Five for Friday: Fighting fires with AI, robots that only see the good, and one knowledge graph to rule them all

Fall is almost here, which means it’s the perfect time to cozy up with a cup of tea and these quick takes from the worlds of firefighting, technology, and travel.

• Seventy-five years ago, firefighters sent teenagers into lookout towers to monitor valleys and call in any fires. Now, they do it with drones, satellites, and infrared cameras. But the biggest addition to their firefighting tool belt is new software that helps them project how a fire could spread – while it’s still burning.
• Turns out the tortoise was right all along. In the race to automate routine tasks, some organizations are moving too fast. Check out these expert tips on how you can slow down and automate the right way.
• From VentureBeat: In Japan, manufacturers are turning quality control on its head by teaching robots to spot the good, rather than the bad.
• Next time you fly, you might be able to zip through security without a word. In the United States, airports are testing out new touchless self-service technologies that let travelers scan their own ID.
• Nobody likes a know-it-all, until you need to process billions of web pages. This MIT Technology Review article looks at how one company is using image recognition and natural-language processing to read the entire internet, non-stop.

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