New machine learning algorithm produces "near-perfect" fake human faces

A new algorithm, StyleGAN2, fixes this problem and produces "eye-poppingly detailed and correct images." It can also generate never-before-seen cars, churches, and animals.

Face-synthesizing algorithms often struggle with facial details like eyes and teeth. These features sometimes get pinned to a fixed spot as a head turns, resulting in an uncanny valley dweller.

Optimizing a peanut butter and banana sandwich using machine learning and computer vision Ethan Rosenthal is "particularly fond of peanut butter and banana sandwiches." As a data scientist, he wondered if he could "maximize the packing fraction of the banana slices," the amount of banana coverage, using computer vision and machine learning. Months later, he succeeded. Now, Rosenthal has written a deep description of the project and released the code […] READ THE REST

Cory Doctorow experiments with AI writing partner Sudowrite GPT-3 is a machine-learning trained language model that generates text based on a text prompt. Cory Doctorow has been playing around with a closed-beta implementation of Sudowrite, which he describes as a "GPT3-based text generator for fiction writers. You give it characters, plot summaries, dialogue, or twist endings," and Sudowrite generates one of more paragraphs […] READ THE REST

Make a cute little device that uses machine learning to separate marshmallow bits from breakfast cereal The Tiny Sorter is a device you can make from an Arduino, a remote control servo, and some cardboard to sort marshmallow bits from a box of breakfast cereal. It's a clever mechanism that uses a laptop webcam and Google's machine learning software to learn the difference between marshmallow bits and cereal bits. READ THE REST

Electrical engineering is one of the most stable professions around, and this training can help get you there When you were a kid, your mom and dad probably told you to grow up and become a doctor or a lawyer. Practical people that they were, your parents probably assumed that if you were able to scale the educational heights of those revered professions, you'd be handsomely rewarded with a hefty paycheck. While you […] READ THE REST

The Jamstik lets you practice your guitar skills anytime, anywhere A decent starter electric guitar will often run you about $500 nowadays. If you'd rather learn to play before you dump hundreds into a cool instrument, the Jamstik Guitar Trainer is a brilliant way of turning you into a guitar player without the huge upfront expense. In addition to saving you money, the Jamstik has […] READ THE REST