‘We cannot stem progress’ – Ireland’s first artificial intelligence ambassador chosen

Ireland's first ambassador for artificial intelligence (AI) has been appointed. 

Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD, yesterday (Tuesday May 10) appointed Dr Patricia Scanlon to the role. 

The doctor will lead a national conversation on the role of AI in Irish lives, emphasising Ireland's commitment to an ethical approach in the use of the technology.  ...

See the full story here: https://www.donegallive.ie/news/national-news/809483/we-cannot-stem-progress-ireland-s-first-artificial-intelligence-ambassador-chosen.html

Security Considerations for Virtual Reality Systems

There is a growing need for authentication methodology in virtual reality applications. Current systems assume that the immersive experience technology is a collection of peripheral devices connected to a personal computer or mobile device. Hence there is a complete reliance on the computing device with traditional authentication mechanisms to handle the authentication and authorization decisions. Using the virtual reality controllers and headset poses a different set of challenges as it is subject to unauthorized observation, unannounced to the user given the fact that the headset completely covers the field of vision in order to provide an immersive experience. As the need for virtual reality experiences in the commercial world increases, there is a need to provide other alternative mechanisms for secure authentication. In this paper, we analyze a few proposed authentication systems and reached a conclusion that a multidimensional approach to authentication is needed to address the granular nature of authentication and authorization needs of a commercial virtual reality applications in the commercial world.

...

A. Knowledge Driven Biometric authentication

This methodology involves the application of known hu- man behaviors when conducting the process of biometric authentication. ...

B. RubikAuth

Another experimental authentication software is the Ru- bikAuth. Taking its name from the inventor of the iconic Rubik’s Cube, the RubikAuth essentially acts as a 9-digit pin input overlayed over each face of a multicolored cube but the rear. ...

C. OcuLock

Human Visual System (HVS) includes not just the eyeball, but eyelids, nerves around the eye, extraocular muscles, cells etc.  ...

D. BioMove

An international group produced a biometric identification process known as BioMove, which prompts the user to per- form certain simple tasks while reading their motion. Based on the user’s unique manner of motion, the software then verifies their identity.  ...

See the full paper here: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022arXiv220102563V/abstract

What Is WebAR and Will it Boost Mass AR Adoption?

...

How Does WebAR Work?

WebAR makes use of the sensors on a mobile phone to allow the placement and tracking of digital material inside the physical world. AR technology may enable animated 3D content, target recognition, and interactive experiences through a combination of these sensors and computer vision technologies present on smartphones. WebAR can also operate on desktop devices, with limitations as PCs are tethered to one location.

WebAR experiences will become increasingly more sophisticated as mobile browsers add supportive capabilities. Allowing AR to access the device’s RGB camera, gyroscope, accelerometer, orientation, and magnetometer, or linking WebAR on mobile to smart wearables are several ways to achieve this.

Current Web AR experiences leverage five key technologies:

• Media streaming from mobile cameras – WebAR technology synchronizes virtual and physical worlds via camera streaming access. To add AR experience to real-world scenes, it utilizes an RGB camera for perspective and range of vision.
• A content management system – Users may access AR experiences using a cloud-based content management system (CMS) that responds to a variety of triggers such as QR codes or hyperlinks. Users can access WebAR with simple camera lens captures to place interactive information virtually anywhere.
• Scene understanding – To position 3D items in a physical environment, WebAR requires scene understanding, or the ability of mobile devices to map a surface and estimate the amount of light present in surrounding environments.
• A compatible browser – The browser must be designed for rich visuals and interactive experiences, which involve high volumes of data processing, as well as the ability to operate efficiently and with a low bandwidth footprint to avoid slowing down the smartphone’s operations.
• Application programming interfaces (APIs) – APIs convert Web AR into a truly connected application, where users can complete a variety of different tasks with a single virtual experience. For example, APIs can allow online shoppers to try products in WebAR to make a purchase.

...

See the full story here: https://www.xrtoday.com/augmented-reality/what-is-webar-and-will-it-boost-mass-ar-adoption/

FaceCake Introduces Stunningly Realistic Augmented Reality Lash Experience with Its Groundbreaking Virtual “Try and Book” Option for Deka Lash Studios

FaceCake’s AI-driven AR platform delivers next level Augmented Reality visualization, offering consumers an online way to preview Deka Lash’s unique lash extensions before booking their service at a DL lash studio. Exemplifying the evolving way that people shop for products and services, Deka Lash customers are able to virtually Try-On each lash style on a live video feed, instantly at dekalash.com, via desktop and mobile. Expanding AR “Try and Buy” to AR “Try and Book”, FaceCake gives the consumer the confidence to set an appointment for their preferred lash style, saving time for themselves and the Lash Artist. ...

See the full story here: https://martechseries.com/predictive-ai/augmented-reality/facecake-introduces-stunningly-realistic-augmented-reality-lash-experience-with-its-groundbreaking-virtual-try-and-book-option-for-deka-lash-studios/

IBM CEO: Artificial intelligence is nearing a key tipping point

When it comes to generalized AI, "we have no idea how this is going to happen," IBM CEO Arvind Krishna says. That isn't stopping IBM from building AI tools that are now close to necessary for businesses to stay competitive.

The global market is on the cusp of hitting a critical AI tipping point that will unlock major productivity gains, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said to reporters this week, ahead of the annual IBM Think conference in Boston. 

Supporting that assertion, IBM released its Global AI Adoption Index 2022, which surveyed 7,502 senior business decision-makers. It shows that currently, 35% of companies are using AI in their business, up to four points from 2021. Additionally, 30% say employees at their organization are already saving time with new AI and automation software and tools.  ...

