I have a confession to make--I'm a back-seat driver! When sitting in a taxi, I can't help but grumble when the ride isn't smooth, or the driver chooses the slowest lane of traffic. I have to fight the urge to take control. When it comes to shopping, I passively accept what is offered for sale. But my wife, who grew up in Asia where haggling is part of the culture, is different.

Google recently released research about a tool called Similar Medical Images Like Yours (SMILY) that uses concept vectors to enhance searching for medical images. The research uses embeddings for image-based search and allows users to influence the search through the interactive refinement of concepts. Google released two papers in succession. The first paper, "Similar image search for histopathology: SMILY" focused on the deep neural network architecture that was used to create the embeddings necessary to find similar images. The second paper, "Human-Centered Tools for Coping with Imperfect Algorithms During Medical Decision-Making," focused on human interaction aspects necessary to improve the usage of the tool created in the first paper.

A way to combat the capricious and biased nature of human decisions. In courtrooms across the country, judges turn to computer algorithms when deciding whether defendants awaiting trial must pay bail or can be released without payment. The increasing use of such algorithms has prompted warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence. But research shows that algorithms are powerful tools for combating the capricious and biased nature of human decisions. Bail decisions have traditionally been made by judges relying on intuition and personal preference, in a hasty process that often lasts just a few minutes. In New York City, the strictest judges are more than twice as likely to demand bail as the most lenient ones.

Bias can creep in, but algorithms tend to increase fairness in the courts. In courtrooms across the country, judges turn to computer algorithms when deciding whether defendants awaiting trial must pay bail or can be released without payment. The increasing use of such algorithms has prompted warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence. But research shows that algorithms are powerful tools for combating the capricious and biased nature of human decisions. Bail decisions have traditionally been made by judges relying on intuition and personal preference, in a hasty process that often lasts just a few minutes.