Showing posts with label artificial intelligence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artificial intelligence. Show all posts

Thursday 6 August 2015

Smart Mirror Monitors Your Face For Tell-Tale Signs Of Disease

Mirror

Mirror to Assess Health of Individual

The latest is a new mirror which can assess the health of an individual by simply looking into it, which analyses the facial expressions, fatty tissue and how pale or flush a person tends to be. The purpose of the gadget is to mark out cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart disease which are the prevailing causes of death all across the globe.

Researchers are of the belief that getting to know the early signs of these conditions is the best medicine in reducing the burden of health care cost connected in the treatment of these chronic diseases. Wize Mirror seems to look like a mirror, though incorporated 3D scanners, multispectral cameras as well as gas sensors in order to assess the health of a person viewing into it.

It comprises of facial recognition software which looks for tell-tale signs of stress or anxiety. The device makes use of gas sensors in collecting samples of the user’s breath and checks for certain compounds and features a three dimensional scanner in analysing face shape for weight gain or loss, together with multispectral cameras in order to estimate the heart rate or the level of haemoglobin.

Technology Developed by Consortium of Researchers

The software needs about a minute in analysing the data and then it provides a score which informs the user how healthy they are and also tends to display personalised information on how to make improvements in their health.

The technology has been developed by a consortium of researchers as well as industry partners from seven European Union – EU countries, utilising EU funding. Sara Colantonio together with colleagues from the National Research Council of Italy will be coordinating with the project and would want to utilise Wize Mirror in addressing common long term health issue which are not easy to treat and intent viewing the device as a tool which could be helpful in addressing these health problems of heart diseases as well as diabetes.

The clinical trials of the device are arranged to begin next year at three sites in France and Italy, with focus to compare its readings with those from traditional medical devices. They have stated that `prevention is the most viable approach in reducing the socio-economic burden of chronic and widespread disease like cardiovascular and metabolic diseases’.

Accurate Health Assessment in Natural Setting - Challenging

Consumer technology which can interpret signals from the body to understand the underlying physical as well as mental health is on the point of being part of our daily life. For instance, Cardiio which was originally created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an app that utilises a smartphone’s camera in order to monitor the blood levels in the face and expresses the heart rate.

At the MIT’s Media Lab, Javier Hernandez looked at utilising mirrors for the purpose of health monitoring and also developed a program known as SenseGlass wherein it uses Google Glass together with other wearable to measure a person’s mood thus enabling them to handle their emotions.

Hernandez has stated that though the mirrors are great for the purpose of health monitoring, since we use them daily, making use of them in this manner is complex than it seems to sound. According to him `accurate health assessment in natural settings are quite challenging due to several factors like the illumination change, occlusions and the excessive motion’.

Tuesday 4 August 2015

Ban Killer Robots Before They Take Over, Stephen Hawking & Elon Musk Say

stephen

UN Urged to Ban AI Based Autonomous Weapons

A new report has urged the United Nation to ban the making of artificial intelligence based autonomous weapons, already accused as `killer robots’ and the development of such types of weapons by global arms. An open letter warning against the dangers of global arms race of artificial intelligence – AI technology,has been signed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, physicist Stephen Hawking together with several other tech luminaries that the United Nation should support a ban on weapons which humans do not have any control over it.

The letter issued by the Future of Life organization was presented on July 27 during the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aires, Argentina – Super-Intelligent Machine: 7 Robotic Futures. Referring to the automatic weapons, the letter reads as follow, `the key question for humanity today is whether to start a global AI arms race or to prevent it from starting.

If any major military power pushes ahead with AI weapon development, a global arms race is virtually inevitable and the endpoint of this technological trajectory is obvious, autonomous weapons will become the Kalashnikovs of tomorrow’.

Risks Greater Than Modelled Nuclear Weapons

According to the signatories, the risks could be much greater than those modelled by nuclear weapons. From self-driving cars and much more, humanity’s main tasks are being taken over by robots. The unavoidable hike of the machine has urged both ideal as well as apocalyptic vision of the future.

 Artificial intelligence researchers have in fact voiced their concerns on how innovation in this field are developing and with autonomous AI weapons like the drone planes which seek and kill people using a face recognition algorithm.

 The writers of the letter debate that the technology would be here in a few years. According to the letter while the drone fighters’ limits to battlefield casualties, these autonomous bots could probably lower the edge in initiating clashes in the first place. In addition to this, these autonomous weapons could also possibly be in the hands of practically every military power in the world due to AI based killing machines that would not be much costly or difficult to obtain resources.

