Latest news with #Scala
India.com
04-08-2025
- Science
- India.com
Thinking Differently about the Neural Intelligence: The Work of Swaminathan Sethuraman in Bridging Adaptive AI and Neural Network Innovation
A necessary mark in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of the machines to constantly learn and adjust to changes in their environments. The key to this advancement is the field of continuous learning, which is a process that has attempted to endow machines with the human capacity of learning through a gradual process without losing former knowledge. The same paradigm has posed a technical challenge as well as a vision that propels the research of Swaminathan Sethuraman, a working data engineer and AI researcher. Having a long history in commercial data engineering and an ample history dealing with high-throughput data systems, Swaminathan has imbued his scientific work with a no-nonsense flair that is most prominent in his work in neural networks, continual learning and bio-inspired architectures. Hyperdimensional Computing as a foundation of Advancing Robust Learning His article on Brain Inspired Hyperdimensional Computing: The fast and robust neural networks (Journal of Applied Cognitive Science and Neural Architectures, Vol. 1, 2022) by Swaminathan positions him to present a special manner of developing robust neural networks. This paper has been inspired by the hyperdimensional computing framework that attempts to replicate the characteristics of human cognition and has formally proposed high dimensional binary vector spaces as a memory representation space capable of encoding, storing, and reconstructing memory representations efficiently in the AI models. The fact that Swaminathan had experience in stream processing, data integration, real-time analytics were very useful in the process of modeling these complex vector operations to scale. According to the article, Swaminathan said, we have to have AI systems that can reason and adapt simultaneously. Our built-in hyperdimensional spaces ensure that our system gives a sort of structure to not only persistence memory but also provides the fluid acquisition of knowledge. His work was the design of the memory-centric learning architecture, which substituted the dense layers with transformations of vectors in a space, secured against the data noise and gave better convergence of training. The extensive experience that Swaminathan has gained on distributed systems and large scale data streams by working on actual project that has been done using Spark, Kafka, and Scala based data lakes enabled the process of modeling bio inspired mechanism in a performant and scale manner. The paper was not only capable of showing an improvement in the synthetic benchmarks but also it established a computational framework which could drive tasks in lifelong learning, which has high demands of reliability under uncertainty. Lifelong Adaptation: A Future of Lifelong Learning Swaminathan added to this vision in 2021 with the book Continual Learning in Neural Networks: Overcoming Catastrophic Forgetting in AI Systems (American Journal of Autonomous Systems and Robotics Engineering, Vol. 1). He has been a co-developer in this work comprising of a framework of a solution to one of the most long-standing problems of AI, catastrophic forgetting. One thing about neural networks is that when presented with some new data, the networks will generally override earlier learned data hence leading to failure of the networks in practice. Some of the tactics examined in the paper were Elastic Weight Consolidation (EWC), replay buffers and dynamic network growth. Swaminathan got a practical experience of data volatility in his leadership in the design of real-time enrichment systems of payment platforms. His data engineering prowess played an essential role to represent processes, such as experience replay, to make memory-efficient mechanisms, which reuse minute subsets of prior experience to guard knowledge decays. Addressing the shortcomings of static architectures, Swaminathan produced the following words, 'Lifelong learning needs the ability to maintain stability and plasticity. Our method has the effect of bringing mathematical regularization into agreement to a degree with biological intuition.' His continuous task was to devise scalable constructions of replay plans and optimization procedures to safeguard elevated performance of tasks within sequential stream of learning. Its concepts had practical application on the fraud detection problem or personalised recommendation systems – things that he is also well vertically aware of due to his years of engineering production-grade pipelines. CS Graph Neural Networks In Graph Neural Networks in Complex System Modeling and Scientific Discovery (Transactions on Intelligent Machine Systems, Vol. 1, 2022), Swaminathan added to his research in discussing the capabilities of having graph neural networks (GNNs) as a powerful abstraction of an interaction-based system modelling. GNNs generalise neural networks to operate upon graph structured data so that dependencies can be discovered between entities, such as molecules in a scientific environment or transactional networks in a financial system. In this case, Swaminathan added value of his understanding of metadata-driven architecture and enormous amount of information linkages across various sources. In the actual commercial systems that he has spearheaded, application og tokenized data, encrypting layers, and device identities, the concepts of connectivity, node diffusion and temporal learning are steppingstones. Swaminathan indicated that graph models in this way permits us to imitate dynamic interdependencies of real-world systems. This is similar to the functionality of financial transaction, verification of identity, and detection of fraud in connected and dynamic networks. His occupation at the paper has been to model graph embeddings with GNNs