AI News
The latest news and reviews on artificial intelligence software, hardware and AI research.
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White House launches site to highlight AI initiatives
Now that the US government has been ordered to prioritize AI, it's launching a website to promote its AI efforts. The newly available AI.gov showcases a number of initiatives over the years, including Obama-era moves like the strategic AI research plan as well as Trump-era initiatives like DARPA's quest to solve challenges through AI Next. To no one's surprise, the executive order plays a prominent role throughout -- this is ultimately an offshoot of the White House's site rather than a separate government entity.
AIs are better gamers than us, but that’s OK
We're only just beginning to scratch the surface of what artificial intelligence is capable of, from medical advancements to movie recommendations. Despite AI being a potential goldmine of help to humanity, even the greatest minds are partial to the odd spout of fear-mongering. The robots are coming to take our jobs, overthrow humanity, enslave us and the like. Skynet is but a dystopian dream at this point in time, but in some ways, AI is already winning. It's beating us at some of our favorite games, from Go to StarCraft II. Machine has begun to best man, but that's a good thing.
NVIDIA AI turns crude doodles into photorealistic landscapes
Imagine if you had the power to turn your old-school Microsoft Paint doodles into actual art. Well, NVIDIA's latest AI-driven software can do just that. The GauGAN image creator, named after the French post-Impressionist painter, uses generative adversarial networks to transform even the crudest of sketches into a photorealistic landscape. NVIDIA describes the tech behind it, a deep learning AI trained on a million images, as a "smart paintbrush."
Google Stadia can use AI to change a game's art in real-time
Google's Stadia game streaming service isn't just using the cloud to make games playable anywhere -- it's also using the technology for some clever artistic tricks. A Style Transfer feature uses machine learning to apply art styles to the game world in real time, turning even a drab landscape into a colorful display. If you'd like to play in a realm that resembles Van Gogh's Starry Night, you can.
Toyota will be first to use NVIDIA's self-driving simulator
NVIDIA has announced that its autonomous vehicle simulation platform Drive Constellation is now available and that Toyota will be the first customer. The cloud based platform, first announced by CEO Jensen Huang last year, will let self-driving car developers run tests on virtual, rather than real roads. Simulated vehicles can operate in situations ranging from routine to dangerous, "with greater efficiency, cost-effectiveness and safety than what is possible to achieve in the real world," NVIDIA said.
NVIDIA's $99 Jetson Nano is an AI computer for DIY enthusiasts
Sophisticated AI generally isn't an option for homebrew devices when the mini computers can rarely handle much more than the basics. NVIDIA thinks it can do better -- it's unveiling an entry-level AI computer, the Jetson Nano, that's aimed at "developers, makers and enthusiasts." NVIDIA claims that the Nano's 128-core Maxwell-based GPU and quad-core ARM A57 processor can deliver 472 gigaflops of processing power for neural networks, high-res sensors and other robotics features while still consuming a miserly 5W. On the surface, at least, it could hit the sweet spot if you're looking to build your own robot or smart speaker.
Stanford institute aims to improve humanity through AI
Stanford is joining the rush to create AI research hubs, albeit with a slight twist. The university is opening the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI for short) with the goal of drawing input from across the university and across disciplines -- it wants input from the humanities, business, engineering and other fields in equal measure. It wants to be sure that AI provides a "better future for all of humanity" and addresses the "challenges and disruptions" they'll create for society, such as the effect of automation on the job market.
Recommended Reading: Beto O'Rourke and Cult of the Dead Cow
Beto O'Rourke's secret membership in America's oldest hacking group Joseph Menn, Reuters Beto O'Rourke: Democratic presidential candidate and... member of a hacking group? Reuters reports the former Texas congressman once belonged to Cult of the Dead Cow, an influential group "jokingly named after an abandoned Texas slaughterhouse." While there's no evidence that O'Rourke really got his hands dirty with what we'd consider nefarious "hacking," he was a member, which might help explain some of the policies he could champion during a presidential run.
Fan uses AI to remaster 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' in HD
Unfortunately, you're highly unlikely to see an official remaster of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Its special effects were shot on video rather than added to film, making an already daunting remastering process that much more difficult -- and since it's not a tentpole show like The Next Generation, CBS might not consider it worth the effort. Machine learning might make it easier for fans to fill the gap, however. CaptRobau has experimented with using AI Gigapixel's neural networks to upscale Deep Space Nine to 1080p. The technology is optimized for (and trained on) photos, but apparently works a treat for video. While you wouldn't mistake it for an official remaster, it provides a considerably cleaner, sharper look than the 480p original without introducing visual artifacts.
