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!!!