in order to discover latent relationships, which is a skill he has developed by spending the last several years designing data lakes which connect 250K+ clients, ingesting more than 100 GB of data on a daily basis. Scaling Up Systems in biomedical Research The similarity between Swaminathan contributions in these publications is that the operationalisation of systems is achieved efficiently through academic systems. He has a track record of migrating rigid legacy systems onto open-source and of designing enrichment pipelines that can process terabytes of data per day, but always acts as a liaison between abstract theories and how that theory can be effectively implemented. In another example of Business Data Solutions application, he led a multi year conversion project to put open-source (Hadoop, Spark, Scala) stacks in place of licensed systems, creating a metadata driven low-code environment. The platform is currently supporting over 14000+ external endpoints per day and generates revenue directly to the enterprise. In a separate effort, B2B payment platforms token integration, Swaminathan designed and developed a pliable file ingestion protocol and encryption pipeline that allowed the clients to clearly define their own formats of payment. The systems employed the principles of encryption-in-motion, masking of tokens, and scalable batch templates and once again collaborated with his links of expertise in data security and modular design which resonated throughout his published research. About Swaminathan Swaminathan Sethuraman is a Lead Data Engineer and has more than 17 years of experience in designing and scaling up data systems to enterprise scale. He is presently managing the commercial data platforms that make over 30 million per annum. He is technicalized in Spark, Kafka, Scala, Hive and large-scale distributed processing and has deep knowledge in metadata-driven low code systems. Swaminathan is a multiple recipient of internal awards of excellence in engineering and has a postgraduate certification in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in UT Austin. his work in the area of end-to-end learning, hyperdimensional computing, and graph neural networks indicates his dedication to the gap between theory at the bleeding edge and production systems.
Arabian Post
30-07-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
Scala secures $328M for Chile hyperscale data centre expansion
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Scala Data Centers has secured $328 million in international financing to fund the construction of three new hyperscale data centres and a critical power substation in Chile. This significant investment underscores the growing demand for high-capacity, scalable infrastructure to support the rapid expansion of digital services across Latin America. The financing deal marks a pivotal moment for Scala as it continues to strengthen its position as a leader in the Latin American data centre sector. The new development in Chile forms part of the company's broader strategy to expand its footprint in key markets across the region, which are increasingly becoming hubs for global data traffic and cloud services. ADVERTISEMENT With digital transformation accelerating in multiple industries, Latin America has seen a surge in demand for high-performance data infrastructure. The planned facilities will cater to the needs of global cloud providers, hyperscale customers, and enterprises, allowing them to store, process, and manage vast amounts of data. The new data centres will also help reduce latency and improve connectivity for companies operating in the region. The investment comes at a time when Latin America is experiencing a surge in the adoption of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics. With more companies moving their operations to the cloud, the need for secure, reliable, and energy-efficient data centres has never been more pressing. Scala's expansion will enable it to meet these demands, providing businesses with the infrastructure necessary to drive innovation and growth. Scala's expansion in Chile also reflects the increasing importance of sustainable infrastructure. The new data centres will be designed with energy efficiency in mind, incorporating cutting-edge technologies to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. The company has also committed to using renewable energy sources to power its facilities, aligning with the growing trend of sustainability in the data centre industry. Chile's favourable business environment, combined with its advanced telecommunications infrastructure and strategic location, has made it an attractive destination for data centre investments. The country has been positioning itself as a key player in the global digital economy, offering tax incentives and other benefits to companies investing in technology and infrastructure. The addition of Scala's new facilities further strengthens Chile's standing as a leading hub for digital infrastructure in the region. Alongside the construction of the data centres, the financing will also support the development of a major power substation, ensuring that the facilities have a stable and reliable energy supply. The substation will play a crucial role in supporting the growing demand for electricity, which is essential for the operation of the new data centres. With a growing number of digital services being powered by cloud platforms, the need for reliable and scalable energy solutions is increasingly important. Scala's investment comes amid a wave of expansion in the Latin American data centre market. The region has witnessed significant growth in the last few years, driven by increased cloud adoption, demand for edge computing, and the expansion of global tech giants in the area. The financing will allow Scala to build upon its already strong presence in the region and continue supporting the evolving needs of the digital economy.
