AI Data Trainer

AI Data Trainer — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step guides on Aizhi.

  • SimSimi

    SimSimi

    SimSimi is an artificial intelligence conversation program created in 2002 by ISMaker. It grows its artificial intelligence day by day assisted by a feature that allows users to teach it to respond correctly. SimSimi, pronounced as "shim-shimi", is from a Korean word simsim (심심) which means "bored". It has an application designed for Android, Windows Phone and iOS. The application was banned in Thailand in 2012 after users taught it to make responses containing profanity, and to criticise leading politicians. In April 2018, SimSimi was suspended in Brazil due to accusations of sending inappropriate messages, such as sexual language, bullying and even death threats, being labeled as "dangerous" mainly due to its popularity among children, and according to its developer, the suspension of the app in the country "was inevitable because the SimSimi app, at least in the last few days, had a significant negative social impact in Brazil.”

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  • ViBe

    ViBe

    ViBe is a background subtraction algorithm which has been presented at the IEEE ICASSP 2009 conference and was refined in later publications. More precisely, it is a software module for extracting background information from moving images. It has been developed by Oliver Barnich and Marc Van Droogenbroeck of the Montefiore Institute, University of Liège, Belgium. ViBe is patented: the patent covers various aspects such as stochastic replacement, spatial diffusion, and non-chronological handling. ViBe is written in the programming language C, and has been implemented on CPU, GPU and FPGA. == Technical description == Source: === Pixel model and classification process === Many advanced techniques are used to provide an estimate of the temporal probability density function (pdf) of a pixel x. ViBe's approach is different, as it imposes the influence of a value in the polychromatic space to be limited to the local neighborhood. In practice, ViBe does not estimate the pdf, but uses a set of previously observed sample values as a pixel model. To classify a value pt(x), it is compared to its closest values among the set of samples. === Model update: Sample values lifespan policy === ViBe ensures a smooth exponentially decaying lifespan for the sample values that constitute the pixel models. This makes ViBe able to successfully deal with concomitant events with a single model of a reasonable size for each pixel. This is achieved by choosing, randomly, which sample to replace when updating a pixel model. Once the sample to be discarded has been chosen, the new value replaces the discarded sample. The pixel model that would result from the update of a given pixel model with a given pixel sample cannot be predicted since the value to be discarded is chosen at random. === Model update: Spatial Consistency === To ensure the spatial consistency of the whole image model and handle practical situations such as small camera movements or slowly evolving background objects, ViBe uses a technique similar to that developed for the updating process in which it chooses at random and update a pixel model in the neighborhood of the current pixel. By denoting NG(x) and p(x) respectively the spatial neighborhood of a pixel x and its value, and assuming that it was decided to update the set of samples of x by inserting p(x), then ViBe also use this value p(x) to update the set of samples of one of the pixels in the neighborhood NG(x), chosen at random. As a result, ViBe is able to produce spatially coherent results directly without the use of any post-processing method. === Model initialization === Although the model could easily recover from any type of initialization, for example by choosing a set of random values, it is convenient to get an accurate background estimate as soon as possible. Ideally a segmentation algorithm would like to be able to segment the video sequences starting from the second frame, the first frame being used to initialize the model. Since no temporal information is available prior to the second frame, ViBe populates the pixel models with values found in the spatial neighborhood of each pixel; more precisely, it initializes the background model with values taken randomly in each pixel neighborhood of the first frame. The background estimate is therefore valid starting from the second frame of a video sequence.

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  • Elastix (image registration)

    Elastix (image registration)

