It's Never Only a Game!

One of my professors once mentioned that Bayes theorem is the algorithm upon which FIFA 2015, one of the most popular football (soccer to our US readers) games was developed.
So I did a little research and discovered there is a truckload of games that are AI based.

Interestingly, there are online platforms set up strictly for AI game competitions like the StarCraft AI Competition hosted by the university of Alberta.
The field of AI in gaming is not restricted to the design of the game itself as a lot of complex interactions achieved within many games are only different combinations of algorithmic calculations.




There are also www platforms with instructions on how to develop algorithm-based games for interested game developers.
Check these cool resources out, you just might be the next big game developer; with the help of algorithms of course!

Step up your game: How is Netflix doing it?

As part of their strategy to optimize (and maximize) their subscriber base, Netflix now also knows when viewers got “hooked”with a particular series.

The streaming service company launched a study between January and July 2015, with the intention of researching after which episodes viewers were more likely to watch the entire season of a determined show. In case you were wondering, it is not the pilot.

Netflix’s methodology consisted in finding that episode after which 70% or more of the viewers went on to complete, at least, the first season of the show. Data was analyzed for 25 shows (Netflix originals and others aired in regular TV networks) in 16 countries (Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US), and even though specific episodes were identified for all the series in the study, Netflix did not disclose information about their findings on what makes a “hook episode”. Another finding was that, releasing all season episodes at once and being able to stream them without commercial interruptions, creates “fans” more rapidly than under the conventional TV system.

Here’s the full list of results:

1. Arrow, Episode 8
2. Bates Motel, Episode  2
3. Better Call Saul, Episode 4
4. Bloodline, Episode 4
5. BoJack Horseman, Episode 5
6. Breaking Bad, Episode 2
7. Daredevil, Episode 5
8. Dexter, Episode 3
9. Gossip Girl, Episode 3
10. Grace & Frankie, Episode 4
11. How I Met Your Mother, Episode 8
12. House of Cards, Episode 3
13. Mad Men, Episode 6
14. Marco Polo, Episode 3
15. Orange is the New Black, Episode 3
16. Once Upon a Time, Episode 6
17. Pretty Little Liars, Episode 4
18. Scandal, Episode 2
19. Sense8, Episode 3
20. Sons of Anarchy, Episode 2
21. Suits, Episode 2
22. The Blacklist, Episode 6
23. The Killing, Episode 2
24. The Walking Dead, Episode 2
25. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Episode 4

Now, just seat back and enjoy your favorite show!

Me, My Family and Jibo!!!!!

Dear Reader,

Are you a star wars fan? Have you ever wondered if you could have your own R2D2? Today I'm going to tell you about a product that can be anything you want it to be, a camera, a mail reader, a task reminder....a friend. Here's introducing to you Jibo.
Jibo is your social robot that can even substitute your smartphone. How cool is that? Need to check the tasks for the day? Ask Jibo...Need someone to tell you a joke? Ask Jibo!!!! Have you ever been in those situations where you wanted to take a pic with your family (not a selfie) and no one was around???? ASK JIBO!!!! This cool product is not out in the market, but it definitely gives you a glimpse of the future. AI for the win!!!!!!!

Paris Attacks: A reminder of A.I. in War

First - a brief moment of silence for all the acts of violence occurring in the world.

Second - to focus on a close neighbor.  I was sifting through the massive WhatsApp messages when I learned of the Paris attacks and immediately began to send texts to those I know or friends who have family and friends in the area.   Similar to the scary recall I have from the morning of 9/11 (walking to school that morning and consoling a friend who was balling her eyes out because her mother couldn't get a hold of her father who had flown to New York the previous day and was supposed to be near the towers), terrorist attacks and acts of war will remain on our minds for months and years to come.

How does A.I. fit in?  Drone airstrikes by allies targeting the ISIS situation ensue.  Just last month a self-piloting Black Hawk helicopter was unaided by humans and completed a successful, safe landing for tether-attached cargo.  By the way, this was a Lockheed acquisition.

