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DARPA Tackles Machine Learning

Posted by samzenpus on from the learn-faster dept.

coondoggie writes "Researchers at DARPA want to take the science of machine learning — teaching computers to automatically understand data, manage results and surmise insights — up a couple notches. Machine learning, DARPA says, is already at the heart of many cutting edge technologies today, like email spam filters, smartphone personal assistants and self-driving cars. 'Unfortunately, even as the demand for these capabilities is accelerating, every new application requires a Herculean effort. Even a team of specially-trained machine learning experts makes only painfully slow progress due to the lack of tools to build these systems,' DARPA says."

2 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. Re:This headline pops up every few years by WillAdams · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A.I. is a classic case of moving goal posts --- there's an assumption a hard problem requires it, the problem gets solved using ever-more sophisticated analysis/pattern-matching/data-processing --- the problem domain is no longer considered A.I.

    --
    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
  2. Re:Skynet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Then you haven't seen my spam filter!

    Seriously, I am an AI PhD student/researcher. We get this kind of crap all of the time.
    "you are working on robots, when is SkyNet? Hahaha"
    "...so... the robot is lost and can't figure out where it is... I'm trying to make it so it can figure it out by how many steps its taken and looking around"
    "SkyNet!"

    "you are working on a program to control a controller for a video game, when is SkyNet? Hahaha"
    "...so... I'm trying to figure out how the computer can make Mario jump over the bad guys without telling him that the bad guys are 'bad'"
    "SkyNet!"

    "you are working on a program to figure out emotional states of students, how long before you unemploy all the nation's teachers?"
    "...so... I'm trying to figure out how to teach a computer to recognize when people are bored..."
    "Why do you hate your teachers?!"

    Seriously, the idea that we will be able to classify spam, or map a room, of jump over an obstacle, or recognize boredom so well that it gets sentience (and decides to kill all of us) is laughable.

    Posting Anon from work.