Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
We've all seen familiar shapes in clouds - Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum is credited for coining the word "pareidolia" to describe what amounts to a partial hallucination, in a paper published in 1866.
An interesting sidenote for students of philosophy: as far as I know, this confusion of fanciful imaging with reality was noted thousands of years ago. Asanga noted it sometime between 310-390 BCE in his Mahayanasamgraha; here's a quote from the Nirvana Upanishad (100 BCE):
The phenomenal world is impermanent as it is produced [from Brahman which alone is real]; it is similar to a world seen in a dream and an [illusory] elephant in the sky; similarly, the cluster of things such as the body is perceived by a network of a multitude of delusions and it is fancied to exist as a serpent in a rope.
Pareidolia, a work I discovered at Meta.Morf. Trondheim Biennale for Art and Technology, uses facial recognition software to examine sand particles one by one, looking for faces in their shape. A custom-made face-detection system examines every grain of sand under the microscope. Each time a face is discovered, its portrait is automatically captured on a photo. The artists keep count of the top 100: as more grains are evaluated, the top 100 features increasingly better faces. The top 100 are shown on a round projection screen, which form alludes to the lens of the microscope.(Via we-make-money-not-art.)
(My personal pareidolia sees this as Gothmug from LOTR...)
I don't know of an earlier reference to the artificial intelligence face-recognition idea than that put forward by Nat Schachner and Leo Zagat (who often wrote together as Schachner and Zagat); these Golden Age greats described a wonderful selective electric eye in their 1931 classic Exiles of the Moon:
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/28/2024)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Artificial Intelligence ")
AI Note-Taking From Google Meet
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.' - Dr. David H. Keller, 1934.
Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.' - Schachner and Zagat, 1931.
Virtual Rat Predicts Actual Rat Neural Activity
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.' - William Callahan, 1939.
WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...' - Nat Schachner, 1937.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
'Some unknown race ... decided to help them out.'
Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany
'...the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends.'
DOTPad Braille Device Offers Live Access
Amazing tactile display.
Biohybrid Robot Combines Living Muscle With Artificial Materials
'...great rectangular slabs of muscle, slung into a rectangular frame.'
Biohybrid Robots Made Of Living And Synthetic Materials
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'
Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.'
Poul Anderson's 'Brain Wave'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."
AI Note-Taking From Google Meet
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'
Qore IcePlates Are Personal Cooling Suits
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'
P1 Just The Latest Robot To Take A Beating From Humans
'...we mere people come second.'
Waymo Cars Shout At Each Other, Autonomously
'My cars talk to one another. I have no doubt about it...'
Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
'...you spray it on.'
How Long Till We Have These Tattoos?
Truth or fiction?
Seeing Faces On Grains Of Sand (AI Pareidolia)
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'
Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species
'...there was no one alive who had ever seen them. But they existed in the Life Bank.'
Tele-Driving Offers Jobs For Tele-Drivers, Not AIs
''...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