This past August saw a letter by thousands of scientists calling for a ban on lethal weapons controlled by A.I. machines, stating specifically, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has reached a point where the deployment of such systems is—practically if not legally—feasible within years not decades, and the stakes are high: autonomous weapons have been described as the third revolution in warfare, after gunpowder and nuclear arms.”

This just in: even Google has skin in the military robot game (not surprising since their self-driving car got pulled over for driving too slow).

Just because we can, does this mean we should? Will humanity fight war one day with machines rather than human lives, or would AI in war reduce the total number of lives lost due to violence?  Or will it increase the number of lives lost overall, with less humans IN the machines but more dying because of them? How do we protect the tech from falling into the wrong hands - which, if history has proven *anything* at all - is impossible?

To all the wanna-be rappers out there... Raporythm is coming!

Finally also I have the chance to become a famous rap star. I always dreamed of it but besides being a bit singer the lyrics was a huge challenge for me. But now there is the solution...

A team of brave Finnish researchers from Aalto University in Helsinki (I actually lived very close to the university last year), developed an algorithm that generates rap texts. The algorithm uses a database of existing song texts with 641,000 lines and 12,500 songs and combines the lines to completely new songs. Obviously, DeepBeat (how the algorithm is called) still has some bugs such as text combinations that don't make sense at all. However, considering the quality of many wanna-be rappers today, the algorithm already produces better results than some of them. Besides the lack of talent, there are several other reasons why they shouldn't be a rap star but anyway at least they can create technically good text now. #betterthannothing

Dream come true #1: The fast and the ....random dude...

Ok, we must say that this is the COOLEST TOY EVER, there is no way you cannot be excited about this. Let me build some expectation for those that don't know this toy...

Everybody loves Mario Kart, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo and other racing simulators that you actually can play at your super comfy couch. On the other hand, there is nothing like driving your own car, listening music and enjoying yourself and your friends. Another option is going to the arcade and play an actual and very sophisticated simulator; all of the options are pretty fun, but this is AWESOME.

There is this company called Wowee offering AI operated miniature cars, which you can actually race against; or if you are into "violent" racing, you might fight against it. Of course you would be driving a car yourself, and actually get a real hardcore Mario Kart live experience.

Dont believe me? Just visit Wowee Website and find about it yourself. Please let me know as soon as you buy yours so I can join and have an awesome evening...

Shhh…Don’t touch me, the TV is watching!

AI is becoming so “boring” that new frontiers are being tested each day.

Not satisfied with AI in everyday items such as lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners, smartphones, check-scanning machines, sex robots, self-regulating heat radiators, wrist watches and services such as investing, dating, self-driving cars, image editing, music and movie selection etc., Samsung has built AI in a different form into some of its latest TVs!

This TV not only has the basic AI that has been previously built into other TVs but also has the capacity to capture real time information when plugged in (the captured information can also be transmitted to a third party if spoken words are judged to include personal and sensitive information!)

Next time you plug in your TV, be careful with what you do/say as big brother might be watching!!!

Artificial Intelligence comes to our rescue!... For real?

Every time the Google app in my phone reminds me where my car is parked as I exit the mall, I wonder what´s next in the interactions between humans and machines.

Every search I make is influenced by the hundreds of times I have typed a few words in any search engine. On the one hand, Google “knows” when my favorite sports teams are playing and sends me real time score info.  It also knows my favorite TV shows and suggests episode recap articles on the web. Twitter, on the other hand, knows my interests and prompts me to follow a certain type of public figure or discussions based on others I follow.  But the question that baffles me is, how far can this go? 

It was recently announced Apple has bought a small A.I. startup from Cambridge, England calledVoiceIQ, most likely to be used to improve the Siri service on their handheld devices, and perhaps continue developing their user-machine interaction platforms.

In this ultra competitive tech environment we all live in, everyone´s fighting to keep an edge over the rest. Are we getting closer to coexist with intelligent machines in a Terminator-like world?

Fellow readers, “I´ll be back!”

Sit back and enjoy the ride sir!!!! #TheFutureIsNow

Isn't it irritating to drive in heavy traffic? Back in India, you can only drive for a max of 2 minutes (if you're lucky) and you have to brake, even on a Highway!!!!! If you miss your legs day at the gym, just drive in India and I can assure you it'll be a great work out. For all those in pain, for all those who are lazy, Tesla has come out with an autopilot system to let you to sit back, and enjoy the ride.

