Technology
AI experts thought a computer couldn't beat a human at Go until the year 2100
Artificial intelligence experts in the '90s thought it would take at least another century for researchers to accomplish what Google did just two weeks ago. AI experts thought it could take until the year 2100, if not longer, for people to create an AI system that can beat a human at Go, according to a 1997 New York Times article posted on Reddit's futurology thread by user Yull-Ban. Google's AI system AlphaGo made history when it beat Go champion Lee Sedol four times in a five-game tournament earlier this month. The feat was seen as a major milestone in the AI community since IBM's Deep Blue computer beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov. That's because beating Go, a game with more than 300 times the number of plays as chess, requires sophisticated pattern recognition.
Google DeepMind AI program defeats S. Korean Go master - Electronic Products
Google DeepMind AI program AlphaGo defeated human Go world champion, Lee Sedol, in a five game series. The victory draws the week-long Challenge Series tournament in South Korea to a conclusion. This win marks a major milestone for artificial intelligence research, as Go is a fairly simple game, but has proven to be infamously difficult for computers to master due to the vast number of potential moves. Many Go players say the game primarily relies on intuition as a strategy. The victory is also significant, as it marks the first time in history that an AI program beat one of the best Go players in the world.
The Creepy Thing About Self-Driving Cars
Allow me to join you, if I may, on your morning commute sometime in the indeterminate future. Here we are, stepping off the curb and into the backseat of a vehicle. As you close the car door behind you, the address of your office--our destination--automatically appears on a screen embedded in the back of a leather panel in front of you. "Good morning," says the car's humanoid voice, greeting you by name before turning on NPR for you like it does each day. You decide you'd like a cup of coffee, and you tell the vehicle so.
How far can machines go in understanding content?
Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are changing how content is discovered, analyzed and shared online. More recently, there has been a push to harness the power of Text Analytics to help understand and distribute content at scale. This is particularly evident with the popularity of recommendation engines and intelligent content analysis technologies like Outbrain and Taboola, who now have a presence on most content focused sites. Intelligent software and technological advancements allow machines to understand content as a human would. When we read a piece of text, we make certain observations about it.
Apple TV update adds Siri for App Store, dictation
One of the biggest problems with Apple TV is that in order to log into applications, users have to enter usernames and passwords into their set-top box one letter at a time using a remote control. Apple is aiming to fix that with a forthcoming update to tvOS, the operating system powering the Apple TV. Users will soon be able to dictate text to Siri, including usernames and passwords, so they don't have to hunt and peck out long strings of text. What's not clear is how Apple will secure users' spoken password data; Apple TV will have to record and process people literally speaking out their passwords. The company will release tvOS 9.2 (which was previously in beta) late Monday, the company said.
Apple's Liam is a robot that takes apart your iPhone for recycling
Apple has developed a new tool that deconstructs iPhones after they are returned. The robotic cutting tool, called Liam, removes the valuable materials from iPhone parts so they can be repurposed into other products. Apple shared some details about the tool during a press event Monday. Some of the materials removed include cobalt, gold, silver, platinum and tungsten. For example, Tungsten is repurposed in precision cutting tools.
Shapeshifting robots using a new material could be on horizon
A new material being researched could make shape-shifting robots real, but let's hope they aren't as violent as the Transformers from the movies. Researchers have developed a flexible material that can stretch when heated and will allow robots to change shapes. The material, which can also be rigid, is a mix of elastomer foam with a soft metal alloy. With the material, robots could become more versatile. Most robots are rigid, much like human skeletons, but by morphing into new shapes, they could be used for new tasks.
In this online demo, IBM's Watson will tell you what's in your photos
Image recognition is a hot area of research using artificial intelligence, and now IBM offers an online demo to let anyone test out the capabilities offered by its Watson cognitive computing system. Six sample photos are provided for illustration, or you can upload your own and ask Watson to analyze them. Either way, the cognitive system will produce a series of "classifiers" offering descriptions of the image's contents along with confidence scores for each of them. You can also create custom classifiers tailored for specific purposes. Watson gained worldwide fame when it won on the quiz show Jeopardy back in 2011, and IBM has been developing commercial applications ever since.
High court won't hear appeal in NFL video game lawsuit
The Supreme Court is staying out of a dispute between game maker Electronic Arts Inc. and former National Football League players who accuse the company of using their likenesses in the popular Madden NFL video game series without approval. The justices on Monday let stand an appeals court ruling that said the company's use of the player's likenesses was not protected as "incidental use" under the First Amendment. The former players sued Electronic Arts in 2010 over the company's use of "historic teams" and players in Madden NFL games from 2001 to 2009. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2012 that the player lawsuit could proceed. Electronic Arts previously settled a similar case brought by college football and basketball players for 40 million.
The Latest on Apple: Less excitement for Monday's event
Apple product events typically spark anticipation among tech bloggers and the company's hard-core fans. Monday's event, though, is drawing less excitement than some previous product launches. Apple is expected to announce a smaller, 4-inch iPhone and a smaller version of the iPad Pro tablet. But there's been no hint of any blockbuster developments, such as last year's highly anticipated Apple Watch debut. Despite speculation that Apple is working on a self-driving car or some new virtual-reality device, those are likely years away.