AI in the News - #8
Waiting for the droids (Phys.org)
This opinion piece doesn't think we'll see Star-Wars-level droids in our lifetime. Compare with the usual prediction that breakthrough AI is forty years away.
The Dutch want robots that aren't too human (Phys.org)
They don't like the very nearly human Japanese robots any more than I do, but the article says they complain of the appearance building false expectation; it doesn't say if they find them creepy, too.
California wants AI cars to be careful (Phys.org)
Coping with the trustworthiness of AI in cars, California is framing legislation for self-driving cars. At present, they have to be built with steering wheels and have a licensed human ready to take over. This disappoints Google.
MemNet can predict the memorable (Phys.org)
MemNet is an AI algorithm for locating the most memorable parts of pictures. It works about as well as human estimation. MemNet is built on "Deep Learning" principles, which, in AI parlance, doesn't mean profundity, but a deep stack of neural networks that learn independently, each at its own level of abstraction.