We all know that AI is set to take over our world, but is it about to take over the art world too?  Just recently, Christie’s, a famous art auction house, sold its first ever AI generated portrait, “The Portrait of Edmond Belamy.”  It didn’t just sell though, it blew way past the $7,000-$10,000 estimated bid.  This painting sold for $432,500.

The Portrait of Edmond Belamy

This painting was created with an algorithm.  The AI was given 15,000 portraits and has two different functions: A Generator and Discriminator.  The goal of these functions is to generate new images and run it through the discriminator to try and trick the AI into believing that the images generated are real-life portraits.  If the AI senses that the painting isn’t real, then the process begins all over again until a successful result.  The signature of the portrait is the algorithm used to generate the painting.

This portrait isn’t the first piece of AI art sold at Christie’s, however.  There is an “artist” that goes by the name of AICAN, that says it is “the first time that AI generates art without any human intervention…and generates art the people like” (AICAN.com).  These pieces, though modern and abstract, are generated with the knowledge of all different styles.  The website marketplace is selling different prints made by the AI, with prices ranging from $500 to $20,000.

A piece of art generated by AICAN

To see this huge step into the future of technology along with the future of art is incredible. Although, it is hard to say how art critics and art historians will react to this new leap in the art world.  Will they appreciate the technological advancements? Will they question the authenticity of the pieces?  Art is a study so deeply rooted in the past, with such a strong connection to the artist, I wonder if there will be lots of negative backlash to AI generated art?

More AICAN paintings can be found here: https://www.aican.io

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/25/painting-created-ai-going-auction-block-christies/1759967002/

https://www.christies.com/features/A-collaboration-between-two-artists-one-human-one-a-machine-9332-1.aspx?sc_lang=en

When you stumble upon a random question in your head or maybe you’re confused on a homework assignment, what’s the first thought that comes to mind?

“Let me Google it.”

The Internet is home to various search engine websites, such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, AOL, Ask.com, DuckDuckGo and more…but is Google really the “superior” network? Somebody recently published an opinion article on BusinessInsider to compare Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo.

The article contains comparisons over a variety of factors, such as homepage, layout and search results, and you may be surprised:

Overall, Google and Bing ended up being really similar to one another in regard to design and search results. One of the differences stated was over something minor, such as how a video result would be displayed (Google’s featured a rectangular display, Bing had a square display), but does anybody truly care about the display of a video on a search result as long as it’s the same content?

DuckDuckGo’s main selling point is its privacy, considering that your search results are not saved and neither is your IP address. The design however, is a little bland.

Although I’ve only used Google for the majority of my searches, I was surprised to hear that some other search engines are not as far behind from Google as we think. So maybe next time, maybe we ought to try a new search engine and see how it compares. At the end of the day, your opinion matters most in deciding which search engine to use.

You can read more here:

https://www.businessinsider.com/bing-vs-duckduckgo-vs-google-search-comparison-2018-10#bing-offers-microsoft-rewards-points-every-time-you-search-12

Photo Credit: “ineedhits.com” via Google Images

An article on The Verge has reported on a recent mistake that Twitter has made for not responding to a concern resulting after threatening tweets. Within the past week, multiple bomb threats were sent to prominent figures in the U.S. (including Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and current President Donald Trump). After the news broke about explosives being sent addressed to these public figures, attention was brought to Cesar Sayoc, Jr. and his Twitter account. Before the 13 explosives were sent, Sayoc violated Twitter’s terms of conduct by sending various threatening tweets to a number of different accounts. Rochelle Ritchie, a political commentator, previously complained to Twitter about the violent threats that Sayoc made against her, including gruesome and disturbing images such as alligators and human body parts, according to USA Today.

Twitter, a common social media platform that many people use and trust for voicing opinions, news and connecting with people, completely disregarded the complaint made by Ritchie, saying that there was no serious harm that could result from this. An article on The Root, said that “days before he was apprehended by federal authorities, Sayoc used the Official Handbook of Presidential Grammar to warn Ritchie that he was a part of the “Unconquered Seminole Tribe” that could take her on a “nice silent Air boat ride” in the Everglades, adding that she should “hug her loved ones real close” every time she leaves home.”. Clearly, a threatening and uncomfortable message from someone she doesn’t know, and Twitter’s disregard to her complaint was seen as reckless and incompetent, only apologizing for the company’s mistake, and not to Ritchie, who saw what was happening and tried to stop it. Now users are hesitant towards Twitter and its uses, after Twitter’s disregard to what could have been the ‘greatest mass political assassination attempt in history’ according to The Root article.

