AdaLovelace
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Ada Lovelace manuscript and algorithm fetch $125,000 at auction
A manuscript written by Ada Lovelace, who's considered by many to be the first computer programmer, was just sold at auction for more than $125,000, the Guardian reports. A first edition and just one of six known copies of the book, it contains Lovelace's translation of a paper written by Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea that describes Charles Babbage's plans for his "Analytical Engine" computing machine. The manuscript also contains copious explanatory notes and observations from Lovelace as well as a formula for calculating Bernoulli numbers that has been called the world's first computer program.
Revamped Turing test expects computers to show imagination
In June, the developers of a Russian chatbot posing as a 13-year-old boy from Ukraine claimed it had passed the Turing test. While a lot of people doubt the result's validity because the testers used a sketchy methodology and the event was organized by a man fond of making wild claims, it's clear we need a better way to determine if an AI possesses human levels of intelligence. Enter Lovelace 2.0, a test proposed by Georgia Tech associate professor Mark Riedl. Here's how Lovelace 2.0 works: For the test, the artificial agent passes if it develops a creative artifact from a subset of artistic genres deemed to require human-level intelligence and the artifact meets certain creative constraints given by a human evaluator. Further, the human evaluator must determine that the object is a valid representative of the creative subset and that it meets the criteria. The created artifact needs only meet these criteria but does not need to have any aesthetic value. Finally, a human referee must determine that the combination of the subset and criteria is not an impossible standard.
Google Doodle celebrates Ada Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer
Today's Google Doogle celebrates the 197th birthday of Ada Lovelace, the pioneering mathematician who is regarded as the world's first computer programmer. Responsible for the first algorithm designed for Babbage's Difference Engine, even if the machine wasn't built in her lifetime, she envisaged a future where computers could create music and images. Every October, a day of celebration is held in her honor, designed to raise awareness for women's achievement in the fields of science and technology. If you'd like to know more about her story, head on over to Google and click on her portrait.
