Tinder introduces new tools to keep users safe

Tinder has announced a collection of tools for the app that prevent users from being catfished and help them keep in touch with trusted contacts and emergency services if needed.

A handful of the new tools are available thanks to the integration of Noonlight, a connected safety platform that gives each individual a personal safety service. Through Noonlight, users can share information about their date night — who they are meeting as well as where and at what time — with people they trust. Users can “discreetly trigger” emergency services in the event that they feel uncomfortable or in danger.


Along with Noonlight, Tinder has begun slowly rolling out Photo Verification, a feature that is still being tested, which “allows members to self-authenticate through a series of real-time posed selfies, which are compared to existing profile photos using human-assisted artificial intelligence technology.” Those with verified identities will have a blue checkmark next to their names in a very Twitter-like fashion.

Users will also be armed with a Safety Center tool which provides information about how to stay safe. The company has plans to eventually personalize this guide to each individual, but right now, it is rolling out with the same information for everyone.

Lastly, in select markets, the application will inform users if offensive content was sent thanks to machine learning. If this type of message is detected, Tinder will prompt users with a question asking “Does this bother you?” and if they answer “yes,” they will be presented with the option to block the person. Likewise, if a user is sending offensive content, the app will ask them to verify if they really want to send the material.

All features have already begun rolling out and will continue to over the next few months. RGA

source: technology.inquirer.net

Microsoft improves facial recognition tech to better recognize darker skin tones

Microsoft has made “significant improvements” to its facial recognition technology that had difficulties recognizing darker skin tones, especially when it came to women.

According to Microsoft’s announcement on Tuesday, it has been able to reduce the error rates for darker-skinned men and women by up to 20 times by expanding the training datasets used for its Face API.

Facial recognition technology’s role in society is continuously growing; the most obvious use is in unlocking our devices, but that is only a small part of it. Identifying faces is a useful tool for organizations including authorities searching for criminals, social media sites wanting to tag your friends and even MasterCard which wants you to pay with your face rather than PIN-code. Therefore, high accuracy rates are crucial.


However, a report published by MIT’s Media Lab in February showed that the facial recognition systems from Microsoft, IBM and China’s Megvii misidentified the gender of up to 35 percent of darker-skinned women with the “Microsoft gender classifier perform[ing] the best, with zero errors on classifying all males and lighter females.”

“Artificial intelligence technologies are only as good as the data used to train them,” Microsoft outlined in its new post, noting that “higher error rates on females with darker skin highlights an industrywide challenge.” In other words, it seems as though the data used to train the AI technology didn’t sufficiently represent diverse skin tones, nor did it effectively factor in varying hairstyles, jewelry and eyewear.

Hanna Wallach, a senior researcher in Microsoft’s New York research lab and an expert on fairness, accountability and transparency in AI systems, explains, “If we are training machine learning systems to mimic decisions made in a biased society, using data generated by that society, then those systems will necessarily reproduce its biases.”

The Face API team via Azure Cognitive Services has made changes in order to increase precision results these include expanding and revising the benchmark data sets and even launching a ‘new data collection effort’ that focuses on skin tone, gender and age.

“This is an opportunity to really think about what values we are reflecting in our systems,” said Wallach, “and whether they are the values we want to be reflecting in our systems.” JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Google rules out using artificial intelligence for weapons

SAN FRANCISCO – Google announced on Thursday it would not use artificial intelligence for weapons or to “cause or directly facilitate injury to people,” as it unveiled a set of principles for the technologies.

Chief executive Sundar Pichai, in a blog post outlining the company’s artificial intelligence policies, noted that even though Google would not use AI for weapons, “we will continue our work with governments and the military in many other areas” such as cybersecurity, training, or search and rescue.

The news comes with Google facing an uproar from employees and others over a contract with the United States military, which the California tech giant said last week would not be renewed.

Pichai set out seven principles for Google’s application of artificial intelligence, or advanced computing that can simulate intelligent human behavior.

He said Google is using AI “to help people tackle urgent problems” such as prediction of wildfires, helping farmers, diagnosing disease or preventing blindness.

“We recognize that such powerful technology raises equally powerful questions about its use,” Pichai said in the blog.

“How AI is developed and used will have a significant impact on society for many years to come. As a leader in AI, we feel a deep responsibility to get this right,” Pichai also wrote.

The chief executive said Google’s AI programs would be designed for applications that are “socially beneficial” and “avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias.”

He said the principles also called for AI applications to be “built and tested for safety,” to be “accountable to people” and to “incorporate privacy design principles.”

Google will avoid the use of any technologies “that cause or are likely to cause overall harm,” Pichai wrote.

That means steering clear of “weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people” and systems “that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms.”


Google also will ban the use of any technologies “whose purpose contravenes widely accepted principles of international law and human rights,” Pichai said.