Tesla Model S is another benchmark in the automotive industry, that integrates are dreams with reality. It even let's you decide the distance you want to maintain between you and the car in front. How cool is that???? Its one of the few examples that show us how AI can change our wold. The future is now people!!!!! See it to believe it.

Spectre: Shittest Bond Movie Ever ? (Oh, + Robots)

As a true spy movie lover I was very excited to see the latest Bond film...until about thirty minutes into the film when I could guess the next words out of all the characters' mouths.  The popularity of the "tent pole" genre has gotten a bit out of hand - give us our witty banter, sophisticated plots, and cutting edge tech Bond back!!


Speaking of the tech, as we are discussing A.I. in this blog the movie makers have kept new tech low in the latest film.  Without giving too much away there is a scene in the film in which the evil villain utilizes a programmed surgical device to make incisions. As robot-assisted surgery becomes more prevalent (as it allows for greater surgical precision, flexibility, and control) it's not a surprise to see it used in the film sphere as a torture device.  Other famous films that utilized robot-assisted surgery include Luke Skywalker's amputated hand repair, iRobot, Terminator Salvation as well as Transformers (no comments on whether this counts or not).

How else do robots fit into our future?  From a surgical perspective, check out these squishy robots from MIT. *Squish, Squish*

Geminoid F: The first of many more to come?

Dear reader,

Have you ever wondered when (not a matter of if, but when) robots will start replacing human beings at their jobs? Well, wonder no more; it has already started!

In the new Japanese disaster film Sayonara, Geminoid F, a robot actress, has one of the main roles in this movie, and it’s credited as a member of the cast. This human-like robot was designed with a remote-controlled rubber face, able to portray human expressions. The “actress” even made an appearance on the red carpet at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival!

Geminoid F was designed by Hiroshi Ishiguro, a robot designer from Osaka University in Japan, with an approximated cost of 100,000 euros.

Sayonara opens in Japan on November 21.

It seems the android revolution is underway!

Next Please?

Do you love movies? I know I do! I still remember how back in the day, some 15 years ago, we used to have VCR's. It consisted of a Cassette which was huge and unmissable. Then there was a revolution in the form of an LD. The LD was like that Huge record that took up so much space, but was super thin as compared to cassettes. To address this size issue, VCD's were introduced, but they were short on memory space, so the next step in the revolution were DVD's.
Technology has changed drastically in the last decade, and we've seen products changing to adapt to wireless and cloud computing platforms. One of the biggest revolutions our generation has seen is Netflix, your one stop shop for one of the most amazing collection of movies and TV shows. Back in the day, I still remember going to the store and choosing which movie I wanted to watch. But Netflix has every movie you need at just a click away.

I still remember the time when I used to complete a movie or a TV show and ask myself, now what? I always wondered if there was ever a solution to this problem. Netflix predictive software uses analytics to provide a solution which never fails to impress. Netflix uses deep neural networks and sparse auto encoders to predict consumer behaviour based on previous consumer patterns. I've used this myself and I can say with confidence that the suggestions provided by Netflix is 95% of the times amazing. Every recommendation I've received from Netflix has been something I have really liked.
It's tools like this that show how AI is influencing are decision making, and for the better. From a time when we had to physically go to a store and choose what we wanted to watch, to a time when sitting at home, you already have a recommendation ready for you after your movie or TV show is over, the world has changed a lot. We're a generation that is a part of this revolution. Join in, and reap the amazing benefits AI has to offer.

A bigger bang for your buck? Let the Algorithm guide you...

I sure don't have any money to invest at the moment being a broke MBA graduate student (we can all relate) but when I start getting some ROI from this degree, my first big investment might just be on AI!

Computerized algorithms are quickly replacing single-stock analysts and investors, making it a little bit easier for speculators with money to make investing decisions.

As with all things ruled by Algorithm, AI is gradually gaining in popularity with an increasing number of financial institutions (30% trade volume on NYSE) using algorithm-based trading models.