Overall, Twitter’s disregard could have prevented the multiple bomb attempts that were meant to kill multiple political figures in our country. Social media is prominent in our every day lives, and is seen as an incredible tool for marketing, connections, news, business, etc. However, after this scandal, social media, especially Twitter, is being seen in a negative light, considering a massive attack resulting from Twitter’s ignorance occurred. Throughout my schoolwork and classes, I have learned the importance of reading terms of use policies and the effects social media has on society, however, to see how some companies just blatantly disregard them is a revelation in itself, and needs to change. Hopefully after this scandal, things will change for the rest of social media platforms, taking concerns and complaints even more seriously than before.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/10/26/cesar-sayoc-threats-rochelle-ritchie-blames-twitter-trump/1779398002/

https://www.theroot.com/a-black-woman-reported-the-magabomber-to-twitter-twitt-1830054451

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/27/18031888/twitter-alleged-florida-bomber-threats-rochelle-ritchie

Continued with the last blog posted by jky5149 about Samsung’s Concept of foldable phone, Galaxy X, Samsung now has finally taken actions to fulfill the customers’ dream with the help of Google, of course. In fact, this concept of foldable phone has already existed for nearly 5 years from now, according to a YouTube video published by Samsung in 2013, yet it is too difficult to begin with by the company due to the only vague concept and many serious technical issues that resulted from the developing process. The company seems to hit the tough wall until today Google comes to aid. Last month, CEO DJ Koh announced that consumers would use the foldable device as a multi-tasking tablet and then fold it into a more portable phone. Fortunately, today, Samsung believes that Galaxy X development is getting into the final stage. According to Bloomberg, the codename of this folding phone is “Winner”. It mentioned that the user interface will be generated from two existing prototypes: one is horizontally oriented and the other is vertically oriented. Apparently, the Samsung developers right now are working on the vertical version because it suits current customers’ preference the best. According to reports, the folding of the screen of the mobile phone still relies on a special hinge, like what we see in a flip phone. Bloomberg also reported that the hinge has recently passed the internal durability test, but it is not clear whether the design can be mass produced.

Most importantly, Google now has already stepped into this new foldable phone development especially related to its Android operating system. Although I am an iPhone user, I am really glad that Samsung and Google can work together to create such a revolutionized smartphone so that the market is more competitive rather than manipulated by Apple company. I still remember last time Samsung and Google have great collaboration when they team up together to develop the RCS messaging system in order to successfully replace the SMS messaging system. Therefore, I do have a strong faith to see a new Samsung phone coming into our life with foldable capability and strong Android system along with it. Although no releasing date has been unveiled, it is definitely coming soon! Do you think it will be the phone type that we should be excited about? Does it have too many technical problems still require the attention? Or is it simply an awful idea and step back with no disruptive innovative value in it?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-26/inside-samsung-s-bid-to-challenge-apple-with-5g-folding-phones

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/samsung-galaxy-x-foldable-phone-google,news-28388.html

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/10/26/18026136/samsung-foldable-phone-galaxy-s10-details-leak-report

https://www.zdnet.com/article/report-samsung-google-collaborating-on-android-for-foldable-phone/

https://sites.psu.edu/ist110pursel/2018/10/12/samsungs-concept-phone-galaxy-x-is-not-far-away/

Varjo headset

The Finland-based VR headset maker Varjo is currently undertaking a particularly ambitious project. They intend to replicate the resolution of the human eye with their “Bionic Display” headset. Now, you may be asking yourself exactly how hard it is to replicate the resolution of the human eye. Well, the answer is that it’s pretty damn hard. Currently, the most advanced V/R (made by Google and LG) utilizes a 16,000,000 pixel, or 16 megapixel display (a megapixel is 1,000,000 pixels). That may sound like a lot, but not compared to the human eye. The human eye sees in a whopping 576 magapixels.

So, how does a virtually unknown Swedish tech company plan on surpassing the tech giants that are Google and LG? Well, the answer is in the tech, of course. There are two methods of display for V/R. The first is a traditional pixel display akin to ones used in smartphones. This is what Google and LG have chosen to utilize for their headset. The only problem is that there are limits to how may pixels you can pack into a traditional pixel display, and this is the reason that Google’s headset is still nowhere near the resolution of the human eye. The other V/R option is called a micropixel display. These displays have a far higher pixel density than those of traditional pixel displays (large enough to match that of a human eye), but our technology is not sufficiently advanced to be able to build them large enough to create an entire V/R headset.

The Google/LG V/R headset

So how exactly is Varjo solving these problems? Their idea is to combine the two displays in a way as to replicate human vision. In human vision, our eyes only see very small areas in focus. Varjo will take advantage of this by using eye tracking software to superimpose/reflect a micropixel display over the area that the user’s eye is focusing on. The rest of the display will be a far lower resolution, but the user’s eye will not be able to recognize this, as it will be out of focus. Because they will be utilizing a lower resolution main display, they can replicate the actual field of view of a human eye. This is something that Google is unable to do with its headset because the main screen is such a high resolution. The implications of this are huge. If they can pull it off, this headset will be virtually indistinguishable from reality.

Obviously, the execution will be harder than coming up with the idea, but Varjo’s development up to this point has been sufficiently convincing as to garner 46 million dollars from people who believe the project will be successful. The headset is due for completion in December of 2018, but don’t get too excited: the headsets will be sold for between 5,000 and 10,000 a piece. You shouldn’t give up hope completely, though, as we have seen other start up companies get their feet wet in the luxury market and then proceed to wade in to the mass market with more affordable products (Tesla). So who knows, maybe a retina resolution headset could be just over your horizon.

