The Artificial Intelligence Database
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Books
Dystopia Is All Too Plausible in The School for Good Mothers
Jessamine Chan's new novel makes a world full of surveillance android children seem very real.
By Kate Knibbs
Ideas
Are You Sure You Know What a Photograph Is?
Once, I thought I had a definition of photography. Today, surrounded by thermal cameras, lidar, 3D printers, and AI software, I am not so sure.
By Rashed Haq
Crisis Mode
Simulation Tech Can Help Predict the Biggest Threats
In the face of myriad global problems, Single Synthetic Environments will make life-and-death decisions easier to navigate.
By Joe Robinson
mirror image
Gaming Giant Unity Wants to Digitally Clone the World
The company is leveraging its technology to help clients make “digital twins”—virtual copies of real-life objects, environments, and even people.
By Cecilia D'Anastasio
Sow It Goes
John Deere's Self-Driving Tractor Stirs Debate on AI in Farming
The automation, and control of the resulting data, raises questions about the role of human farmers.
By Will Knight
Year in Review
Face Recognition Is Being Banned—but It’s Still Everywhere
Two dozen cities and states prohibit use of the tech. But it’s on phones and is increasingly used in airports and in banks.
By Tom Simonite
No Help
This Company Tapped AI for Its Website—and Landed in Court
Under pressure to make their sites accessible to visually impaired users, firms turn to software. But advocates say the tech isn't always up to the task.
By Tom Simonite
On Their Own
These Robots Follow You to Learn Where to Go
Burro makes carts that help growers of trees and vineyards with harvests. Meanwhile, the maker of Vespa scooters wants to carry your groceries.
By Khari Johnson
Age estimation
This AI Predicts How Old Children Are. Can It Keep Them Safe?
Yoti’s tech may be enticing for Big Tech companies: It works out if you’re under or over 13, the age most social media platforms require to create an account.
By Matt Burgess
Surveillance
Clearview AI Has New Tools to Identify You in Photos
In an interview with WIRED, CEO Hoan Ton-That said the company has scraped 10 billion photos from the web—and developed new ways to aid police surveillance.
By Will Knight
Mum's the Word
Soon Your Google Searches Can Combine Text and Images
With the help of AI, you’ll be able to take a picture of a shirt, then ask Google to find socks with the same pattern.
By Khari Johnson
Deep Dive
The WIRED Guide to Self-Driving Cars
How a chaotic skunkworks race in the desert launched what's poised to be a runaway global industry.
By Alex Davies
Simulation
Why Tesla Is Designing Chips to Train Its Self-Driving Tech
Developing AI is costly and time-consuming. Custom silicon can give companies an edge.
By Will Knight
Intelligent Design
Can Robots Evolve Into Machines of Loving Grace?
Perhaps, if we put bots together the right way, consciousness will simply emerge.
By Meghan O'Gieblyn
Shiny Objects
Tesla Promised a Robot. Was It Just a Recruiting Pitch?
The highlight of an event aimed at AI whizzes was a human simulating a robot that might someday replace a human.
By Aarian Marshall
Cash Reward
Twitter's Photo-Cropping Algorithm Favors Young, Thin Females
The findings emerged from an unusual contest to identify unfairness in algorithms, similar to hunts for security bugs.
By Will Knight
encryption
Apple Walks a Privacy Tightrope to Spot Child Abuse in iCloud
With a new capability to search for illegal material not just in the cloud but on user devices, the company may have opened up a new front in the encryption wars.
By Andy Greenberg
Inside Out
These Algorithms Look at X-Rays—and Somehow Detect Your Race
A study raises new concerns that AI will exacerbate disparities in health care. One issue? The study’s authors aren’t sure what cues are used by the algorithms.
By Tom Simonite
Score
How AI Will Help Keep Time at the Tokyo Olympics
Omega, the official timekeeper of the Games, is now using computer vision and motion sensors for events like swimming, gymnastics, and beach volleyball.
By Jeremy White
Ideas
The Absurd Proposal to Put Bodycams on Teachers Is ... Feasible?
The idea to monitor educators so they don't teach critical race theory seems ridiculous. But schools are already rife with invasive surveillance.
By Sidney Fussell