For the techies interested in knowing how this works; Generic algorithms are the most commonly used, these are problem solving methods (heuristics) that utilize the concepts of natural selection to determine the best solution to a problem.

GAs are created mathematically using vectors, and parameters for each trading rule are represented with a one-directional vector that can be thought of as a chromosome in genetic terms and the values used in each parameter can be thought of as genes; the Darwin theory of natural selection then kicks in! (Biologists can relate with this process!)

Parameters used include Moving Average Convergence-Divergence, Exponential Moving Average and Stochastics and different values can be established to decide when to trade stocks to grow investment portfolio.

I have my eyes firmly fixed on new developments in this field and I hope the algorithm can be compressed into a mobile app in the nearest future so I can set parameters for trading backed by confidence in the almighty AI.

The moment your cat is chilling on the vacuum cleaner robot!

I unfortunately don't have a cat but I love the videos when cats are chilling on the small vacuum cleaner robots while the robots are doing their job. Something like this

How do those robots work? Of course, with algorithms! There are mainly two types used: reactive and model-based algorithms. Reactive means that they start at one point and go to one direction. When they come upon an obstacle or a wall, they turn around and change the direction. The model-based algorithms work in a different way. In a nut shell, they have like a map of the area they should clean and orientate themselves via this map instead of reacting to obstacles. You can imagine that this is far more efficient. If someone is really interested in the map-building, here is a very technical youtube video.
Whenever I move my next time, I will probably buy one of these little assistants. As long as their cleaning result is appropriate, I do not really see any disadvantage. You save a lot of time for a work most of us hate. Imagine all the stress you are not exposed to. All the negative emotions during cleaning the floor you don't feel. Instead, you can spend a relaxed and pleasant time with your family or your beloved ones. Considering this, buying such a robot seems to be a good investment! :-)

¿Transhumanos: Nuestra propia copia de respaldo?

Estimado lector,

Hace 10 años sonaba descabellada la idea de fabricar un ser humano “artificial con mente propia”. Pues ahora, en nuestro presente, el proyecto de la

Fundación Terasem Movement busca precisamente eso, crear un cuerpo externo donde poder almacenar el contenido de nuestra mente. A esto se le denomina transhumanismo.

Por el momento, Terasem se encuentra trabajando en la  versión del robot humanoide, BINA48, el cual consiste de un busto con cabeza y hombros, desarrollado por Hanson Robotics.

Dejando la polémica de lado, ¿cuáles serían los beneficios de lograr una tecnología con estas características? ¿Seremos capaces de dejar nuestra copia de respaldo a nuestra descendencia?

Saquen ustedes sus propias conclusiones…

Hotshot, de FuegoBot

"Hello, you look very good!"..."Thaaaanks! Oh, what a polite little......robot?"

Isn't it the cutest? This little guy was recently introduced in the CEATEC Japan (Cutting Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition) held near Tokyo.  RoboHon is the most polite and friendly robot in the market.

This electronic marvel was developed by Sharp electronics, and like all new robots, has diverse and useful features for consumers to enjoy. First of all, is important to point out that the majority are calling it "Smartphone-Robot" and they could not be more wrong. This friendly buddy indeed is able to make a phone call if necessary, but the awesome feature is that he can ask you "why you want to call your exgirlfriend? didn't you break up?" isn't that handy? 

RoboHon's underlying operating system via a tailor-made Android version, according to Sharp, completely fulfilled their expectations mainly because he is even more friendly than expected #truestory. Besides preventing disasters, the robot is able to take pictures, videos and diverse data and display them on voice command through a HD projector attached to its eyes.

It can recognize different faces to acknowledge who is coming by happily raising its arms. Having a sad, lonely day? Don't worry about it, RoboHon can recognize your voice, mood and the longer you talk to him the faster he will get to know you and eventually become your friend or cheer you up with catchy phrases. Not enough? He will jump and dance on request to make his owner happy. That's the kind of robot he is. How cool is that? 


