Hi All, a new day, and I have come with a new AI Development that would not only engage but also fascinate all of you if not make your mind exploring and experimenting in its own unique way. So in a way, I am contributing to the world, right!!! (YaY)

Introduction

In this ‘A.I. DEV. Series’ we shall talk, obviously, about AI, short for Artificial Intelligence. This “intelligence” was developed by none other than the Earthly creatures known as humans. The sarcasm there, if you noticed, was pretty much intentional. It was intended to point out the quite widespread delusion of the existence of a “super-intelligent” or “generalized AI”. This hypothetical being “knows all, can do all, and is smarter than all of the human race put together”. That is a total misconception! There does not exist any such superhuman Intelligence. In fact, whatever little AI currently exists is based upon us humans and mimics our thought processes to not even a 5th of our IQ level. It simply mimics our thought processes(that too, not to the level of even a 10-year-old). Put in layman’s terms, it is basically an emulation of humans. 

So, if not this, then what is AI? Answering this, A.I. / Artificial Intelligence is a branch of Computer Science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers.

Soul Machines & AI

Now trying to understand and process this in the most complex system of our body, the Brain, many people have brought forth game-changing if not groundbreaking discoveries. In this post, we shall know about a similar dreamer whose moon-shot is more earthbound… kinda. This multitasking man is none other than Mark Sagar, CEO of Soul Machines. Talking about it, Soul Machines is a company that uses artificial intelligence to create lifelike avatars that respond to human emotion. So basically, it is a company that lives in the uncanny valley which spaces between the fake and the real which usually creeps people out (Although #NotThem).

Mark Sagar

This person as an individual had a background that was a mixture of art and science. However, he ended up doing bioengineering. Moving further in his career, he entered the film industry, simulating the life-like faces of some of our favorite characters like King Kong, Avatar, etc. At this time, he had reached a point where he received a couple of Academy Awards. So, he came forth with an inquisitive idea: trying to bring such simulations of his to “life” such that one could interact with them. 

the AI Baby X

Thus came into being his first “simulation”, made up of Neural Networks – Baby X. As the name suggests, it is indeed the lifelike simulation of a toddler. Mark felt that it would be a good point to start where most life begins, `a baby. He has created this simulation inside of a computer that interacts with Mark or any other person through the web camera and audio systems. It also responds similarly: crying when scared, laughing when happy, and so on… While speaking about his creation he says “Baby X is about exploring the nature of how would we build a digital consciousness if at all it is possible”.

But what are these Neural Networks which could make a virtually created bot interact with humans? So, Neural Networks basically are a virtual, much simpler version of the human brain. However, as compared to a brain, it is EXPONENTIALLY less complex. This means that a brain created by Neural Networks is made up of nodes. And to replace the ridges and grooves of the human brain we have the Neural Nodes. And more is the exposure of these nodes, the faster and better they learn!!!

Epilogue :

Just so you know, our brain is made up of 85 million neurons, meh! These have exactly three functions: accepting, processing, and sending responses. But, since it would be near impossible and hectic, trying to generate 85,000,000 nodes, the Soul Machines team has done a very impressive job. It has created a brain with a well-functional stress system that makes the baby respond similarly to an actual one. However, it is very small as to where this company wants to reach: trying to build a human-like AI creating a system where humans and AI would be working together for the betterment of humanity as a whole.

To hear the voice of this BabyX and know more about him, check out the video at the bottom of the post.

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See you soon…Bye!!!

P.S.:-
All expressions in this post are copyrighted to the author Hriday Kharpude©.