AI – Hold Great Dangers

It would also not be very long for assassins, terrorist as well as other bad characters to purchase them in the black market and utilise them for despicable purposes according to the scientists. The letter further states that `autonomous weapons are ideal for tasks like assassination, destabilizing nations, subduing populations as well as selectively killing any particular ethnic group and it is believed that a military AI arms race would not be beneficial for humanity’.

It is not the first time that science as well as tech luminaires have raised their concern against the dangers of artificial intelligence. Hawking had stated that in 2014, the development of full artificial intelligence could have influenced the end of the human race. He together with Musk had signed a letter by the same organization in January cautioning that the AI tends to hold great dangers unless humanity would assure that AI systems `will do what we want them to’.

Thursday 30 July 2015

AI Triumphs at Pictionary-Like Sketch Recognition Task

Sketch

Sketch-a-Net – Sketch Recognition Job

Softwareknown as Sketch-a-Net accurately identifies a sample of hand drawings which has been developed by researchers in London and this artificial intelligence system – AI, has beaten human at sketch recognition job.

The researchers recommended that their program could be adapted in helping police to match drawings of any suspects involved in any crime incidents, though according to computing experts,a lot of work needs to be done. Earlier sketch recognition attempts have examined drawings as completed work wherein specific features were extracted and thereafter classified in the same way the photos tend to be analysed.

The Sketch-a-Net could make use of the information about the order the hand strokes were made in. Whenever computer equipment is utilised in the development of a drawing, the follow-on data comprises of information with regards to when each line was made and where, wherein the team at Queen Mary University took the benefit of this added statistics.

 According to Dr Timothy Hospendales, from the University’s Computer Science department, states that the `normal computer vision image recognition looks at all of the pixels in parallel, though there is some additional information offered by the sequence and there is some regularity in how people do it’.

AI Software Achieved Score of 42.5% Accuracy

He has informed BBC that in the case of an alarm clock for instance, people usually tend to start by drawing the outline of the device before adding in the hands and then creating dashes to represent the hours. He further added that different shapes have `different ordering and that is what the network learns to discover’.

The drawings in the test were from a collection of around 20,000 sketches that were known as the TU-Berlin dataset that had been utilised in earlier image recognition jobs. On examining the image library, Sketch-a-Net seemed to have a certain edge in determining some of the drawings’ finer details.

For instance, it was capable of matching drawings of birds to the description `seagull, flying birds,standing bird and pigeon, than human were.Dr Hospendales states that it has been described as being capable of solving the game Pictionary which he presumed was a nice explanation. The AI software achieved a score of 42.5% accuracy at that definite task when compared with the volunteers’ 24.8%.

Used in Matching Sketches of Suspects

The researchers recommend that their software could be utilised in matching sketches of suspects. According to Prof Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey’s Computing Department, he defines the research as `promising’ but states that it could be some time before its potential could be realised.

He adds on, that `neutral nets have proved to be extremely successful in the past since the foundation for recognition and classifications systems. But the latest application could be obviously at the initial stage and quite a lot of developments and testing would be needed prior to seeing it emerge in a real world application.

He thinks it is one of the several areas in which they could see people using the AI in order to improve on human abilities’. The peer review research would be discussed further in September at the British Machine Vision Conference.

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Google Has Set Its Terrifying, Dreaming Image Robots on the Public


Deep_Dream
Google’s Images Recognizing Robots


Software engineers of Google has recently revealed the results of an experiment which looked at how computer can think, identify and understand objects, animals and people in images. Google has opened its images recognizing robots to all, enabling users to create strange and horrifying images from their very own images. It has released the somewhat horrifying, half amazing images created recently with pictures.

The company has made the `Deep Dream software available on code sharing website Github wherein users could download the same and run their own pictures through it. The software is said to operate on turning image recognising computers on themselves and by prompting the system to over interpret image, which they would otherwise pick out meaningless things, exaggerating them. For instance like turning clouds into bizarre llamas.

With regards to Google’s own image, it tends to transform thing into animals, with dogs being the favourite and eyes. There is also the possibility of overlaying everything with a swirly rainbow colouring. Google has stated that the technology could enable us in understanding where the creativity of human comes from and the same is being put to the test.

The Day Dream System


The `Day Dream’ system tends to feed an image via a layer of artificial neurons, asking an AI to improve as well as build certain features like edges. Over a period of time the pictures could get distorted which is morphed into something that is completely different or just a cluster of colourful random noise.

