Artificial intelligence (AI)

Source: Google Images    

(AI) is the intelligence exhibited by machines or software. Computer Vision mostly is associated with or part of artificial intelligence. It is also the name of the academic field of study which studies how to create computers and computer software that are capable of intelligent behaviour. (Wikipedia) 

It can also be defined as the  science and engineering of making intelligent machines, specifically intelligent computer programs. It's  similar to using computers to understand the human intelligence. However, AI does not have to confine itself to methods that can be observed biologically.

                                                   Source: Google Images      

Can We Predict The Future of AI?  

Raymond Kurzweil, A very well know American author, inventor and futurist has made many future predictions regarding Technology, The Internet and their explosive growth and how it is going to impact our lives. 

In  The Age of Intelligent Machines, is one of his books that was published in the early 90's Where he predicted that the Internet would have a marvellous impact   in the number of users as well as the content, It grants the users access "to international networks of libraries, data bases, and information services. 

Kurzweil correctly foresaw that the preferred mode of Internet access would inevitably be through wireless systems, and he was also correct to estimate that the latter would become practical for widespread use in the early 21st century. 

He also  extrapolated the performance of chess software to predict that computers would beat the best human players "by the year 2000"  In May 1997 chess World Champion Garry Kasparov  was defeated by IBM's Deep Blue computer in a well-publicized chess tournament.

                                             

                                                                                                                   Source: Google Images

                                     Humans Vs Technology                                 

One of the predictions that made many people afraid of the future, Is that by the year 2030 a robot can be smarter than all mankind combined. Technology has already replaced mankind in many industrial fields which lead to a huge decrease in the global labour force. (after all they won't need to pay the robot a salary). If robots will think on our behalf one day, That can only mean that the human intelligence would be decreasing. 

We used to wash our clothes by hands and then replaced it with washing machines. we also used Calculators as a replacement of our brains to compute simple maths. As well as machines that replaced the labour force, And many more example that we can see in our daily life.

I can only hope that the Artificial intelligence is going to help make the world a better place. And work on the service of humanity. We can't be civilized if everything is improving and humans are doing the opposite.



                                                                                                   Source: Google Images 

      

References: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictions_made_by_Ray_Kurzweil

http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/node1.html


                

SNAPCHAT: An Application That Uses Computer Vision

Image: techcrunch.com

Snapchat is a young app startup that has quickly taken over the world of social media. Their very recent update brought a feature called Snapchat Lenses: a feature that can detect and map your facial features and apply live animations on top of it as well as warp your face. This has given the world something completely reckless and share with their friends and family. Some videos made using these lenses has gone viral across other social websites and even on TV channels.

The face recognition technology underlying in this new feature was first created by an iOS app called B2C by Looksery in 2014. Snapchat found the potential of integrating such a technology in their app which has already seen wide adoption all around the world. For Looksery this was the perfect opportunity to bring their face recognition and modification technology to the mainstream.

According to theodysseyonline.com, Looksery focused on creating a program that could alter and transform the look on user's face in real time. They made it with special computer vision programming that could track the movement of users facial expressions and the shape of a user's head. This allowed the users to move their head and have the filter move along with it. It is also possible to recognise two faces and swap each others faces.

Now, this high technology is owned and improved by Snapchat which acquired Looksery for a whopping $150 million, according to Business Insider.

To use Lenses in Snapchat follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Camera screen in Snapchat.
2. Press and hold on a face! Lens options will appear below.
3. Swipe left to select the Lens you want to use.
4. Follow any action prompts that appear, like ‘Raise Your Eyebrows.’
5. Tap the capture button to take a Snap, or press and hold on the capture button to record a video.

Social media apps and websites like Snapchat and Facebook are at the forefront of mass deployment of some areas of Computer Vision technology to mainstream public all over the world. This gives us a solid insight into how our future would look like in years to come given the advancement of such technologies as Computer Vision and it's Facial recognition sub technology.

References:

http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/15/snapchat-looksery/

https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/ca/lenses

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/135912-snapchat-lenses-how-do-they-work-and-do-they-cost-anything

http://theodysseyonline.com/college-for-creative-studies/people-behind-snapchats-selfie-lenses/395547