artificial intelligence
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Fruit fly flight simulator could smarten up robots
Wondering just how we mere mortals were going to even give a robot enough smarts to completely overtake our societies? Oddly enough, some of that artificial brain power could come from studying the way fruit flies, um, fly. A completely bizarre flight simulator at Caltech actually plays "scenes" that flys react to, and considering that the fly is constantly held, researchers can closely examine how the insect attempts to navigate away from lines, blobs and all manners of incoming obstacles. Those working with the installation suggest that these studies could one day help autonomous robots function better, potentially taking some of the load off of our human workforce. We know, you've got three bold letters and a question mark running through your noggin right now -- just hit the read link to see what it's all about.[Thanks, Dave]
Scientists devise software that can interpret attractiveness
Believe it or not, this isn't the first time we've seen software created in order to determine whether a subject is drop-dead gorgeous, but scientists at Tel Aviv University have seemingly concocted a program of their own that can "interpret attractiveness in women." Before you ask, the researchers have yet to perfect the art of computing the beauty of males, but they're attributing said omission to the difficulty in "defining" attractiveness in dudes. Nevertheless, the software was purportedly able to reach nearly the same conclusion as humans about how lovely (or not) a hundred different ladies were, as it broke down features like face symmetry, smoothness of the skin and hair color. We're told the development could eventually be used in "plastic and reconstructive surgery and computer visualization programs," but c'mon, this is totally meant to automate the grueling Hot or Not process.[Via Physorg]
AI hits Second Life
Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created an artificial intelligence to drive an avatar in Second Life. Currently their AI has the smarts of a typical four-year old child, but it is capable of listening to what is "said" (in text) in Second Life and reacting to it appropriately as well as moving the avatar and typing its own replies.Whilst a four-year old might not sound like much to the uninitiated, Professor Bringsjord, leader of the project and head of the Cognitive Sciences Department points out that to fully mimic adult behaviour would take a super-computer. As well as learning about creating AIs, the team are able to test theories about the development of the human mind. There is a (rather large) video of Edd the AI demonstrating that he can't put himself in the mind of another person (something typical of 4 year olds), and chatting briefly to two "normal" avatars available.
Professor decries robotic killing machines, clearly prefers to do killing himself
So the military is continuing down the totally inevitable path of computer-controlled autonomous robo-warriors capable of fighting deadly human battles on our behalf -- and out come the naysayers like U of Sheffield prof Noel Sharkey, who, at The Ethics of Autonomous Military Systems conference in London, decried the bots' self-determined killing abilities as "a threat to humanity" -- especially if they're captured and re-purposed by terrorists to do their evil bidding. Sharkey exclaimed that he's "worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot making decisions about human termination terrifies [him]," but -- and we're just gonna throw this out there -- what if being oppressed by a race of automatons run amok were actually an improvement over our corrupt governments of men? Isn't that a possibility, too? We're certainly going to keep telling ourselves it is, thankful we've somehow managed to not be overthrown by our own creations. Thus far.P.S. -We dare you, commenters, NOT to bust out the welcoming our robot overlords cliché.
