AI with AI

In breaking news, Andy and Dave discuss the recently unveiled Wolfram Neural Net Repository with 70 neural net models (as of the podcast recording) accessible in the Wolfram Language; Carnegie Mellon and STRUDEL announce the Code/Natural Language (CoNaLa) Challenge with a focus on Python; Amazon releases its Deep Lens video camera that enables deep learning tools; and the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition 2018 conference in Salt Lake City. Then, Andy and Dave discuss DeepMind’s Generative Query Network, a framework where machines learn to turn 2D scenes into 3D views, using only their own sensors. MIT’s RF-Pose trains a deep neural net to “see” people through walls by measuring radio frequencies from WiFi devices. Research at the University of Bonn is attempting to train an AI to predict future results based on current observations (with the goal of “seeing” 5 minutes into the future), and a healthcare group of Google Brain has been developing an AI to predict when a patient will die, based on a swath of historical and current medical data. The University of Wyoming announced DeepCube, an “autodidactic iteration” method from McAleer that allows solving a Rubik’s Cube without human knowledge. And finally, Andy and Dave discuss a variety of books and videos, including The Next Step: Exponential Life, The Machine Stops, and a Ted Talk from Max Tegmark on getting empowered, not overpowered, by AI.