Glasgow Times
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Glasgow Times
McLaren unit sued by US surgeon who suffered brain injury in snowmobile crash
Andrew Cannestra's snowmobile crashed near Ivalo, northern Finland, on February 2 2020, during a four-night 'Pure McLaren Arctic Experience' arranged by McLaren Automotive Events, and the Florida native is alleging the company was in breach of contract and negligent. Barristers for the 54-year-old told the first day of a trial in London that Mr Cannestra and his then-partner, Kaitlin Mealor, were given a safety briefing, but this did not include information on the layout of the track or the emergency stop button and tether cord on the snowmobile. The motorsports group is defending the legal action, with its lawyers saying there was 'no evidence' that the briefing did not meet safety standards and that the 'irreducible risk' of the activity was 'reasonably controlled'. Opening the trial on Wednesday, Neil Block KC, for Mr Cannestra, said his client and Ms Mealor were 'absolute novices' on snowmobiles, and that 'a duty was owed by McLaren to use reasonable care'. He said that while Mr Cannestra's case was not 'that the track was inherently unsafe', he and Ms Mealor 'did need to receive a proper and adequate briefing, and proper and adequate guiding'. In written submissions, Mr Block said: 'The briefing did not include any information about the layout of the track, the position of potentially hazardous bends, corners or other hazards. 'It seems to be McLaren's case that this was not required. 'It is common sense that this was required, and the failure to do so must be a breach of duty.' Mr Block told the court that Mr Cannestra and Ms Mealor's 'couples package' cost almost £24,000 before flights, with activities including driving a McLaren car on ice, and optional events such as snowmobiling. The snowmobile veered off the track during a turn (Andrew Cannestra/Scala/PA) Mr Cannestra and Ms Mealor used a 'dedicated snowmobile track' about four kilometres long, and signed a driver declaration, a waiver and a self-liability form beforehand. They were given a safety briefing by two guides – Arto Pitkanen and Jouni Satta – which Mr Block said lasted 'approximately five minutes', with the barrister adding: 'There is an issue about what it actually included.' Mr Block said the Lynx Xtrim 900 snowmobiles had three modes – eco, standard and sport – with the tour beginning in eco mode, which had a top speed of 40kph. A few hundred metres into the activity, Mr Block said the group stopped, and Mr Pitkanen approached Mr Cannestra and changed the mode, which increased its top speed and was 'not appropriate'. Mr Pitkanen is alleged to have then set off at speeds of up to 60kph, causing Mr Cannestra to lose sight of him and speed up as he 'did not want to be on his own', Mr Block said. Mr Cannestra then lost control of the snowmobile on a bend, with the vehicle veering off the track into deep snow and hitting a tree, leaving him with a 'very significant' brain injury and 'orthopaedic injuries'. Matthew Chapman KC, for McLaren, said in his written submissions that the turn where Mr Cannestra crashed was 'quite safe if negotiated at an appropriate speed' and that the court 'can confidently conclude that reasonable care and skill was exercised' in organising the outing. He continued that Mr Pitkanen changed the snowmobile's mode as Mr Cannestra was 'eager' for this to happen and that he 'explained the switch' to him. He added that Mr Cannestra's speed was 'wholly within his control', and claims that Mr Pitkanen had driven too far in front 'cannot sensibly succeed'. He said: 'In this case, there was a well-organised, risk-assessed activity which was delivered by well-trained and experienced guides who complied with the local standard. 'The irreducible risk was, in other words, reasonably controlled.' While acknowledging that the content of the safety briefing was 'contentious', Mr Chapman said it included the hand signal to stop, how to use the throttle and brake, starting the engine and 'bodyweight shifting/leaning for turns'. The trial before Mr Justice Ritchie, which is only dealing with the issue of liability, is expected to conclude this month, with a written judgment expected at a later date.