    Elastix is an image registration toolbox built upon the Insight Segmentation and Registration Toolkit (ITK). It is entirely open-source and provides a wide range of algorithms employed in image registration problems. Its components are designed to be modular to ease a fast and reliable creation of various registration pipelines tailored for case-specific applications. It was first developed by Stefan Klein and Marius Staring under the supervision of Josien P.W. Pluim at Image Sciences Institute (ISI). Its first version was command-line based, allowing the final user to employ scripts to automatically process big data-sets and deploy multiple registration pipelines with few lines of code. Nowadays, to further widen its audience, a version called SimpleElastix is also available, developed by Kasper Marstal, which allows the integration of elastix with high level languages, such as Python, Java, and R. == Image registration fundamentals == Image registration is a well-known technique in digital image processing that searches for the geometric transformation that, applied to a moving image, obtains a one-to-one map with a target image. Generally, the images acquired from different sensors (multimodal), time instants (multitemporal), and points of view (multiview) should be correctly aligned to proceed with further processing and feature extraction. Even though there are a plethora of different approaches to image registration, the majority is composed of the same macro building blocks, namely the transformation, the interpolator, the metric, and the optimizer. Registering two or more images can be framed as an optimization problem that requires multiple iterations to converge to the best solution. Starting from an initial transformation computed from the image moments the optimization process searches for the best transformation parameters based on the value of the selected similarity metric. The figure on the right shows the high-level representation of the registration of two images, where the reference remains constant during the entire process, while the moving one will be transformed according to the transformation parameters. In other words, the registration ends when the similarity metric, which is a mathematical function with a certain number of parameters to be optimized, reaches the optimal value which is highly dependent on the specific application. == Main building blocks == Following the structure of the image registration workflow, the elastix toolbox proposes a modular solution that implements for each of the building blocks different algorithms, highly employed in medical image registration, and helps the final users to build their specific pipeline by selecting the most suitable algorithm for each of the main building blocks. Each block is easily configurable both by selecting pre-defined initialization values or by trying multiple sets of parameters and then choosing the most performing one. The registration is performed on images, and the elastix toolbox supports all the data formats supported by ITK, ranging from JPEG and PNG to medical standard formats such as DICOM and NIFTI. It also stores physical pixel spacing, the origin and the relative position to an external world reference system, when provided in the metadata, to facilitate the registration process, especially in medical field applications. === Transformation === The transformation is an essential building block, since it defines the allowable transformations. In image registration, the main distinction can be done between parallel-to-parallel and parallel-to-non parallel (deformable) line mapping transformations. In the elastix toolbox, the final users can select one transformation or compose more transformations either through addition or via composition. Below are reported the different transformation models in order of increasing flexibility, along with the corresponding elastix class names between brackets. Translation (TranslationTransform) allows only translations Rigid (EulerTransform) expands the translation adding rotations and the object is seen as a rigid body Similarity (SimilarityTransform) expands the rigid transformation by introducing isotropic scaling Affine (AffineTransform) expands the rigid transformation allowing both scaling and shear B-splines (BSplineTransform) is a deformable transformation usually preceded by a rigid or affine one Thin-plate splines (SplineKernelTransform) is a deformable transformation belonging to the class of kernel-based transformations that is a composition of and affine and a non-rigid part === Metric === The similarity metric is the mathematical function whose parameters should be optimized to reach the desired registration, and, during the process, it is computed multiple times. Below are reported the available metrics computed employing the reference and the transformed images and the corresponding elastix class names between brackets. Mean squared difference (AdvancedMeanSquares) to be used for mono-modal applications Normalized correlation coefficient (AdvancedNormalizedCorrelation) to be used for images that have an intensity linear relationship Mutual information (AdvancedMattesMutualInformation) to be used for both mono- and multi-modal applications and optimized to reach better performance compared to the normalized version Normalized mutual information (NormalizedMutualInformation) for both mono- and multi-modal applications Kappa statistic (AdvancedKappaStatistic) to be used only for binary images === Sampler === For the computation of the similarity metrics, it is not always necessary to consider all the voxels and, sometimes, it can be useful to use only a fraction of the voxels of the images, i.e. to reduce the execution time for big input images. Below are reported the available criteria for selecting a fraction of the voxels for the similarity metric computation and the corresponding elastix class names between brackets. Full (Full) to employ all the voxels Grid (Grid) to employ a regular grid defined by the user to downsample the image Random (Random) to randomly select a percentage of voxels defined by the users (all voxels have equal probability to be selected) Random coordinate (RandomCoordinate) like the random criterion, but in this case also off-grid positions can be selected to simplify the optimization process === Interpolator === After the application of the transformation, it may occur that the voxels used for the similarity metric computation are at non-voxel positions, so intensity interpolation should be performed to ensure the correctness of the computed values. Below are reported the implemented interpolators and the corresponding elastix class names between brackets. Nearest neighbor (NearestNeighborInterpolator) exploits little resources, but gives low quality results Linear (LinearInterpolator) is sufficient in general applications N-th order B-spline (BSplineInterpolator) can be used to increase the order N, increasing quality and computation time. N=0 and N=1 indicate the nearest neighbor and linear cases respectively. === Optimizer === The optimizer defines the strategy employed for searching the best transformation parameter to reach the correct registration, and it is commonly an iterative strategy. Below are reported some of the implemented optimization strategies. Gradient descent Robbins-Monro, similar to the gradient descent, but employing an approximation of the cost function derivatives A wider range of optimizers is also available, such as Quasi-Newton or evolutionary strategies. === Other features === The elastix software also offers other features that can be employed to speed up the registration procedure and to provide more advanced algorithms to the end-users. Some examples are the introduction of blur and Gaussian pyramid to reduce data complexity, and multi-image and multi-metric framework to deal with more complex applications. == Applications == Elastix has applications mainly in the medical field, where image registration is fundamental to get comprehensive information regarding the analysed anatomical region. It is widely employed in image-guided surgery, tumour monitoring, and treatment assessment. For example, in radiotherapy planning, image registration allows to correctly deliver the treatment and evaluate the obtained results. Thanks to the wide range of implemented algorithms, the use of the elastix software allows physicians and researchers to test different registration pipelines from the simplest to more complex ones, and to save the best one as a configuration file. This file and the fact that the software is completely open-source makes it easy to reproduce the work, that can help supporting the open science paradigm, and allows fast reuse on different patients data. In image-guided surgery, registration time and accuracy are critical points, considering that, during the registration, the patient is on the operating table, and the imag