With the code for the system made available, user have the option of uploading an image of their choice and watch it metamorphose into a surrealistic image. On being fed with several pictures, the image recognition software developed by Google allows artificial neural network of computer to view shapes in images and creates strange, psychedelic and fantastic images which could be likened to entertainer art.

With immense deal of interest generated from the AI research published together with the generated images, Google decided to make the code for its algorithm available to the public. The source code needs to be hosted on a site and some software developers have hosted the same like Psychic VR Lab and Deep Neural Net Dreams where users can now upload a picture to these sites and run it through the algorithm in creating images of their choice.

Artificially Intelligent Neural Network of Google


Artificially intelligent neural network of Google comprises of 10 to 30 stacked layers of artificial neurons wherein each layer tends to look at images and detects various aspects like a corner or a shape and conveys information to the next layer till the final layer tends to formulate an answer.

At times the network understands shapes and decides to understand mild images such as clouds or faces as animals which portrays unusual effects layered over the images like plenty of creepy eyes staring back at the viewers, fantastic dog heads merged into objects and animals with striking touches. The engineers mentioned that `the techniques presented helps to understand and visualize how neural networks are able to carry out difficult classification tasks, improve network architecture and check what the network has learned during training.
It also make us wonder whether neural networks could become a tool for artists, a new way to remix visual concepts, or perhaps even shed a little light on the roots of the creative process in general’.

Monday 9 February 2015

Why Google Is Making Human Skin


Skin

As per the authentic sources, Google is making the artificial human skin as the part of special research projects which is “wristband that can detect cancer, impending heart attacks and many other diseases”. It is well known fact that Google is trend setter and now this search engine giant is developing the synthetic human skin only to test cancer-detecting nano-particles, which can work with a combination of wristband. Currently, Google is working on many health related and as well as non-health related projects to give better and comfort life to humans.

In the press conference, last year Google has announced that they are working on magnetic nano-particles, which can be the helpful to find the cancer cells in the bloodstream and it will have the ability to report back to a wristband. And in present, Google is working on synthetic skin so that they can develop the technology.

As per one of the employee, “New technology will use the light signals to talk to the wristband and it will provide the superficial veins for the wrist, which will be underside. Shining lights means it will use the skin on the different factors such as; colors and skin types and more, so that team of researchers in Google can built the fake arms with same as original biochemical components and auto-fluorescence.

As per the statement of Andrew Conrad, who is the Head of Google's Life Sciences department, “We all know that cancer cells are floating through our body, which constantly trying to kill us”.

Researchers of Google’s life sciences division are working in Google X laboratories in California to make every possible effort to test the technology. This project will help to theoretically detect the diseases and diagnosis it long before appearance of physical symptoms, in short it will us to reduce the fatality rate of illnesses.

The main idea behind this project will identify slight changes in the person's biochemistry, which could act as the early warning system. Google X lab is dedicated to investigate these potentially revolutionary innovations, so that many ideas can be implemented to make it more effective before being made public.

Google has believe that with this technology it is possible to make the cells light up with magnetic wristband and this magnetic wristband will help to detect the them as soon they will pass through the arm in the bloodstream. But still there is question that “Is people will be comfortable to have monitoring system in their body”.

In the research patients would be swallow a pill¸ which will contain the nano-particles and that will be tailored to attach the makers for different conditions like; chemical levels or cancerous cells linked to disease. Previous researches has included that research in to glucose measuring contact lenses, so that patients with diabetes and a spoon can counteract the tremors that can caused by Parkinson's disease. Google has also some non-health related projects such as; Google Glass, delivery drones, self-driving cars and internet balloons in the stratosphere.

Bill Gates Is Worried About Artificial Intelligence Too


Bill_Gates
Bill Gates has joined the ranks of other eminent scientists and industry notables for issuing a warning for humanity against the use of artificial intelligence. Earlier Stephen Hawking and the Internet innovator Elon Musk has raised the possibility of potential threat which comes from the machines if they ‘happen to think for themselves’. Gates has put forward his thoughts on this matter on Reddit “AskMeAnything” thread which is special kind of online Q&A session conducted live on this social news website.

Artificial Intelligence In Sci-fi- Movies

The current advancement in the field of the technology had led to the emergence highly efficient Artificial Intelligence. There are numerous short stories and movies which shows the threat posed by the AI if used unchecked but today AI has moved into reality. In the ‘Matrix Trilogy the emphasis is deemed upon the machines which thinks that humanity is threat and they enslave people for maintaining their virtual existence. In terminator series Skynet computer system becomes sentient and it wages a cruel multiyear war using cyborgs to kill humans.

