successfully introduced products and innovations by researching the lifestyle and behavior of global consumers. Paying respect to our heritage of user-centric product development, Samsung will begin an exciting journey open to boundless possibilities in new user experiences by integrating AI into the open IoT ecosystem it is currently developing. This journey will certainly be fascinating for us here at Samsung, but even more so for consumers, as Samsung takes major steps forward to bring consumers’ hopes and expectations to life.