Abstract Thinking Makes Robots Better Planners
Researchers have developed a method for helping robots plan for multi-step tasks by constructing abstract representations of the world around them. Their study is a step toward building robots that can think and act more like people. Planning is a monumentally difficult thing for robots, largely because of how they perceive and interact with the …
How To Spot A Deepfake
Just when you thought modern life couldn’t get any crazier, a video emerged during the run-up to the recent UK election, in which the Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared to endorse his political opponent Jeremy Corbyn. “Appeared” is the important word here, because this was actually just one of the latest in a steady stream of deepfakes …
Robogamis Are The Real Heirs Of Terminators And Transformers
Ask anyone what image comes to mind when you say the word ‘robot’, and there’s no doubt you’ll receive responses inspired by popular culture. For example, the liquid metal, shape-shifting T-1000 from the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991); or Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots and the main character in the Transformers (2014-) films. …
Would You Want A Personal AI That Knows Everything About You?
A couple years ago I took part in a marketing video where I was recorded answering questions about my career path, interests, and goals. The next day, the videographer offered to show me the footage, so I took him up on it. As I watched myself, I became dismayed. My eyes darted from left …
CES 2020 Wraps: AI And 5G Define The Future Of Innovation
CES® 2020 wrapped up on January 10, following a week filled with over 20,000 product debuts unveiling the future of technology. More than 4,400 exhibiting companies launched their latest tech products to some 170,000 attendees across more than 2.9 million net square feet of exhibit space. From global tech brands to pioneering startups, the innovation at …
Algorithms Trace How Stereotypes Have Changed
Word embeddings—an algorithmic technique that can map relationships and associations between words—can measure changes in gender and ethnic stereotypes over the past century in the United States. Researchers analyzed large databases of American books, newspapers, and other texts and looked at how those linguistic changes correlated with actual US Census demographic data and major social …
IBM Launches Advertising Accelerator With Watson
First-to-Market Advertising Solution Leverages Artificial Intelligence to Predict Creative Elements and Classify Audiences to Help Drive Optimum Engagement for Clients At the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced the launch of Advertising Accelerator with Watson, a first-to-market offering that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to predict the optimal combination of creative elements to help …
Iran Attack: How Reaper Drones Really Carry Out Airstrikes
The recent killing of senior Iranian general Qassem Soleimani has been widely reported as conducted by an MQ-9 Reaper drone. But what does such an operation actually involve? While the ultimate decision to carry out the attack has clearly been placed with the Trump administration, much of the reporting and commentary has still bought into …
Robots, AI And Drones: When Did Toys Turn Into Rocket Science?
I’m a geek. And as a geek, I love my tech toys. But over time I’ve noticed toys are becoming harder to understand. Some modern toys resemble advanced devices. There are flying toys, walking toys, and roving toys. A number of these require “configuring” or “connecting”. The line between toy, gadget and professional device is …
To Make Sense Of AI Decisions, ‘Peek Under The Hood’
Now that humans have programmed computers to learn, we want to know exactly what they’ve learned and how they make decisions after their learning process is complete. The answers to such questions could shed light on our own decision-making processes. Kate Saenko, an associate professor of computer science at Boston University, asked humans to look …