Artificial Intelligence
Computers can process information much faster than we can. But computers lack certain human attributes like reasoning and perception. These “general intelligence” traits are being studied and computer science geeks are working on translating these traits into computer algorithms. Goal setting is the main focus and research is being conducted on these complex human psychological and philosophical traits. Areas such as reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, and communications were once studied topics in my undergrad psychology degree. But now, they are being researched in top technology programs. AI is advancing fast. But, there are many high-profile techies out there that are warning us all of the inevitable “Terminator” type Armageddon. Namely, Elon Musk!
Does Musk have a point? He has access to some of the most advanced technology on the planet. He has insight into the technological advancements of AI, and he definitely has the visionary attributes of a highly successful technology pioneer. There is a Twitter battle between Musk and Mark Zuckerberg on the future of AI. It looks like Musk may be on to something based on a recent article from MSN – Facebook shuts down robots after they invent their own language!
Microsoft Cognitive Services
Speech recognition has been around for a long time. Remember “Dragon Naturally Speaking“? It was released 20 years ago. Today we have plenty of speech recognition software that will help run our daily lives. In my home, I have Siri, Alexa, and Cortana (now if they would all just listen to me ). I have them tied into my home lighting systems, garage doors, security systems, etc. The mixture of devices enables these services to know where I am, when I get home, and how I like my environment when I enter my house.
Microsoft’s Cognitive Services is a platform that can take these basic speech recognition capabilities to a completely different level. They now have Cognitive Services APIs that cover Vision, Speech, Language, Knowledge, and Search. Microsoft has Cognitive Labs available for you to use and help the world get involved in advancing AI.
But be careful: we know what happened when The Terminator was sent from 2029 to 1984. Wait, George Orwell has something to say about 1984 as well…coincidence or prophecy?