Western Telegraph
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Western Telegraph
McLaren unit sued by US surgeon who suffered brain injury in snowmobile crash
Andrew Cannestra's snowmobile crashed near Ivalo, northern Finland, on February 2 2020, during a four-night 'Pure McLaren Arctic Experience' arranged by McLaren Automotive Events, and the Florida native is alleging the company was in breach of contract and negligent. Barristers for the 54-year-old told the first day of a trial in London that Mr Cannestra and his then-partner, Kaitlin Mealor, were given a safety briefing, but this did not include information on the layout of the track or the emergency stop button and tether cord on the snowmobile. The motorsports group is defending the legal action, with its lawyers saying there was 'no evidence' that the briefing did not meet safety standards and that the 'irreducible risk' of the activity was 'reasonably controlled'. Opening the trial on Wednesday, Neil Block KC, for Mr Cannestra, said his client and Ms Mealor were 'absolute novices' on snowmobiles, and that 'a duty was owed by McLaren to use reasonable care'. He said that while Mr Cannestra's case was not 'that the track was inherently unsafe', he and Ms Mealor 'did need to receive a proper and adequate briefing, and proper and adequate guiding'. In written submissions, Mr Block said: 'The briefing did not include any information about the layout of the track, the position of potentially hazardous bends, corners or other hazards. 'It seems to be McLaren's case that this was not required. 'It is common sense that this was required, and the failure to do so must be a breach of duty.' Mr Block told the court that Mr Cannestra and Ms Mealor's 'couples package' cost almost £24,000 before flights, with activities including driving a McLaren car on ice, and optional events such as snowmobiling. The snowmobile veered off the track during a turn (Andrew Cannestra/Scala/PA) Mr Cannestra and Ms Mealor used a 'dedicated snowmobile track' about four kilometres long, and signed a driver declaration, a waiver and a self-liability form beforehand. They were given a safety briefing by two guides – Arto Pitkanen and Jouni Satta – which Mr Block said lasted 'approximately five minutes', with the barrister adding: 'There is an issue about what it actually included.' Mr Block said the Lynx Xtrim 900 snowmobiles had three modes – eco, standard and sport – with the tour beginning in eco mode, which had a top speed of 40kph. A few hundred metres into the activity, Mr Block said the group stopped, and Mr Pitkanen approached Mr Cannestra and changed the mode, which increased its top speed and was 'not appropriate'. Mr Pitkanen is alleged to have then set off at speeds of up to 60kph, causing Mr Cannestra to lose sight of him and speed up as he 'did not want to be on his own', Mr Block said. Mr Cannestra then lost control of the snowmobile on a bend, with the vehicle veering off the track into deep snow and hitting a tree, leaving him with a 'very significant' brain injury and 'orthopaedic injuries'. Matthew Chapman KC, for McLaren, said in his written submissions that the turn where Mr Cannestra crashed was 'quite safe if negotiated at an appropriate speed' and that the court 'can confidently conclude that reasonable care and skill was exercised' in organising the outing. He continued that Mr Pitkanen changed the snowmobile's mode as Mr Cannestra was 'eager' for this to happen and that he 'explained the switch' to him. He added that Mr Cannestra's speed was 'wholly within his control', and claims that Mr Pitkanen had driven too far in front 'cannot sensibly succeed'. He said: 'In this case, there was a well-organised, risk-assessed activity which was delivered by well-trained and experienced guides who complied with the local standard. 'The irreducible risk was, in other words, reasonably controlled.' While acknowledging that the content of the safety briefing was 'contentious', Mr Chapman said it included the hand signal to stop, how to use the throttle and brake, starting the engine and 'bodyweight shifting/leaning for turns'. The trial before Mr Justice Ritchie, which is only dealing with the issue of liability, is expected to conclude this month, with a written judgment expected at a later date.
Business Insider
27-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
TD Cowen Sticks to Their Hold Rating for Merck & Company (MRK)
TD Cowen analyst Steve Scala maintained a Hold rating on Merck & Company (MRK – Research Report) yesterday. The company's shares closed yesterday at $78.83. Confident Investing Starts Here: According to TipRanks, Scala is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 6.2% and a 56.45% success rate. Scala covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Eli Lilly & Co, Sanofi, and Elanco Animal Health. In addition to TD Cowen, Merck & Company also received a Hold from Citi's Geoff Meacham in a report issued on June 24. However, on June 18, Goldman Sachs maintained a Sell rating on Merck & Company (NYSE: MRK). The company has a one-year high of $132.29 and a one-year low of $73.31. Currently, Merck & Company has an average volume of 15.89M. Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 24 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of MRK in relation to earlier this year. Most recently, in April 2025, Dalton Smart, the SVP Fin. – Global Controller of MRK sold 4,262.00 shares for a total of $352,723.12.
