This Japanese Smartphone Won’t Let You Take Inappropriate Photos
Japanese company Tone Mobile has been getting a lot of attention ever since it launched its Tone e20 model, the world’s first smartphone that prevents users from taking “inappropriate” (nude) photos. The Tone e20 is not a particularly attractive phone, and its spec sheet isn’t exactly impressive either, but it does one thing that no […]
Terrifying Deepfake App Lets You Swap Faces with Virtually Anyone
Zao, a Chinese artificial intelligence-powered app that allows users to swap faces with actors and other celebrities in videos and GIF images, has sparked serious privacy concerns due to how convincing the transformation can be. Uploaded to China’s iOS App Store last Friday, Zao became the number one downloaded app on the platform in only […]
Chinese Scientists Use Innovative Chip to Power Autonomous Bicycle
While tech giants like Tesla and Google are working hard to perfect autonomous cars, a team of scientists in China is developing a self-driving bicycle and their results are pretty impressive. Showcased in a short video presentation, the autonomous bicycle developed by scientists at Tsinghua University, in Beijing, can balance itself while also avoiding obstacles, […]
Online Pet Store Uses Face Recognition Technology to Allow Dogs to Do Their Own Shopping
Brazilian pet shop chain Petz has combined face recognition technology and artificial intelligence to create a groundbreaking platform that allows dogs to buy their favorite products by analyzing their facial expressions. There’s nothing more disheartening for dog owners that buying a new toy for their pooches only to see them turn their nose up at […]
Man Gets Fined for Scratching His Face While Driving
There’s no question that artificial intelligence has come a long way in the last few years, but apparently it’s not yet advanced enough to tell the difference between someone using a mobile phone and someone scratching their face. Chinese media recently reported the case of a man in Jinan, eastern Shandong province, who received a notification […]
Real-Life Minority Report – AI Software Can Catch Shoplifters Before They Steal
A Japanese tech startup claims to have developed an artificial intelligence software that analyzes surveillance camera footage in order to detect suspicious behavior and prevent shoplifting before it actually happens. In 2002, when the movie Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, came out, the concept of preventing a future crime before the perpetrator did anything remotely […]
China Unveils World’s First AI Female News Anchor, And She Looks Eerily Realistic
China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, yesterday unveiled its newest news anchor, Xin Xiaomeng. Why is this newsworthy? Well, because Xin isn’t a real person, but an ultra-realistic computer generated model powered by advanced AI technology. The perfectly coiffed Xin Xiaomeng introduced herself to Xinhua’s viewers in a short clip, announcing that she will make her professional […]
China Unveils Disturbingly Realistic AI News Anchors
China’s state news agency Xinhua unveiled two very realistic looking AI news anchors that can “tirelessly” report the news 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from anywhere in the world. We’ve known that robots and artificial intelligence were coming for our jobs, but somehow I never thought news anchors would be among the […]
Meet Norman, the World’s First Psychopath AI
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have trained an artificial intelligence algorithm to become a psychopath by exposing it to gruesome and violent images on popular social network Reddit. Called Norman, after the iconic Anthony Perkins character in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic “Psycho”, the AI was trained to perform image captioning, a popular deep learning method […]
World’s First AI Mayoral Candidate Promises Fair and Balanced Politics
We’ve heard of robots and artificial intelligence taking human jobs, but I bet mayors didn’t really think their jobs would be threatened any time soon. They were wrong, and the AI running for mayor of a Tokyo district is clear proof of that. Artificial Intelligence can’t legally run for high-ranking public administration positions yet, but […]
Swedish Funeral Agency Wants to Use Artificial Intelligence to Allow People to Chat with the Dead
A funeral agency in Sweden is currently seeking volunteers for a project that it hopes will offer people comfort by allowing them to speak to their deceased loved-ones. First of all, if you’ve already read something about this on sites like Mail Online or Sputnik News, you should know that most of the information they […]
This Hipster Bar Only Lets in Genuine Hipsters
You probably didn’t even know there was such a thing as a hipster-only bar, did you? Well, there is (sort of) and if you plan on getting in, you better grow a beard, put on some glasses and wear those checkered shirts hipsters love so much. The Hipster Bar isn’t technically a bar, but an […]
Bizarre Smartphone App Lets You Take Photos, Talk with the Dead
In an effort to help people cope with the loss of their loved ones, a South Korean tech company is developing an app that lets them take photos and converse with digitally-rendered models of deceased friends and family. Called “With Me”, the controversial app was developed by ELROIS, a Korean firm that specializes in creating realistic 3D avatars, […]
Russian Programmer 3D-Prints His Very Own T-800 Terminator Robot Complete with Artificial Intelligence
The machine-dominated world envisioned by James Cameron in “Terminator” once seemed like pure science fiction, but now, not so much. Just a few days ago, a Russian programmer from Perm unveiled his 3D-printed version of the T-800 robot featured in Cameron’s famous blockbuster, and while it can currently only move its head, it is equipped […]
Russian Programmer “Ressurects” Deceased Best Friend as an AI Chatbot
It’s hard to let go of loved ones, especially when they pass away suddenly. But thanks to rapidly evolving artificial intelligence, you soon may not have to let go. Well, not completely, anyway. Case in point, Eugenia Kuyda, the co-founder and CEO of a Russian artificial intelligence startup called Luka Inc, who recently brought her best friend […]