How Computers Can Tell What They're Looking At

Software has lately become much, much better at understanding images. Last year Microsoft and Google showed off systems more accurate than humans at recognizing objects in photos, as judged by the standard benchmark researchers use. That became possible thanks to a technique called deep learning, which involves passing data through networks of roughly simulated neurons to train them to filter future data (see "Teaching Machines to Understand Us"). Deep learning is why you can search images stored in Google Photos using keywords, and why Facebook recognizes your friends in photos before you've tagged them. Using deep learning on images is also making robots and self-driving cars more practical, and it could revolutionize medicine.