10-digit number
Can neural networks count digit frequency?
In this research, we aim to compare the performance of different classical machine learning models and neural networks in identifying the frequency of occurrence of each digit in a given number. It has various applications in machine learning and computer vision, e.g. for obtaining the frequency of a target object in a visual scene. We considered this problem as a hybrid of classification and regression tasks. We carefully create our own datasets to observe systematic differences between different methods. We evaluate each of the methods using different metrics across multiple datasets.The metrics of performance used were the root mean squared error and mean absolute error for regression evaluation, and accuracy for classification performance evaluation. We observe that decision trees and random forests overfit to the dataset, due to their inherent bias, and are not able to generalize well. We also observe that the neural networks significantly outperform the classical machine learning models in terms of both the regression and classification metrics for both the 6-digit and 10-digit number datasets. Dataset and code are available on github.
How to make free phone calls, even on your tablet
One of the oldest video calling apps is still one of the best, but both people need to be using Skype for calls to be free. Otherwise, you need to pay to call a landline or mobile number. Some people still use their phones to talk, not just text and surf. If you're one, you can also cut costs when dialing. So long as you're on Wi-Fi -- whether it's your existing wireless network at home or a free Wi-Fi hotspot -- you can take advantage of apps that let you make free "VoIP" calls (Voice over Internet Protocol) on your smartphone or tablet.
Is It Enough to Get the Behaviour Right?
This paper deals with the relationship between intelligent behaviour, on the one hand, and the mental qualities needed to produce it, on the other. We consider two well-known opposing positions on this issue: one due to Alan Turing and one due to John Searle (via the Chinese Room). In particular, we argue against Searle, showing that his answer to the so-called System Reply does not work. The argument takes a novel form: we shift the debate to a different and more plausible room where the required conversational behaviour is much easier to characterize and to analyze. Despite being much simpler than the Chinese Room, we show that the behaviour there is still complex enough that it cannot be produced without appropriate mental qualities.