Ok well, he may not be handy and probably won't succeed in many countries, but there is something to it. Sharp somehow managed to create a mini-buddy, which may be "frowned upon" in some cultures, but let's be honest and seriously picture the following: 

You are living alone in a new country, you don't have friends, family, and co-workers are not very warm. TV is boring, the internet won't help and all you want is to talk with someone that actually knows you. Would you think of RoboHon as an alternative? Super weird and #foreveralone; yeah totally. 

Is it?

Let AI predict what's on your mind

I still remember that it was the start of the premier league, I was on Facebook and I saw something that surprised me. I love watching the premier league, and in particular, I love watching Chelsea Football Club play. It was 11:42 am and I logged on to check what's the latest on my home feed. I suddenly saw a football made next to the status update tab. Out of curiosity, I clicked on it and Facebook wanted me to update my status with tags saying "watching the premier league game for Chelsea football club with -".

If you think that's cool, check this out. A month or so back I went for the Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona game at the Calderon. As usual, I took a lot of pictures (not to mention- a lot of selfies"). A week after i wanted to assemble all the pictures into one folder on my iPhone, so I started the process:

Step 1: Create New Folder
Step 2: Name Folder: Atletico Vs Barcelona
Step 3: Select the pics

I reached till step 3 and opened my photo folder and what do I find? All the pics from the game have already been selected.

AI is a revolution....the next big thing....Join in or you might fall behind.

Nothing cooler than Robots ... #justsayin' #robotfever #robolove

There is no way an "Artificial Intelligence" blog could be complete without the main representation of it. Robots, robots everywhere! What's becoming a relative norm is the thought of having a robot like The Jetsons is feasible in the near future.

. Of course, trying to make a robot do chores around the house, checking out any broken devices at my car, or even take care of pets are some of the possible tasks that human kind has been aiming, investing and researching about for years. We invite all of our Fuegobot fans to actually google, once a week: "cool robots", trust us, you'll be amazed.

We are reaching a new electronic era, amazing new features are being created and sooner or later will reach and replace our daily routines. Think about your day: you wake up by a small guy telling you "good morning, the sun is out".OK, waking up, stand up and click on your remote "coffee" while your putting your slippers on. You are thinking of watering your lawn of plants; wait! Don't worry, your buddy is already on it. So, you decide to get the paper? Of course not, you use your old, garden variety Ipad air and check your electronic version of the New York Times, Financial Times, Shanghai Times, El Pais, Reforma, Gazzeta de lo Sport etc; you are about to start but you really need your coffee, right? They got it..

Its, getting late, so we better get ready. You forgot to hang up the clothes, so probably they will be all wrinkly, so you may lose 10-15 minutes while you finish, or maybe NOT.

Probably you get the point. These are not recent break-throughs, some of them are pretty old and are steadily being improved upon their original functionality, but there is nothing to worry about. FuegoBot is ready to do what you don't. We will dig into this exciting topic and share the most amazing, interesting or at least funny news regarding these metallic and intelligent fellows.

Stay tuned, Fuego Fans.  

Dad, let the robot cut the lawn!

I still remember the time when I went out to a field with my grandfather, a part-time farmer. He had some farm animals at home and therefore always needed hay. He actually still cut the hay with a scythe. He sometimes also let me do it although he was never completely satisfied with my work. Pretty exhausting but fun though when you work with your hands.
At my parents place, we at least cut the lawn with an petrol lawnmower which makes life much easier but I always smelled like a petrol station afterwards. When I was living at my parents place, I did not really like it when my dad asked me to do it. Actually, it was pretty exhausting because you had to push this super-vibrating machine over bumpy ground and doing this for some hours definitely makes you tired. We should have tried this one instead. At least no vibration and no smell of petrol!! 

But guys, nowadays we can forget about all these problems. We don't need to push any lawnmower anymore. There are these small, cute robots doing the job for us. How do they operate?! Of course with algorithms! Most of the robots just need a electric fence around the area to be cut which helps them to orientate and limit the cutting area. They automatically cut the lawn and when they are done, they return to their docking station. Some are that sophisticated that they even recognize with sensors when it is raining and they should return earlier to their station. Clearly, these robots facilitate massively our life. But I have to admit I see advantages in pushing the lawnmower. It's physical exercise, for some it is like meditation to have the always the same vibration and sound and some just love the smell of freshly cut grass. Actually, I am one of them. 

