Lifeboat Foundation

SUMMARY Researchers at the George Washington University, together with researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the deep-tech venture startup Optelligence LLC, have developed an optical convolutional neural network accelerator capable of processing large amounts of information, on the order of petabytes, per second. This innovation, which harnesses the massive parallelism of light, heralds a new era of optical signal processing for machine learning with numerous applications, including in self-driving cars, 5G networks, data-centers, biomedical diagnostics, data-security and more.

THE SITUATION Global demand for machine learning hardware is dramatically outpacing current computing power supplies. State-of-the-art electronic hardware, such as graphics processing units and tensor processing unit accelerators, help mitigate this, but are intrinsically challenged by serial data processing that requires iterative data processing and encounters delays from wiring and circuit constraints. Optical alternatives to electronic hardware could help speed up machine learning processes by simplifying the way information is processed in a non-iterative way. However, photonic-based machine learning is typically limited by the number of components that can be placed on photonic integrated circuits, limiting the interconnectivity, while free-space spatial-light-modulators are restricted to slow programming speeds.

THE SOLUTION To achieve a breakthrough in this optical machine learning system, the researchers replaced spatial light modulators with digital mirror-based technology, thus developing a system over 100 times faster. The non-iterative timing of this processor, in combination with rapid programmability and massive parallelization, enables this optical machine learning system to outperform even the top-of-the-line graphics processing units by over one order of magnitude, with room for further optimization beyond the initial prototype.

After six years of peace, the two tech giants are on course to butt heads again over the future of artificial intelligence.

Microsoft is about to go head-to-head with Google in a battle for the future of search. At a press event later today, Microsoft is widely expected to detail plans to bring OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot to its Bing search engine. Google has already tried to preempt the news, making a rushed announcement yesterday to introduce Bard, its rival to ChatGPT, and promising more details on its AI future in a press event on Wednesday.

The announcements put the two tech behemoths, known for their previous skirmishes with each other, on a collision course as they compete to define the next generation of search.

Continue reading “Microsoft will let companies create their own custom versions of ChatGPT, source says” »

Amazon is engaging with Times Internet to explore the acquisition of MX Player, one of the largest on-demand video streaming services in India, according to four sources familiar with the matter, as the American e-commerce group eyes expanding its entertainment ambitions in the key overseas market.

The deliberations are ongoing and may not materialize into a deal, three sources cautioned. The terms of the deal are yet to be finalized. Times Internet and Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sources requested anonymity discussing private matters.

At least two more players — including Zee-Sony — have expressed interest in acquiring the Times Internet-owned app, two sources said.

A team of researchers have come up with a machine learning-assisted way to detect the position of shapes including the poses of humans to an astonishing degree — using only WiFi signals.

In a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper, first spotted by Vice, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University came up with a deep learning method of mapping the position of multiple human subjects by analyzing the phase and amplitude of WiFi signals, and processing them using computer vision algorithms.

“The results of the study reveal that our model can estimate the dense pose of multiple subjects, with comparable performance to image-based approaches, by utilizing WiFi signals as the only input,” the team concluded in their paper.

Game on!

Google PR:

Continue reading “Google to launch ChatGPT Competitor, Bard, Conversational AI, LaMDA based” »

In my chat with Serene, an internet freedom activist and former Google Ideas engineer, I ask: “Am I allowed to speak with you right now? Legally?”“We’re both in the U.S., so yes, I think we’re good,” she answers.

As one of the few tools for accessing blocked and censored information on the web, Serene’s Snowflake is widely used by citizens of oppressive regimes. It is primarily done using Tor, an open-source browser that enables secure, private, and anonymous internet browsing.

She is now unveiling Snowstorm, an upgraded version of Snowflake, which Serene claims will be faster, more generalized, and have more features. Snowstorm is fast enough to stream YouTube videos, something previous versions could not do.

Continue reading “As The Internet Freedom Project Expands, Snowflake Becomes Snowstorm” »

Today’s Internet is in the early stages of being transformed once again—this time, instead of search, social, mobile, etc.—it’s going to be a Web that supports conversations.

The ERNIE bot could be China’s most notable entry in the race to create lifelike AI bots.

One of the world’s biggest AI (artificial intelligence) and internet firms, Baidu, had its shares skyrocket more than 14 percent on Tuesday after the Beijing-based search engine titan announced it would launch its own ChatGPT-style service.

What is ERNIE?

Continue reading “Chinese tech giant launches ChatGPT-style tool, sending shares soaring” »

Google announced today that it will enable a new SafeSearch blurring setting by default for all users in the coming months. The filter is designed to help people protect themselves and their families from inadvertently encountering explicit imagery on Search. The search giant says it’s announcing the feature today to mark Safer Internet Day.

The setting will soon be the new default for people who don’t already have the SafeSearch filter turned on. As a result, Google will blur explicit imagery if it appears in Search results. Explicit results include sexually explicit content like pornography, violence and gore. Google notes that users have the option to adjust the setting at any time. Prior to this expansion, the filter was already on by default for signed-in users under 18.

Once the setting becomes the default, Google will notify you that it has turned on SafeSearch blurring. If you come across an explicit image, you can choose to see it by clicking on the “view image” button. Or, you can select the “manage setting” button to adjust the filter or turn it off altogether. For instance, you can choose the “filter” option, which helps filter explicit images, text and links. Or, you can select the “off” option, which means that you will see all of the relevant results for your query, even if they’re explicit.