Machine learning & AI news

Computer Sciences

AI-powered software narrates surroundings for visually impaired in real time

A world of color and texture could soon become more accessible to people who are blind or have low vision, via new software that narrates what a camera records.

Robotics

New data augmentation algorithm could facilitate the transfer of skills across robots

In recent years, roboticists have developed a wide range of systems designed to tackle various real-world tasks, ranging from completing household chores to delivering packages or finding target objects in delineated environments.

Computer Sciences

Overcoming 'catastrophic forgetting': Algorithm inspired by brain allows neural networks to retain knowledge

Neural networks have a remarkable ability to learn specific tasks, such as identifying handwritten digits. However, these models often experience "catastrophic forgetting" when taught additional tasks: They can successfully ...

Computer Sciences

Can advanced AI solve visual puzzles and perform abstract reasoning?

Artificial Intelligence has learned to master language, generate art, and even beat grandmasters at chess. But can it crack the code of abstract reasoning—those tricky visual puzzles that leave humans scratching their heads?

Machine learning & AI

AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins

For long periods of its history, artificial intelligence has lurked in the hinterland of science, often unloved and unfunded—but two Nobel prizes in one week suggest its time in the sunshine has finally arrived.

Computer Sciences

Study addresses challenges in digital animation of coiled hair

We have grown accustomed to seeing many aspects of our everyday world depicted using computer graphics, but some phenomena remain difficult for even the most experienced animators. Hair, specifically the highly coiled hair ...

Machine learning & AI

Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel

British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton and American John Hopfield won the Nobel physics prize on Tuesday for their pioneering work on the foundations of artificial intelligence, with both sounding the alarm over the technology ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

New apps aid blind people in navigating indoor spaces

Two new apps are set to assist blind individuals in navigating indoor spaces by providing spoken directions through a smartphone. This offers a safe solution for wayfinding in areas where GPS is ineffective.

Machine learning & AI

AI challenge seeks questions to test human-level intelligence

Two of San Francisco's leading players in artificial intelligence have challenged the public to come up with questions capable of testing the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like Google Gemini and OpenAI's o1. ...

Machine learning & AI

Meta's Movie Gen lets users animate photos into videos

Meta on Friday provided a look at a generative artificial intelligence model it is working on that lets people create short videos, complete with audio, from text prompts and photos.

Consumer & Gadgets

Q&A: Generative AI embraced faster than internet, PCs

ChatGPT's debut in November 2022 caused a near-instant sensation. It gave most users their first opportunity to try out a new type of artificial intelligence that uses existing data and published materials to create content ...

Business

What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has become an AI powerhouse after securing Silicon Valley's largest-ever funding round. The company now faces the challenge of delivering on its promise to become the next Apple or Google.

Engineering

Visualization adds transparency to digital product development

Product development is becoming increasingly demanding. Quality requirements are rising; additionally, designers need to consider criteria such as sustainability and energy efficiency. Visualization software offers the potential ...

Machine learning & AI

New AI tool can predict in seconds what a movie will be rated

Movie ratings can determine a movie's appeal to consumers and the size of its potential audience. Thus, they have an impact on a film's bottom line. Typically, humans do the tedious task of manually rating a movie based on ...

Robotics

Army research leads to more effective training model for robots

Multi-domain operations, the Army's future operating concept, requires autonomous agents with learning components to operate alongside the warfighter. New Army research reduces the unpredictability of current training reinforcement ...

Computer Sciences

DeepMind's MuZero conquers and learns the rules as it does

Albert Einstein once said, "You have to learn the rules of the game, and then you have to play better than anyone else." That could well be the motto at DeepMind, as a new report reveals it has developed a program that can ...

Machine learning & AI

How an AI 'SantaNet' might end up destroying the world

Within the next few decades, according to some experts, we may see the arrival of the next step in the development of artificial intelligence. So-called "artificial general intelligence", or AGI, will have intellectual capabilities ...

Computer Sciences

Modeling rainfall drop by drop

Using a network of a newly introduced type of rain gauge that can measure rainfall with drop-by-drop precision, KAUST researchers have developed a high-frequency rainfall model to improve understanding of rainfall/runoff ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Say again? AI provides the latest word in clearer audio

If you've been listening to more podcasts while stuck at home this year, you may have noticed a side effect of the uptick in virtual conversations: a decline in audio quality. Interviews conducted by phone or video chat often ...

Robotics

Making industrial robots smarter and more versatile

EPFL spin-off Aica has developed AI-based software that makes industrial robots easier to program and more capable of adapting. The software is designed in a modular format so that operators can build a customized application ...

Machine learning & AI

Salient object detection makes computer vision smarter

Salient object detection aims at simulating the visual characteristics of human beings and extracts the most important regions from images or videos. The contents in these saliency areas are called salient objects.