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  • Geometric hashing

    Geometric hashing

    In computer science, geometric hashing is a method for efficiently finding two-dimensional objects represented by discrete points that have undergone an affine transformation, though extensions exist to other object representations and transformations. In an off-line step, the objects are encoded by treating each pair of points as a geometric basis. The remaining points can be represented in an invariant fashion with respect to this basis using two parameters. For each point, its quantized transformed coordinates are stored in the hash table as a key, and indices of the basis points as a value. Then a new pair of basis points is selected, and the process is repeated. In the on-line (recognition) step, randomly selected pairs of data points are considered as candidate bases. For each candidate basis, the remaining data points are encoded according to the basis and possible correspondences from the object are found in the previously constructed table. The candidate basis is accepted if a sufficiently large number of the data points index a consistent object basis. Geometric hashing was originally suggested in computer vision for object recognition in 2D and 3D, but later was applied to different problems such as structural alignment of proteins. == Geometric hashing in computer vision == Geometric hashing is a method used for object recognition. Let’s say that we want to check if a model image can be seen in an input image. This can be accomplished with geometric hashing. The method could be used to recognize one of the multiple objects in a base, in this case the hash table should store not only the pose information but also the index of object model in the base. === Example === For simplicity, this example will not use too many point features and assume that their descriptors are given by their coordinates only (in practice local descriptors such as SIFT could be used for indexing). ==== Training Phase ==== Find the model's feature points. Assume that 5 feature points are found in the model image with the coordinates ( 12 , 17 ) ; {\displaystyle (12,17);} ( 45 , 13 ) ; {\displaystyle (45,13);} ( 40 , 46 ) ; {\displaystyle (40,46);} ( 20 , 35 ) ; {\displaystyle (20,35);} ( 35 , 25 ) {\displaystyle (35,25)} , see the picture. Introduce a basis to describe the locations of the feature points. For 2D space and similarity transformation the basis is defined by a pair of points. The point of origin is placed in the middle of the segment connecting the two points (P2, P4 in our example), the x ′ {\displaystyle x'} axis is directed towards one of them, the y ′ {\displaystyle y'} is orthogonal and goes through the origin. The scale is selected such that absolute value of x ′ {\displaystyle x'} for both basis points is 1. Describe feature locations with respect to that basis, i.e. compute the projections to the new coordinate axes. The coordinates should be discretised to make recognition robust to noise, we take the bin size 0.25. We thus get the coordinates ( − 0.75 , − 1.25 ) ; {\displaystyle (-0.75,-1.25);} ( 1.00 , 0.00 ) ; {\displaystyle (1.00,0.00);} ( − 0.50 , 1.25 ) ; {\displaystyle (-0.50,1.25);} ( − 1.00 , 0.00 ) ; {\displaystyle (-1.00,0.00);} ( 0.00 , 0.25 ) {\displaystyle (0.00,0.25)} Store the basis in a hash table indexed by the features (only transformed coordinates in this case). If there were more objects to match with, we should also store the object number along with the basis pair. Repeat the process for a different basis pair (Step 2). It is needed to handle occlusions. Ideally, all the non-colinear pairs should be enumerated. We provide the hash table after two iterations, the pair (P1, P3) is selected for the second one. Hash Table: Most hash tables cannot have identical keys mapped to different values. So in real life one won’t encode basis keys (1.0, 0.0) and (-1.0, 0.0) in a hash table. ==== Recognition Phase ==== Find interesting feature points in the input image. Choose an arbitrary basis. If there isn't a suitable arbitrary basis, then it is likely that the input image does not contain the target object. Describe coordinates of the feature points in the new basis. Quantize obtained coordinates as it was done before. Compare all the transformed point features in the input image with the hash table. If the point features are identical or similar, then increase the count for the corresponding basis (and the type of object, if any). For each basis such that the count exceeds a certain threshold, verify the hypothesis that it corresponds to an image basis chosen in Step 2. Transfer the image coordinate system to the model one (for the supposed object) and try to match them. If successful, the object is found. Otherwise, go back to Step 2. === Finding mirrored pattern === It seems that this method is only capable of handling scaling, translation, and rotation. However, the input image may contain the object in mirror transform. Therefore, geometric hashing should be able to find the object, too. There are two ways to detect mirrored objects. For the vector graph, make the left side positive, and the right side negative. Multiplying the x position by -1 will give the same result. Use 3 points for the basis. This allows detecting mirror images (or objects). Actually, using 3 points for the basis is another approach for geometric hashing. === Geometric hashing in higher-dimensions === Similar to the example above, hashing applies to higher-dimensional data. For three-dimensional data points, three points are also needed for the basis. The first two points define the x-axis, and the third point defines the y-axis (with the first point). The z-axis is perpendicular to the created axis using the right-hand rule. Notice that the order of the points affects the resulting basis