Kurzweil predicts that machines will match man by 2029 -- bring it on
Famed technologist and futurist Ray Kurzweil is on the record about human-machine intelligence parity: it's going down by 2029, so be prepared to get digital on entirely new levels. Apparently, machines "will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence" by then, but even if it's not in the form of meatbag-terminating cyborgs, Kurzweil thinks one future of intelligent machines is on the nano scale, with interfaces to enhance our own physiology and intelligence. Oh sure, this stuff is completely pie in the sky -- but it's still absurdly fun to think of what kinds of crazy crap the 21st century's going to hold.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Science says: Neurotic AI has a gaming edge
While we're not sure how comfortable we are with our artificial intelligence constructs having human-like personalities attached to them, we are interested to know what affect those personalities would have on our robot overlords' videogame abilities. So we suppose it's a good thing that the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence conducted a study to see what types of AI personalities were best suited to games.The study programmed four artificial intelligence agents to play single-player Age of Mythology with four distinct play styles: aggressive, defensive, normal and neurotic, the last of which was saddled with ostensible drawbacks such as "irrational assessment of resource value" and "tendency to resort to extreme playing styles." Despite these drawbacks, though, the neurotic AI played itself to a perfect 7-0 record and, surprisingly, achieved wins 3-12 minutes faster than its opponent AI, on average. The takeaway from all this? If you see Woody Allen in the Xbox Live lobby, beware!View - Study presentation slides (PDF)Read - Study summary at Mind Hacks
Jumpgate's A.I. evolves
More details have emerged from the jumpgate via Steve Hartmeyer's Dev Journal over on MMORPG.com. Steve is a programmer at NetDevil working on the hotly anticipated (at least it is for many of us here at Massively) space combat MMO, Jumpgate Evolution.Steve's latest entry, AI System: Nuts & Bolts, takes us on an amazing detailed journey through the evolution of Jumpgate's artificial intelligence system. He explains how it morphed from "simply" populating space and simulating everyday tasks of an immense number of AI ships to a system that ultimately allows players to react to and participate in spontaneous events originated by the AI itself! Uh... holy crap! No wonder the dev team is so stoked about this game's AI system. Between the comparison to X-wing games we heard about yesterday, and now learning of the off the charts Intelligence Quotient of the AI... the needle just done popped off my Hot Meter! But there's more to it then the pure glee of such a cool game on the horizon. When you realize the capabilities of today's gaming AI (not just in JE, but where gaming AI is at right now and where it will likely lead), it all actually gets a bit creepy-cool in the "Wow, this sounds a lot like the theoretical beginnings of the Matrix or Cyberdyne Systems' development of Skynet" sort of way. Things that make ya go hmmm...
iRobot adds swank mapping kit to PackBot
iRobot has unleashed yet another semi-autonomous robot ready to take on whatever the battlefield throws at it, but this one's got a much better feel of where it's headed. The PackBot with Mapping Kit ups the ante by "creating a real-time two-dimensional structural map for the soldier while on the move in theater," essentially enabling the operator (and his / her squad) to see what's just ahead without having to slip into potentially dangerous scenarios to find out. Apparently, the kit utilizes an array of sensors and artificial intelligence to relay the structural map while "simultaneously detecting and avoiding obstacles in its path." Heck, let's just strap a railgun on this thing and let the soldier kick back at the base.[Thanks, Jonas]Read - Press releaseRead - PackBot with Mapping Kit homepage
Popular AI tech throws support behind Wii
Realism is not the Wii's domain. We've come to terms with this, so much so that our psychiatrist has begun to offer us half-rates for her trouble. Even so, any efforts to help the little console along the path of next-gen righteousness are welcomed. An update today from the AI middleware sleuths at Kynogon is certainly that, as the company has announced support for the Wii, offering their popular AI tech Kynapse to Wii game developers in order to help keep their NPCs from running around all willy-nilly.Kynapse is already used in a number of other titles, both currently available and in production for a variety of platforms, including Crackdown, Alone in the Dark, and the upcoming sequel to Fable, and while no Wii developers have come forward and announced titles they expect to take advantage of the AI solution, Kynogon notes that Kynapse has already been tapped by two different studios for use in upcoming Wii projects. Who knows, maybe someday soon we can quit visiting the shrink altogether.
Researchers set sights on uber-dexterous robotic hand
Dr. Honghai Liu, one of the two researchers heading up a project to craft an exceptionally deft robotic hand, has called such a device "one of the holy grails of science," and honestly, we can't say we disagree. He, along with Professor Xiangyang Zhu, was recently award a Royal Society grant to further research the possibility of using artificial intelligence to create software that could "learn and copy human hand movements." A sensor-laden cyberglove has been used to capture data about how the human hand moves, and the duo hopes to eventually use the findings to produce the "perfect artificial limb." Of course, there's no telling how long it'll take for such technology to actually be perfected, but we can already see the line forming with folks eager to swap out their own hand for one a bit more adept.[Via The Raw Feed]
Lead producer of Jumpgate Evolution writes Developer Journal on AI
Lead producer of Jumpgate Evolution Herman Peterscheck has posted a developer journal at MMORPG.com about the artificial intelligence used in the upcoming space MMO. Peterscheck describes how the AI in Jumpgate Evolution is employed to craft a universe that will feel alive to players.At the most basic level, Peterscheck tells how the AI should be able to do anything that a player does -- mining, trading, combat, etc. On top of that, the NPCs will have behaviors, like patrolling, decisions on if they like you or want to blast you out of space, and when to chicken out of a fight. The aspect that he believes is perhaps one level above what you might see in a lot of other games, however, is the way that the AI will react to situations occurring in the world.