If you purchase one, there is even an Automatic Lawnmower Buyers Guide. Just in case you need some information. However, I hope that this never happens to you:

What's next in sex? From porn to virtual sex to robot sex....

A talking vibrator or fleshlight?  Not quite.  According to a recent report by futorologist Dr. Ian Pearson robot sex is to replace human sex by 2050.  Before we get to between-the-sheets action with robots, let's talk a little about what exists currently: PORN.

Tons of steamy, adult, NSFW content that is widely accessible. Every second 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography on more than 25 million porn sites.  

Virtual sex is porn taken to the 3D universe - for example Lovense and VirtualRealPorn teamed up to link intimate scenes with sex toys that vibrate and stimulate along the virtual video. Smartphone apps that allow remote control over friction and vibration exist currently, the next step is interfacing the apps to the reality headsets. Hands free toys are also on the horizon as plenty of gadgets and accessories currently exist (have you seen the fleshlight LaunchPad?). 


A virtual one night stand? Check.  
Unlimited (and rechargeable) bjs. Check.  ($146)
Sex with a porn star (Yui Hatano)? For $1200, check - sorry I'm not ballsy enough to include the link on that one!
And of course: anime virtual reality 3D sex...check!

So will the robot sex revolution take off as the "The Rise of the Robosexuals" author predicts?  If the widespread porn revolution combined with the massive innovation of sex toys is any indication of human open-mindedness to alternative orgasm methods FuegoBot predicts: YES.

Kink on, fellow freaks. :)

Need a Hit?.....Check this Bit

One of the biggest problems music producers and record labels face is whether their artist will produce hits or not. The cost of producing and launching an album is so high that sometimes an artist who could have produced the song of the year, does not even get a chance to release his album. In these situations both the record label and the artist are effected. What if I told you there was a way to minimize risk and increase the odds of launching a hit album?

Back in 2002 a company known as Polyphonic, a subsidiary of Group AIA, used artificial intelligence and natural sciences to determine a songs hit potential. They called this technology the Hit Song Science (HSS), which analysed the mathematical characteristics of music (by isolating aspects such as melody, tempo, pitch, rhythm and chord progression) and compared them with characteristics of past music hits. Based on these mathematical characteristics, each song was mapped on to a multidimensional grid known as the "music universe". All the hit songs formed a cluster and if the song to be tested fell in the hits cluster, it had the potential of becoming a hit song. The song becoming a hit depended on other factors also such as marketing and promotion.

The closeness to a cluster was indicated with a "Hit Song Science Score" on a scale of 1-10, with higher scores indicating a great hit potential. Polyphonic believed that if the HSS score was above 7, 9 out of 10 times the song would have been a hit.

While this product seemed like a sure shot winner, Polyphonic was unable to convince producers and record label companies to buy this software.

The HSS is just one of the many examples to show how Artificial Intelligence can make our decisions easier and more accurate. Imagine if a simple idea like this can make our lives better in someway, the possibilities with using Artificial Intelligence in any field are endless. Think about it, we have right tool Artificial Intelligence to shape our future. The question is, how will you use this tool to your benefit?

Back to The Future II...Could Marty McFly have done better with Dear Beloved Algorithm?!

Algorithms for weather forecasting, financial market forecasting, predicting scores, predicting the perfect date on a friday night (you get the gist, algorithms can be used to predict a lot of things!!) have been around for a while.

While it is "easier" to predict the "future" from related events rooted in the past, scientists have been working on developing Algorithms that can 'predict' the future out of several unrelated events, EMBERS from Virginia Tech comes to mind.

The question today is, would Marty McFly have done better if he had access to such an Algorithm in 1989? Go through the scorecard below and leave your comments!

Check it out and visit them!

The following blogs could be of interest for you! Check them out!!

- AI and Machine Learning - applied to real life business cases

- The Good, The Bad and The Artificial: Developments around the world in AI

- What’s next and upcoming, considering artificial intelligence

All blogs of classmates ;-)

You think looks ain't nothing but a number? You are absolutely right!

