Talk to books, play word association with Google AI
San Francisco, April 15: Google has been working extensively on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and now it has given users a (fun) glimpse of how far natural language processing -- that deals with machine reading comprehension -- in the technology has come.
Google Research division of the search-giant has rolled out Semantic Experiences, which are websites with interesting activities that demonstrate AIs' ability to understand how we speak.
It has two experiences to enjoy and the third one is for developers to help them create their own experience.
The first two experiences are called "Talk to Books" in which users can explore a new way to interact with books, and "Semantris" where people can play word association games powered by semantic search.
In "Talk to Books" experience, users can simply type in a statement or a question and the AI will find whole sentences in books related to what they have typed.
Google Research Director of Engineering Ray Kurzweil and Product Manager Rachel Bernstein said the system does not depend on keyword matching.
They trained its AI by feeding it a "billion conversation-like pairs of sentences," so it can learn to identify what a good response looks like.
For example, if you type "Best detective in the world", the AI responds with several paragraphs and sentences that are related to the word "detective".
This way users can find exact lines from books which they mildly remember.
The second section Semantris offers word association games like a Tetris-like break-the-blocks experience.
The AI would display random blocks with text written on them. Users have to "break" those blocks by typing a word which can relate to any of the text written on them.
For example, if the AI displays "Football" on any block, users could write "Lionel Messi" in the space provided below the blocks.
The AI processes and matches the word with the text displayed on the blocks. Once the AI matches with the word, it "breaks" the block and some points are awarded.
According to Engadget, the development in word vector, an AI-training model that enables algorithms to learn relationships between words based on actual language usage, led to the advancement in natural language processing over the past few years.
Kurzweil and Bernstein said that these websites show how AIs' "new capabilities can drive applications that were not possible before".
They said other potential applications include "classification, semantic similarity, semantic clustering, whitelist applications (selecting the right response from many alternatives) and semantic search (of which Talk to Books is an example)."
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been "betting big" on advances in AI and machine learning.
Earlier this year, Pichai said that AI is one of the most profound things that humanity is working on right now and compared it to basic utilities in terms of its importance.
"AI is 'one of the most important things that humanity is working on. It's more profound than, I don't know, electricity or fire," The Verge quoted Pichai as saying.
Pichai also said that AI could be used to help solve climate change issues or to cure cancer.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
