Artificial Intelligence Finally Entered Our Everyday World

Andrew Ng hands me a tiny device that wraps around my ear and connects to a smartphone via a small cable. It looks like a throwback--a smartphone earpiece without a Bluetooth connection. In a way, this tiny device allows the blind to see. Ng is the chief scientist at Chinese tech giant Baidu, and this is one of the company's latest prototypes. The device contains a tiny camera that captures whatever is in front of you--a person's face, a street sign, a package of food--and sends the images to an app on your smartphone.