Google's real-time speech recognition AI can run offline on Pixel
You can now dictate your texts with Google's Gboard keyboard even when you're offline, at least if you use a Pixel. Google's AI team announced that it updated the Gboard's speech recognizer to recognize characters one-by-one as they're spoken, and it is now hosted directly on the device. By no longer having to send data over the internet, Gboard's voice typing should now be faster and more reliable. Google explained in a blog post that it wanted to create a speech recognizer that was "compact enough to reside on a phone" and wouldn't be derailed by unreliable WiFi or mobile networks.
Microsoft's AI app for the blind helps you explore photos with touch
Microsoft's computer vision app for the blind and poor-sighted, Seeing AI, just became more useful for those moments when you're less interested in navigating the world than learning about what's on your phone. The company has updated the iOS app with an option to explore photos by touching them. Tap your finger on an image and you'll hear a description of both the objects in that scene as well as their spatial relationship. You can get descriptions for photos taken through Seeing AI's Scene channel, but they'll also be available for pictures in your camera roll as well as other apps (through options menus).
Palmer Luckey's firm wins Pentagon drone AI contract
Google may have backed out of the US military's Project Maven, but that doesn't mean other tech companies are unwilling to participate. The Intercept has learned that Oculus Rift co-founder Palmer Luckey's defense company, Anduril, won a contract to support the drone AI initiative in 2018. The firm will also support the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, according to newly obtained documents. While there aren't specifics around what that contract would entail, Project Maven relies on machine learning to detect people in drone videos and provide more effective intelligence data.
After Math: It's the circle of tech
While most of us now need Buzzfeed quizzes about "things only '90s kids would recognize" to remember what a Blockbuster is, the franchise's inevitable demise is still something to be commemorated -- if only by finally returning that VHS copy of Batman Forever you've been holding onto. But even as some companies fade into oblivion, others flourish in the market spaces left over. Here are a few from this week.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes we should be excited about automated jobs
Left-wing US politicians have landed at SXSW 2019. A day after sharing her proposal to break up companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon, US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) expanded on her plans at the event. And she wasn't the only one from her party here today. On Saturday, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) featured in a session where she notably didn't talk about Big Tech, but instead focused on the Green New Deal and automation, among other topics including pay inequality and racism.
Google is sharing a tool to keep your data anonymous from AI
Today, Google released TensorFlow Privacy, an open-source tool that will help keep your data anonymous, even as AI learns from it. The now-public code is based on differential privacy. That's what allows Gmail's Smart Reply to guess what you're going to say by collecting data from other people's emails, and at the same time, keeps Smart Reply from revealing any juicy secrets people have typed before.
Apple quietly bought Lighthouse's AI home security camera patents
When Lighthouse's intelligent security camera finally went on sale just over a year ago, the company believed that with AI recognition and 3D sensing technology, it offered something truly unique over its rivals. However, the promise of automatic face detection didn't really resonate with consumers, and the hardware maker shut down less than 10 months later. While the company slipped quietly into the night, its technology didn't, with none other than Apple ghosting in to acquire its innovations.
Import Excel data just by photographing a spreadsheet
Microsoft recently rolled out a number of major updates to its products, including a particularly handy new feature for Excel. Using the Android version of the app, users will be able to snap a photo of a printed data table and have it converted into a digital, editable spreadsheet. The feature, which is available to Microsoft 365 subscribers, isn't available on iOS yet but Microsoft is promising it will arrive soon.
'Soft' robotic hand runs on air pressure and AI
We've seen examples of robots mimicking humans, but now we're seeing robots that can autonomously teach themselves how to handle objects. Festo has developed a flexible robotic hand that uses artificial intelligence to deduce how to manipulate an item with its fingers. Such self-learning technology should prove vital towards building robots that can learn to execute tasks by themselves in the workplace, at home and pretty much anywhere.
Netflix original ‘Osmosis’ is a dark take on AI date matching
If Netflix's new Dating Around reality series is a touch too maudlin for your taste, then you'll probably dig its upcoming French original Osmosis. The first trailer for the technophobic show, which premieres March 29th, just landed and it's a literal head trip. Set in a near future, it follows several young Parisians who sign up to a beta program for an experimental dating technology designed to pair up soul mates. Then things get dark.
Sony Aibo review: Just get a puppy
Sony's original Aibo robotic dog blew the public's collective mind when it debuted in 1999, instantly becoming a cultural touchstone and commanding a rabidly loyal fan base. People still hold burials for their OG mechanical companions when they break down and can no longer be repaired. But two decades later, in an era when domestic and companion robots are increasingly commonplace, can the next Aibo iteration maintain that same feeling of wonder, that sense of futuristic whimsy its predecessor commanded? After spending two weeks living with the AI-powered pooch, I say yes. But it still pales in comparison to the real thing.