We've all heard the saying, "age ain't nothing but a number"; it's all in the head and how we perceive ourselves! We know there is a direct correlation between age and looks so we can restate this as “looks ain’t nothing but a number” except for one fact, we will be quite right if we put it this way.

The relationship between age and looks is blurry these days thanks to plastic surgeons and silicone/botox, however they are not the sole responsible for this misrepresentation.

Think of any of your favorite social media app with picture editing features; Instagram, Facebook, Flickr, Snapchat and pretty much all apps with picture editing features embedded has the ability to take years off our real age by making us look younger/prettier/more handsome than we actually are thus disrupting this delicate balance between age and looks.

If you have used this “special” feature before or you plan to use it in the future, you owe Artificial Intelligence a debt of gratitude because as it turns out, it is all about algorithm and numbers.

While a lot of people frown at the oversimplification of age (read: looks) as ‘only’ a number, Artificial Intelligence has proven this to be true with proliferation of the use of image filters/editors to look anything but our age!
Seam carving and Gaussian blur are two popular processing used in such image filters.

There are several other calculations done with algorithms that affect sizes and shapes of objects; you want to look slimmer, fatter, stodgier, younger, older, prettier or uglier? There are combinations of various low level processing decided by an algorithm that make this possible. You want to reduce image noise or improve an image severely corrupted by defective pixels? Algorithms to the rescue!

So after all, looks ain’t nothing but a number/a combination of numbers!

To get introduced to the world of algorithm-based look-enhancement, check out this great video (happy viewing!)

Excuse me, mr. Internet? Can you play music that I like?

After we provided you with some hopefully interesting information about algorithms and love, we will move to some new topics.... ;-)

Nowadays it is borderline impossible to keep track of all the new artists and songs playing on the radio, let alone attempting to identify the genres: rock, pop, classic, pop rock, classic rock, indie rock, indie hip hop, indie pop rock classical r&b.........ok, ok - point proven.

I imagine that since you are reading this blog, you actually have some time to think about what to do tomorrow? Or how you will dress for Friday's party? Or whether or not to sleep tonight; if so, maybe you can manage to personally identify every artist and search for the album release date.  Also you may manage to customize playlists.

For those who don't have the time, you may be familiar with some of these awesome services (which have now been around for almost 10 years) - music streaming. These little angels manage to make everything simpler, faster, stronger, cooler and sometimes: free.

The basic idea for the garden variety internet user is to enjoy the music we love without having to invest a minute of our time coming up with our own mixes. So, the awesome tech guys took care of that and created a simple interface for us to enjoy all the repertoire available in their servers. Huge news for music nuts.

Apps such as Spotify, Deezer, iTunes Radio, Pandora; came up with DIFFERENT and very accurate algorithms that can actually keep track of your music tastes and start offering new options for you to enjoy and discover. Once you develop a certain history, the algorithm gets more accurate until they actually offer only tailor-made music for the master (that means for us). 

Pretty cool (and kind of old news to be honest), the streaming services are having one of the most exciting battles to survive and become #1, but there is actually enough market to all of them. Spotify seems to be leading this race, innovating in all the things, improving and evolving day by day. 

Spotify seems to understand that music is more than "cool" or "harmony"; it's not only image and nice beat.  By this principle, the app offers an special tab called "explore." Once you choose an option they give you a variety of playlists, albums and possible artists that are of your tastes, according to your like and dislike history.

Feel free to try all these services, you probably will end up loving one of them. Cheers!

Spotify: https://www.spotify.com/

iTunes Music Radio: http://www.apple.com/music/radio/

Deezer: http://www.deezer.com/

Pandora: http://www.pandora.com/

Google Play Music: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/sulp

Tidal: http://tidal.com/

Rdio:http://www.rdio.com/home/

NPR: http://www.npr.org/music/radio

The FuegoBot Team

Mozart and Beethoven at youtube? Van Gogh and Picasso uploading paint at Pinterest? Just wondering....

