Out of the Loop

Like many of the other terms that crop up in conversations about artificial intelligence, neural network, which refers code designed to work like a brain, can be conceptually intimidating. Janelle Shane, however, makes the kind of neural networks that go viral. Her quirky creations autonomously stumble and grumble as they attempt to come up with names of Star Wars character, pick-up lines, and even recipes. Shane rightly warns that you should try the output of that last algorithm "at your own risk," though there's little danger that any human would attempt to: The network's recipe for Beothurtreed Tuna Pie, for example, includes such bafflingly unappetizing ingredients as "1 hard cooked apple mayonnaise" and "5 cup lumps; thinly sliced."