Cognitive Code shows off SILVIA artificial intelligence platform
Cognitive Code looks to be taking full advantage of the TechCrunch40 conference to show off its SILVIA artificial intelligence platform, which it calls a "fundamental conceptual breakthrough in artificial intelligence." Apparently, the platform allows for the "development and deployment of intelligent applications to almost any platform" (which we can only hope includes robots), allowing for human interaction in "completely natural and intuitive ways." What's more, it looks like the system should be relatively easy to implement (at least in AI terms), with a complete set of GUI tools available for "developing intelligent entities," and an array of scripting APIs at developers' disposal to embed SILVIA in their applications. If that's not enough, Cognitive Code is also apparently hard at work on a portable version of SILVIA for PDAs and smartphones, with it apparently set for release in late 2008.
Biofeedback signals used to predict gamers' moves
While it's no shock that artificial intelligence as a whole is making strides, a pair of Hungarian researchers have seemingly unlocked a secret that gamers are sure to detest. Laszlo Laufer and Bottyan Nemeth, both from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, have reportedly "discovered that a gamer's button presses can be predicted two seconds before they make them, through measurements of skin conductance." To make such a bold claim, the duo had guinea pigs play a simple game while their heart rate and skin conductance were measured, and after utilizing "neural networks to analyze the biofeedback signals and input records," the data showed that we humans aren't as unpredictable as we sometimes hope to be. Notably, this unearthing could be used in quite a few applications outside of infuriating gamers, but we all know where the real fun in this is.[Via The Raw Feed]
Humans fend off AI challenge in "milestone" poker match
It apparently wasn't easy, but a pair of top human poker players managed to narrowly beat a brash young artificial intelligence program yesterday in a poker match scientists had touted as a "milestone" comparable to Garry Kasparov's 1997 bout with the IBM's chess-playing Deep Blue. According to the AFP, the four-round match stretched on until 11pm, with poker players Phil Laak and Ali Eslami ultimately edging out the program, dubbed Polaris, by 570 points. Eslami seems to have been particularly impressed by his competitor, saying that he found playing against Polaris more exhausting than any previous game in his career, adding that "it's already so good it will be tough to beat in future." No word on a rematch just yet, but don't be surprised if you run into Polaris the next time you play a little online poker -- it's gotta recoup its losses somehow.[Photo courtesy of AP]
Canadian AI plays "perfect" game of checkers
A team of researchers at the University of Alberta in Canada claim to have "solved" the game of checkers, using a computer program named Chinook which has been playing matches against itself for the past 18 years. The program played 500 billion billion possible positions in the 5,000-year-old game, also known as draughts, before concluding that perfect play by both sides leads to a draw (a concept which grandmaster players have apparently hypothesized for years). One of the researchers said in a statement that he believes they have "Raised the bar... in terms of what can be achieved in computer technology and artificial intelligence." Next up, Chinook is to be renamed W.O.P.R., and then will begin playing a series of tic-tac-toe games against itself.
