KwikDesk moves up to Boston – Irish start-up to bring AI to the massses

13 May 2015

Pictured: entrepreneur Kevin Abosch

KwikDesk, the start-up led by Irish photographer and entrepreneur Kevin Abosch, is to open a Deep Learning Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it will create eight new jobs.

KwikDesk was founded in 2013 by Irish entrepreneur, developer, ontologist and photographer Kevin Abosch.

Abosch has also founded successful image platform Dippix and is well known for his portraits of technology founders and world leaders.

Opening in July 2015, the lab will support KwikDesk’s development of CHARLIE AI, a platform and suite of products aimed at making personal computers and mobile devices smarter through artificial intelligence.

“Cambridge makes a lot of sense for KwikDesk,” Abosch explained.

“From the proximity to MIT and the deep-learning community to the ease of travel between Dublin and Boston, it’s a perfect fit. We see our Cambridge facility as the heart of our artificial intelligence platform and look forward to a brain exchange between the US and Ireland”

Making the virtual very real

Joaquin Phoenix in the movie Her, where he forges a relationship with an artificially intelligent operating system. Abosch believes that his CHARLIE AI technology will bring technology like that seen in Her to life.

Joaquin Phoenix in the movie Her, where he forges a relationship with an artificially intelligent operating system. Abosch believes that his CHARLIE AI technology will bring technology like that seen in Her to life

Abosch says Charlie AI will attempt to inverse the current trend of AI being used by large corporations and enable ordinary people to harness the possibilities that AI can bring to personal computing in a secure way. “AI has been leveraged by companies to learn as much as they possibly can about the consumer, usually more than the consumer even knows about themselves, I don’t think that is fair.”

“Imagine complex learning algorithms working for you, making your computer smarter. Imagine empowering your devices with intelligence that prioritises your best interests. Imagine being able to easily custom tailor AI to solve your problems and address your goals.

“That’s what CHARLIE AI aims to do when we release it later this year. The exciting possibilities seen in the movie HER are not that far removed from reality.”

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com