Presence of Artificial Intelligence in Reality

AI is introduced in the real world by Apple with its voice based personal assistant called Siri. Though it is not extremely advanced at the moment but research is going on to make it much smarter. IBM has also developed a supercomputer based on AI which has moved from just analysing few stings of data to conducting medical research and diagnosis on its own. Furthermore researchers have even created a new computer program which posses incredible AI that can beat anyone at poker. Gates doesn’t find this interesting but view it as a worst scenario where researcher might happen to build AI which is too much smarter than the needed.

Fears Emerging From Artificial Intelligence

Musk had earlier stated that the so called AI development is like summoning the demon. Hawking had expressed his views for an international newspaper in May 2014. He said that short term impact might appear favourable on who controls but the long term impact depends wholly on whether it could be controlled or not. Google CEO Larry Page has also talked about AI but he doesn’t seem to express any explicit fear or concern.

Bill Gates warning against the AI comes from the Microsoft development of the machine intelligence called Cortana which has already been implemented in its range of Lumia smartphones. It is interestingly based on AI character which features in a popular video game named Halo. Cortana is all set to release in the PCs as a part of the new Windows 10 operating system later this year.

Reasons For Bill Gates Giving The Warning Signals

A physicist and entrepreneur named Louis Del Monte shed lights on the extent of threat emerging from the AI. He believes the machines would certainly surpass the humans and would become the dominant species as there is no legislation which limits the extent of their intelligence. They would end up outsmarting the human’s intelligence and even work towards their own survival which means going any extent to save them.

Saturday 26 July 2014

What Breed does that Dog Belong to? – Let Microsoft Answer that!


Project Adam
Microsoft’s research division is very proactive and always making headways into cutting-edge research and pushing the boundaries of software and hardware. One such innovation is Microsoft’s project Adam – an advanced AI with a manifold performance increment over its predecessors and its competitors along with advanced object recognition technology it incorporates.

Project Adam

At Microsoft’s 5th Research Faculty Summit keynote, Harry Shum, executive vice president of Technology and Research, demonstrated the power of the AI along with its various capabilities. Its primary goal was to recognize any object given to it. It was achieved by culling a massive 14 million image database from Flickr made up of 22k different user-generated tag categories. Using 30 times fewer machines than average, it was used to train Adam – a 2 billion connection neural network and it produces results 50 times faster than the competition.

Adam’s Capabilities

As actions speak louder than words, so a prompt demonstration was given and dogs definitely steal the show. In main aim was to recognize the dog’s breed. In order to make it more interactive it was integrated with Cortana, Microsoft’s very own personal assistant for their windows phone 8.1 lineups. Project Adam researcher Johnson Apacible pointed the phone’s camera at a Dalmatian named Cowboy and it was quick to identify the breed. He then showed a Rhodesian Ridgeback and it was spot-on to identify it too. A Cobberdog lead to some confusion as people said it was Labradoodle whereas Cortana said terrier but both were right. Just for some fun, he then pointed at Shum and Cortana was quick to reply with a negative.

The Possibilities

At the end, Shum quoted that there was a paradigm shift from personal computing to a future where user is the centre and hence it’s not about computing power or storage but people’s time and attention. One day Project Adam might make it possible for people to snap pictures of their skin or infection, identify the cause, and take appropriate medication based on the suggestions. It can also identify the calories contained in a meal by pointing it at the food. Another scenario would be when you are in woods; you would like to differentiate between poisonous and edible plants where it can help too.

Competition

However, as always the case, Microsoft is not alone in this race. In January, Google outbid Facebook to buy “DeepMind” – a London based AI Lab for 400 million. Further Google launched Quantum Artificial Intelligence lab to further study how quantum computing can lead to advances in artificial intelligence. HartmutNeven, Director of engineering for Research team at Google, was quoted saying that machine learning will gain utmost importance in near future with more accurate predictions and better models, which will also help them to produce a more useful search engine.

The Future 

In future, we might see Microsoft integrating it with smartphones and Cortana for a richer user experience and make them stand apart from the competition where product differentiation is becoming increasingly difficult.

Saturday 10 March 2012

Angelina: artificial intelligence that creates video games

Angelina is programming concept. Behind him lies an artificial intelligence able to move from human to create video games.

Autonomous, Angelina designs all aspects of game development levels the behavior of enemies and bonuses. After assembling all the pieces, Angelina pushes its creation in a test phase. This simulates a part and to determine the best ways to complete levels. The process is repeated 400 times to cross check the results.