Lyft recruits a former Google engineer to become its new AI manager

Lyft has already detailed some of his uses of machine learning, including determining how to attract more runners for otherwise slow periods and detecting fraudulent behavior. However, the company barely made mention of AI or machine learning in its IPO earlier this year, merely pointing out that data from the drivers' journeys and drivers are used to optimize and improve future journeys.

Shaked will probably help Lyft to integrate machine learning and AI in new ways. The engineer was a member of the Google Brain Project, focused on deep learning of artificial intelligence research. The team's technology has been used to improve image quality, create a new type of encryption, improve the functionality of Google Translate and teach robots how to handle complex tasks. While he was at Google Brain, Shaked co-founded Sibyl, the most widely deployed machine learning platform at Google.