Learning coffee machine on the horizon, could use GPS / RFID
Although a coffee machine that slowly but surely learns your daily preferences in regard to cups of java may sound outlandish, the already-created RFID-enabled refrigerator certainly brings things back into focus. A "provisional patent exploration into coffee machines that learn and react to their users" is underway in Lafayette, Indiana, as James Pappas is hoping to take ubiquitous computing to the next level on coffee makers of the future. While internet-connected and weather-displaying renditions are already on store shelves, Pappas is hoping to utilize some form of GPS / RFID technology to create a machine that learns and adapts to your coffee drinking ways so it can automatically have a white chocolate cappuccino ready and waiting each weekday (except Monday, which is your straight-up black coffee day, right?) without you having to touch a thing. Furthermore, he's hoping to take the idea to the mobile front, as he refers to a cellphone interface to dial-in your next request so that it's ready to go by the time you hit the kitchen. Still, it sounds like the invention is a few years off at best, but serious drinkers better hope this thing automatically alerts you when the beans are running low, too.[Image courtesy of CoffeeToThePeople]
Watch out Stanley, here comes Junior
With the slow vehicle passing and a 50mph speed limit, the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge didn't entirely seem to set the stage technologically for the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, but get ready, Stanford's already prepping, their entrant: Junior. The Volkswagen Passat wagon will be equipped with a 360-degree laser rangefinder, bumper mounted lasers, RADAR, GPS, a network of systems and software powered by Core 2 Duo processors, and hopefully also spinners to distract the competition's junk-ass rides. Junior's mission, if you choose to recall it: drive a simulated urban course 60 miles long; it must obey California state traffic laws, it must not crash, it must be able to operate without GPS, and it must run the course entirely without human input. The $2m at stake for first place is probably not nearly enough to immediately recoup the costs of a bunch of braniac grad students hacking complex AI algos, but it could be the icing on the cake for the current favorite after 2005's Grand Challenge was routed by Junior's pappy, Stanley.P.S. -CNET has some early pics of Junior's interior and such, check 'em out.
Stand-alone AI card: is it viable?
Upstart company AIseek has announced the Intia processor, the "first dedicated processor for artificial intelligence (AI)" according to its website. The website promises better terrain analysis, line-of-sight calculations, and path finding capabilities. The website offers demo videos to download, but they all seem to be offline right now (Ars Technica saw a video and was impressed).Theoretically, the card is a great idea in the vein of Ageia's PhysX card -- who doesn't hate the lackadaisical AI found in today's games? But, as Engadget points out, it suffers from the chicken/egg dilemma: no customer will buy the card until games are made that utilize it, but no developer will make a game utilizing Intia unless it already has an installed base. The best bet for AIseek would be to lobby console makers to get its chip included in the next generation -- some of the earliest 3D cards found success because of their inclusion in PlayStation and Nintendo 64. No one would purchase an AI processor out of support for the idea alone; the technology is great, but what high-profile developer would take the risk and program excess code for a small, possibly nonexistent, audience?[via Engadget]
AIseek's Intia Processor provides dedicated AI crunching
With competition for those spare PCI slots already hot between dedicated sound, physics, and even network cards -- all promising to offload some CPU cycles to speed frame rates and enhance performance -- you've gotta hand it to AIseek for pushing out their new Intia "AI processor" in such a climate. The way it's looking from here, we just need more PCI slots, since the AIseek promises all sorts of Artificial Intelligence leetness that just needs to be had. They're saying that they can accelerate low-level AI tasks 200x compared to a lone CPU, giving NPCs better terrain analysis, line-of-sight sense, path finding and the like. AIseek also guarantees NPCs will be able to find the optimal path in any game that uses the chip, pathfinding abilities we've gone without for too long. Basically: more baddies, less stupidity. Unfortunately, the "chip" doesn't quite seem to exist in anything close to a retail form -- AIseek mainly seems to be after VC money right now -- and of course there's always the chicken and the egg problem being experienced by PhysX of no games until people buy the card, and nobody will buy the card without games. All the same, we're hoping for good things from this technology, and would recommend you peep the read link for some simulations of the AI in action.[Via Ars Technica]
Journos replaced by computers; Engadget snarkbot imminent
Oh boy, what a day it's been in the world of artificial intelligence. Those wacky computer programmers over at United States company Thomson Financial have developed software for the computing machines that generates most excellent news stories from corporate earnings reports. What a bunch of smart guys. Amazingly, the United States company Thomson Financial's computing machines can turn statements of finance into good news stories within 300 milliseconds of this financial information data going public. A corporate executive person from United States company Thomson Financial says that this method of storytelling allows reporters to do more important reporter things. How cool is that? Many stupid humans say that witless publications such as American technology weblog Engadget are already being transcribed by robots, but we think that is crazy nonsense talk. End transmission.