Sources

https://www.virtualreality-news.net/news/2018/jun/20/finnish-vr-startup-developing-headset-human-eye-resolution/

Varjo Raises $31 Million to Further Develop ‘Bionic Display’ Headset

https://futurism.com/what-is-the-resolution-of-the-human-eye

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+megapixels+is+the+iphone+camera&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS811US812&oq=how+many+megapixels+is+the+iphone+camera&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.17712j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/25/google-and-lg-display-have-made-the-highest-resolution-vr-screen/

The Key Technology Behind Varjo’s High-res ‘Bionic Display’ Headset

A study of Android uncovered that a majority of apps is reaped and imparted users’ information to Google. Information shared by the apps including users’ age, gender, and location which especially prevalent with apps aimed at children. Researchers from Oxford university find nearly 90 percent of Android apps share data with Google and around half of the apps transfer data to at least 10 third parties, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Security is always the most important issue when using technology. And it is common that the third party get your information from other places nowadays. But everyone wants to prevent their information to be shared. Personally, I think we need to have some law to avoid companies sharing users’ data with others. This is significant because everyone cares about the security. And most companies make the profit by sharing users’ information. This is not the right way to gain profit. I always get the email from some companies or organizations I didn’t know. I remember I get a call from an education institution when I was in high school and preparing for my SAT test. They asked me about my current academic situation and ask if I want to join to learn in their organization. I don’t know where they get my phone, my name, and my academic situation, but I’ll not include all my personal information when I use the Internet or applications.

https://theworldnews.net/gb-news/almost-all-android-apps-send-personal-data-to-other-companies-like-facebook-google-and-amazon-study-reveals

DuckDuckGo, the search engine focused on user privacy that we discussed in class is rapidly growing in popularity. Over the past year, it has increased to 30 million daily searches, up from 20 million last year. A fact from the companies twitter says that it “took [them] seven years to reach 10 million private searches in one day, then another two years to hit 20 million, and now less than a year later we’re at 30 million!” While this is nothing compared to the 3 billion daily searches Google gets, it is showing that the company is making progress as more and more users continue to switch over, and the patience of the company is finally paying off.

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that is pro-privacy by not tracking the users profile and data and using it to target them with ads. They have been a non-tracking search engine since 2014, and have been seeing a rise in popularity in part to the recent surge in a concern for internet privacy and outrage over multiple issues regarding big companies like Google and Facebook.

US lawmakers have been discussing federal privacy regulations which could result in issues with companies that process people’s information. Lucky for DuckDuckGo, they haven’t tracked people in the first place, so any new laws won’t be affecting them.

I love to see growth in this new search engine. I think privacy is a very big concern especially with all the ways companies can track you, a lot of which we might not even know about. As time passes, I think companies like Facebook and Google will continue to delve on the wealth of information they have collected to try and sell or advertise things in new and sneakier ways. Hopefully, I’ll be able to prevent this from happening and protect my private information and I hope more people follow suit.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/11/pro-privacy-search-engine-duckduckgo-hits-30m-daily-searches-up-50-in-a-year/

In 2019, Google will be making it easier to delete search history and map data. As we all know, or should know, right now, Google stores all of our search history and data and keeps it on file until you explicitly say you want it deleted. To do this, you have to navigate to the advanced settings tab, scroll all the way down, and clear your search history. But next year, Google says they are changing that.

Google is making it easier to delete your search history by allowing users to review and delete info within the Google search itself. The privacy setting will no longer be hidden away in menus anymore. They will also be allowing access to controls like disabling ad personalization and preventing sites from saving activity. These changes are designed to make Google users feel more in control of their account and their privacy.

This is an important change because it comes at a time where more and more companies are taking action to protect privacy. Especially with all the news stories regarding Facebook privacy recently. I feel more and more people are also becoming aware of what companies like Google are doing with their information. How they are storing it, using to sell you products, and guess your next move, is creepy to some people. I think Google is taking the right step by realizing that they have crossed the creepy line and are trying to give back some anonymity to its users,

Yes, of course we all use social media to procrastinate doing work, talk to our friends, or even just post our cool pictures to show the world.  But Snapchat took it to the next level to actually help with an important issue.  Get younger people to because less apathetic towards voting and get registered.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/24/18018320/snapchat-voter-registration-turnout-users

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/register-vote-snapchat-turbovote

According to Forbes, no. Forbes said that according to one of the World’s Largest Robotics Companies, robots will actually create more jobs rather than destroy. Robotics & Motion president Sami Atiya said, “robots don’t result in lower employment”. Based off of how other countries are doing, the more robots a country has, the richer it gets. Countries such as Germany, South Korea and Japan are here to prove this.

Atiya went on to say that once the density of robots went up in the U.S., the unemployment went down. The main takeaway is that robots are not taking our jobs, but rather doing things to make our lives easier through additional jobs. It is more of a collaboration than a takeover.

The article ends by saying in order for humans to not get replace, we will also need to change. Which poses the final question of “can we change fast enough?”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2018/03/28/why-robots-wont-kill-jobs-the-worlds-largest-robotics-company-says-more-robots-means-more-jobs/#7002d767606f