There is something to how popular arts such as painting and music were done before, and how nowadays painters and musicians are getting they work appreciated all around the globe currently. TV and Radio are becoming less and less famous as the time passes by, and there is nothing no one can do about it, basically because all the trends are being imposed by the online community, in almost every relevant topic and mainstream interests among the society.

Contemporary artists are understanding this trend, and actually started diverse communities, in order jump aboard the online community; and they actually succeeded amazingly. Nowadays is easy to spot really cool photographs on Tumbler, Pinterest, Flickr, Instagram; you can hear diverse independent artist on Youtube, Musicbaby, Deezer, Spotify; you can even find original paintings at this awesome website called SaatchiArt.com; where you actually buy and sell original and unique paintings from different artists. Probably, we all get the picture of this new era, and how things are gonna work out from now on. Is the artist community ready for this extreme adaptation.

Actually many sophisticated tools have been developed in past few years, trying to actually anticipate what the market actually wants and need; there is a interesting story of a company called Polyphonic, which through a specific algorithm was able to predict if a new song was going to be a popular worldwide hit; which is just fantastic, if you ask us; but is the market and the natural customer of this algorithm willing to use it? You'll find out later.

What about you, Fuego Fans? Are you musicians? Artists? Are you ready to be famous in matter of days or hours? Are you willing to be judge by the whole world? This is whats happening now, if you are famous online, you get all the good and bad attention of the community. Please think about it thoroughly and let us know on the comments section.

Cheers!

Chatterbots - sorry, am I speaking with a human being?!

Imagine the following situation: you are receiving a message from an unknown number. The sender of the message is pretending to know you and starts a nice chat. The person seems to be a nice guy or gal. After some time, the chat moves in a more intimate direction with sexual content. He or she is inviting you to video chat and and is sending a link for an unknown website. This is the moment when most - actually all - of us should be a bit suspicious. Clicking on unknown links has never been a good choice...   

We came across this story on the Cloudmark blog where Andrew Conway described his first clash with a chatterbot. At the end, he exposed the chatterbot by asking a simple maths question which he received no real answer for. The link most probably led to an external chargeable website with sexual content.

In simple words, chatterbots are programs or algorithms that are able to communicate with us. Partly, they do so in written form in instant messengers or via SMS. Some are also a bit more sophisticated and communicate even verbally (e.g. iPhone's Siri). The art and challenge of developing chatterbots lies in making their communication as human and realistic as possible.  Some of these programs are quite good, and users can hardly detect if they are chatting with a real person or an algorithm. Indeed chatterbots nowadays are pretty close to human beings. In June 2014, Eugene Goostman was the first chatterbot passing the Turing test, a test designed to examine an algorithm's ability to act in way similar or very close to human behavior (2). 

The example we described at the beginning is a popular way to use chatterbots as romance or flirt bots. There are various apps in this segment using artificial intelligence to talk and flirt with human beings. Take the app Boyfriend Maker as an example. There you can create your virtual boyfriend, dress him and chat with his algorithm (the link to the app store for the lonely hearts who haven't found their soulmate via one of the dating services). Another interesting website is Pandorabots.com where you can even create and train your own chatterbot or chat with Mitsuku, the chatterbot of this website as we did. 

But there are many other, more commercial ways to use chatterbots. Many companies deploy algorithms for example in there customer service hotlines. Often the chatterbot only helps to categorize the caller's concern and then forwards the call to the respective call agent. In some cases nevertheless, the algorithm takes the whole conversation - both in writing or verbally. 

Chatterbots are an excellent example to illustrate the progress of algorithms in terms of the adaption of human behavior. It is obvious that it bears a lot of risks if we are not even able to distinguish between a program and a human being communicating with us. However, it can also bring some opportunities and advantages. Nowadays, chatterbots are often only communication toys for lonely or bored individuals. Nevertheless, the hotline example shows a commercial usage which in the future surely could be expanded. Indeed, we are then facing the machines-steal-jobs-from-humans-discussion. But that is technological progress in a changing working environment! We should rather concentrate on the opportunities offered by these developments instead of being scared of them. Perhaps, chatterbots could make life in many areas much easier. We just have to identify these potentials and make use of them!