‘A good start’

Some initial reaction to the announcement was positive.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which had led opposition to Google’s Project Maven contract with the Pentagon, called the news “a big win for ethical AI principles.”

“Congratulations to the Googlers and others who have worked hard to persuade the company to cancel its work on Project Maven,” EFF said on Twitter.

Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor and fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet & Society, tweeted: “Google’s AI ethics principles owe more to (English philosopher Jeremy) Bentham and the positivists than (German philosopher) Kant. Nevertheless, a good start.”

Calo added, “The clear statement that they won’t facilitate violence or totalitarian surveillance is meaningful.”

The move comes amid growing concerns that automated or robotic systems could be misused and spin out of control, leading to chaos. At the same time, Google has faced criticism that it has drifted away from its original founders’ motto of “don’t be evil.”

Several technology firms have already agreed to the general principles of using artificial intelligence for good but Google appeared to offer a more precise set of standards.

The company, which is already a member of the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence including dozens of tech firms committed to AI principles, had faced criticism for the contract with the Pentagon on Project Maven, which uses machine learning and engineering talent to distinguish people and objects in drone videos.

Faced with a petition signed by thousands of employees and criticism outside the company, Google indicated the $10 million contract would not be renewed, according to media reports.

But Google is believed to be competing against other tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft for lucrative “cloud computing” contracts with the US government, including for military and intelligence agencies.                   /kga

source: technology.inquirer.net

HTC U Ultra launched, comes with an AI assistant

There are two very distinct features that make the U Ultra stand out. These are the small secondary screen and an AI assistant dubbed the Sense Companion, reports Engadget.

The secondary screen just above the main one is reminiscent of an LG device. This screen is paired with an AI that employs machine learning, that is, capable of learning the user’s usage habits and customize the device and services accordingly.

For example, should a holiday pops up on the calendar, the Sense Companion will shut off all alarms to let users sleep in a little longer. The AI can even determine which contact will appear on the secondary screen whenever a message is received.

As for the rest of the phone’s specs, the HTC U Ultra comes with a 5.7-inch Quad HD Super LCD 5 screen. Enclosing its electronics is a sleek metallic body available in four different colors (black, white, blue and pink), and is only 8mm at its thickest. The back is also covered with curved glass that adds to its elegant design.

Inside the metallic body is a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB of RAM, Android 7.0 Nougat, and a 12-UltrPixel camera with an f1.8 aperture. Most of all, this flagship no longer comes with a headphone jack.

Pre-orders for the HTC U Ultra are now available and the device is priced at $749. Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

Artificial intelligence replaces workers in Japanese company

One of the fears revolving around the development of artificial intelligence rises from the possibility that it may eventually replace humans as a workforce. This fear has now become a reality for a number of employees working for a Japanese company.

To be exact, 34 employees were laid off by Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance and replaced by an artificial intelligence system that calculates payouts to policyholders, reports The Guardian.

The system is based on IBM’s Watson Explorer which the firm believes would increase productivity by 30 percent and help yield a return on its investment in less than two years.

Thanks to the Watson Explorer’s cognitive systems, the company will now be able to read thousands of medical certificates while factoring in length of hospital stay, medical history and surgical procedures to calculate payouts. Of course, all of these will still have to be approved by a member of the staff.

With Japan’s prowess in the realm of robotics, having an AI system takeover human work is, if anything, somewhat inevitable. The Nomura Research Institute filed a report that nearly all jobs in Japan could be done by robots by 2035. Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

20 Whirlpool voice-activated smart appliances steal spotlight at CES

AI assistants like the ones in the Amazon Echo and Google home have mostly taken over the living room. The next space to conquer is the kitchen, and Whirlpool is more than happy to open the flood gates.

Twenty new models of smart appliances were recently unveiled at CES 2017. GE says that all these devices will have Wi-Fi connectivity and will be voice-activated as a standard, reports Digital Trends.

This lineup includes dishwashers, fridges, microwaves, ranges, and wall ovens, to name a few. Homeowners will soon be living the future where they can simply tell the stove to preheat or shut off before dinner gets overcooked.

Jason Mathew, senior director of global connected strategy at Whirlpool, describes the features of these smart appliances as ‘Scan-to-Cook.’ People will one day be able to simply take a picture or scan a bar code for the oven to heat up, say, frozen pizza, at just the right temperature.

Whirlpool’s broader version includes working with Innit, a company that is figuring out a way to digitize food.

Finally, as current AI assistants learn to adjust to specific user preferences, so too will these smart appliances in the future. For example, ovens will learn how chewy or crispy the users would like their cookies, and the ovens would adjust the cooking time accordingly.

There are big things in store for AI assistance in the household. Next thing we know, the fridge will be suggesting what to get from the grocery. Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net