Tendo City

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129

The first part is similar to what you may have seen in the Wii's image editor, but MUCH more powerful. The latter part is what interests me.

This is all part of that important next step in computer programming. Gathering data we've been able to do for years, but how well a machine can cross reference data with other data really determines what that computer can do, and it's basically the definition of intelligence.

Honestly the power of that software is mind boggling to me. This must have involved thousands of work hours and unbelievable amounts of code. It really isn't that simple a task to get image recognition software to "see" that this image and that image "line up" and to match them. Now imagine doing that when it only "roughly" lines up as in the case of Notre Dam there and you get a picture of just what they had to do. And, further, to get it to put it together in 3D, recognizing that the image had DEPTH to it and wasn't just a 2D shape. Well, I'm stunned. As with all programs of this scope, I can imagine no one programmer knows entirely how it works, what with individual "modules" being programmed by different people (modern programming is set up in such a way that all a programmer working on one module needs to know is the input/output/operator commands of other modules to get their own module to work nice with them).

Working with text is actually easier than working with images. I imagine that a similar tactic could be used to gather vast overall "verbal pictures" of related research documents. Expanding on this, a computer might actually be able to draw complicated conclusion (I'm talking "next step" stuff here, but after seeing this it can't be that far off) based on all this metadata. I can see a computer comparing vast fields of images on earth, with time also being a factor so it has a past and future, and also in various wavelengths and even just charts of stuff like pollution and so on, and actually being able to give an educated opinion on the direction of earth's climate. From there, maybe even a suggestion on how to change things, adding in the text data from various research papers. Keep in mind that THAT is much further down the line, but it's all the forward march of programming technology. If they can do this, and it isn't just a "artistic model" but real time examples they are showing, I can't see how the rest isn't anything more than a lot of work and research away from now.

I can see a time in the future when we surf the net not just with data searches but with a dedicated AI buddy that culls it for information relevent to us, based on what we've wanted to search for in the past, and one who provides us with suggestions, only something that actually seems friendly and eerily accurate and not just the Amazon.com "people who got this also liked: " list. These are the sorts of things that change the world in the information age.

It's just crazy what's being done with imaging technology these days.

Google Maps have started including 3D panoramic views of the streets of major cities. You can actually cruise down highways and streets in New York City while sitting in front of your computer.

Mind you, that's using currently existing technology. Interesting but I've been seeing that sort of thing since Myst 4. The difference here is the AI that actually does the recognizing.

I don't really care if it's A.I. doing it or what, all this new stuff is awesome.

Goddamn thats awesome. The part with the book really amazed me.

Well GR, the AI doing it is what'll make it interesting for you personally, to be able to basically put together vast collections of data with just a few parameters, that doesn't interest you?

I'm saying that it's not the basic premises behind each technology that matters to me, but rather what it DOES.

And you can't see what that sort of powerful AI can do? What I'm saying is that AI would be something you would CONTROL giving you amazing capabilities beyond that google image thing. I can see just caring about what something does, but clearly this is a "what it does" technology. With the google thing, you can't DO the notre dam thing, with this you CAN.

It's nice that we can have both, isn't it?

Um, yes? Not sure I said we didn't have a choice. I'm just saying the AI thing is far more impressive with a lot more possibilities and uses than the google maps thing. That's put together beforehand by them, but this is something you yourself can use to make whatever you want.

Wow, that was really impressive wasn't it...

Man, I thought I was amazed at Google Street View when I first tried it on Monday, but this was some really advanced stuff. I can't imagine how complicated it must have been to write a program like that. Bringing all the disparate parts of the internet together is the next logical step in the development of the net.

I know! I mean once you relate all the data together, it's just the next step to make all possible combinations of all data to create all sorts of new bits of information.

Internet: I AM A GIGANTIC BRAIN!

...I shudder to think what the GameFAQs message boards combined with all that data might uncover...

Vista Aero is pretty cool, but transparent window edges in windows and the cool new 3d Windows-Tab look can't compare to THAT. :)

Not to mention the IGN or Team X-box boards (or is it outdated to poke fun at them?).

"Computer, I need you to coalesce all knowledge of gaming to recommend me my next game."

*processing... PROCESSING*

Computer: "SEIFEROTH SLICKBALLS PAPER MARIO GAMMA BRAWL MATERIA POKE-DOKOMUN. FAG."

"The experiment has failed! Disband this program immediately! Cut it up byte by byte and put them all on separate hard disks and mail them to different countries so we can forget this atrocity!"

"...couldn't we just smash the current server its running on with a sledge hammer?"

"There's less dramatic effect in that."

Now mind you it'll have to analyze your tastes based on past play patterns and perhaps a microphone to listen to your praise to profanity ratio.

Also you could just turn off the computer, and disable the "wake on LAN" option in the BIOS.

With a lot of work, much more than even this project, maybe we'll have a program that, upon gathering all data on some game, including it, it uses the data of intelligent discussion to conclude the stupid data is not helping things. I call it Skynet.