As for the ultimate moonshot -- developing generalized AI -- Krishna said he believes that's still a long way out. Surveys of scientists show most expect generalized AI to be achieved somewhere between 2050 and 2075. 

"Having grown up as a scientist... if anything is 25 years away, my conclusion is we have no idea how this is going to happen," Krishna said. "Is it worth working on? Sure. Is it worth making that the majority of the effort? I think that is too stretched." ...

See the full story here; https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-ceo-ai-is-near-a-key-tipping-point-but-generalized-ai-is-still-decades-out/https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-ceo-ai-is-near-a-key-tipping-point-but-generalized-ai-is-still-decades-out/

The Vatican Will Launch a Metaverse Art Gallery in Sensorium Galaxy

The Vatican is working to bring some of its art and other collections to the metaverse in a new partnership with metaverse developer Sensorium. The digital universe and virtual being designer and the Vatican’s Humanity 2.0 Foundation will showcase the ar in a new virtual reality gallery hosted on Sensorium’s Galaxy metaverse platform.

META VATICAN

Sensorium designs immersive metaverse experiences on Galaxy, including interactive games and digital concerts with performances from artists like David Guetta and Steve Aoki. The Vatican founded Humanity 2.0 a non-profit to explore the intersection of culture and life with media and technology. The new collaboration is looking to produce a virtual gallery of some of the Vatican’s nearly 800 pieces of art as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that people can look at while traveling Sensoriun’s Galaxy metaverse. The NFTs won’t be for sale themselves, but could be linked to virtual show tickets or in a virtual gift shop setting. ...

See the full story here: https://voicebot.ai/2022/05/09/the-vatican-will-launch-a-metaverse-art-gallery-in-sensorium-galaxy/

Netflix tried and failed to build fandom with Tudum

When news broke of layoffs at the Netflix-owned fan site Tudum last week, responses tended to come in two parts: First, of course, was that it sucked for the workers affected. But also, what even is Tudum?

Launched less than six months ago, Tudum was envisioned as a home for bonus content related to popular Netflix titles, like interviews with stars, news about renewals and trailers, and also bigger, meatier stories that could contextualize shows and films. A former writer who lost their job last week compared Tudum to DVD special features and investments that other companies have made into supplementary material — “a Criterion Collection for normal people,” as they put it. ...

See the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/6/23059261/netflix-tudum-layoffs-fandom-fan-site-streaming-bridgerton?ck_subscriber_id=1646162133

How NFTs Are Changing The Entertainment Industry

... Former UTA chief innovation officer Brent Weinstein told Insider, “Even the most traditional Hollywood corporation is not going to avoid the tremendous winds of change that will start sweeping through.” Weinstein, who is now the chief development officer of Candle Media, created by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, is well-positioned to profit from the nexus of heritage media and new modalities of narrative and delivery. ...

Copyright

Copyright ownership of an NFT does not imply that the digital object it represents has copyright or intellectual property rights. Someone can sell an NFT that reflects their work, but the buyer does not always get the copyright to it. Therefore the seller can make more NFTs of the same work. As a result, an NFT is only proof of ownership, not copyright. ...

History

Early history (2014–2017)

Kevin McCoy and Anil Dash built the first known “NFT,” Quantum, in May 2014. ...

See the full story here: https://www.inventiva.co.in/trends/how-nfts-are-changing-the/

Detailed ‘open source’ news investigations are catching on

One of the more striking pieces of journalism from the Ukraine war featured intercepted radio transmissions from Russian soldiers indicating an invasion in disarray, their conversations even interrupted by a hacker literally whistling “Dixie.”

It was the work of an investigations unit at The New York Times that specializes in open-source reporting, using publicly available material like satellite images, mobile phone or security camera recordings, geolocation and other internet tools to tell stories.

The field is in its infancy but rapidly catching on. The Washington Post announced last month it was adding six people to its video forensics team, doubling its size. The University of California at Berkeley last fall became the first college to offer an investigative reporting class that focuses specifically on these techniques. ...

The Post team is an outgrowth of efforts begun in 2019 to verify the authenticity of potentially newsworthy video. There are many ways to smoke out fakes, including examining shadows to determine if the apparent time of day in the video corresponds to when the activity supposedly captured actually took place. ...

The Times used security and cell-phone video, along with interviews, to tell the story of one Ukraine apartment house as Russians invaded. ...

As efforts expand, Koenig said journalists need to make sure their stories drive the tools that are used, instead of the other way around. ...

See the full story here: https://santamariatimes.com/entertainment/detailed-open-source-news-investigations-are-catching-on/article_de5de7a3-0462-514e-9f31-ed805871273f.html

Robotic ‘Chef’ Trained to Taste Food

A group of researchers at the University of Cambridge has created a robot “chef’ that is trained to taste food at different stages of the chewing process. While it is tasting the food, the robot determines if it’s sufficiently seasoned. 

The resulting research was published in Frontiers in Robotics & AI. 

... Humans go through a complex process when chewing food where we notice changes in texture and taste. The robotic counterpart tasted nine variations of scrambled eggs and tomatoes, and it did so during three different stages of the chewing process. The result was ‘taste maps’ of the different dishes. ...

The team of researchers belong to Cambridge’s Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory run by Professor Fumiya Iida of the Department of Engineering. This lab works to train robots to carry out tasks that humans find easy but prove difficult for robots. One of these tasks is cooking. ...

The technique is still a proof of concept, but the researchers believe robots will eventually be able to create food that humans will enjoy. They could even produce personalized food depending on the individual’s tastes.  ...

See the full story here: https://www.unite.ai/robotic-chef-trained-to-taste-food/