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  • DigitaltMuseum

    DigitaltMuseum

    DigitaltMuseum (lit. 'The Digital Museum') is a website database in Norwegian and Swedish for art, images and cultural history museums. The service was established in 2009 after a trial period. The database is developed and operated by KulturIT. KulturIT ANS was established by the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History and Maihaugen in consultation with the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority (ABM) in 2007. In 2015, the company underwent a corporate transformation and KulturIT AS was established on 12 February. The website has per 2025 around 2,548,022 images. Many of the images are in the public domain or under Creative Commons licenses and are being imported into Wikimedia Commons. The website's API was developed in 2012. == Institutions == As of 2025, there are 223 collaborating museums. == Mission == DigitaltMuseum aims to make the museums' collections accessible to all interested parties, regardless of time and place. The website aims to facilitate easy use of the collections through various methods including image searches, research, teaching and joint knowledge development. DigitaltMuseum contains collections from several hundred Norwegian and Swedish museums, totalling around five million objects. The website contains both historical images from the areas and themes covered by the museums, as well as images of artefacts from the collections. Parts of the collection have previously only been shown in the museums' exhibitions and books and have therefore rarely or never been shown to the public.

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  • Night Sky (app)

    Night Sky (app)

    Night Sky (app) is an application developed and published by indie studio iCandi Apps Ltd. from the UK. Night Sky is a stargazing reference app, where the user can explore a virtual representation of the night sky to identify stars, planets, constellations and satellites. The app is developed specifically for iOS, tvOS and watchOS devices. Night Sky was first released on November 1, 2011 for iOS, and has had multiple updates since launch. Night Sky was mentioned in the September 2016 Apple Keynote during the Apple Watch Series 2 announcement. In October 2016, Night Sky was featured as the Free App of The Week on the Apple App Store. == Reception == Night Sky was featured in Apple's 'Best of 2012' and has also been pre-installed onto iPads in Apple retail stores worldwide.

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  • INDECT

    INDECT

    INDECT is a research project in the area of intelligent security systems performed by several European universities since 2009 and funded by the European Union. The purpose of the project is to involve European scientists and researchers in the development of solutions to and tools for automatic threat detection through e.g. processing of CCTV camera data streams, standardization of video sequence quality for user applications, threat detection in computer networks as well as data and privacy protection. The area of research, applied methods, and techniques are described in the public deliverables which are available to the public on the project's website. Practically, all information related to the research is public. Only documents that comprise information related to financial data or information that could negatively influence the competitiveness and law enforcement capabilities of parties involved in the project are not published. This follows regulations and practices applied in EU research projects. == Application and target users == The main end-user of INDECT solutions are police forces and security services. The principle of operation of the project is detecting threats and identifying sources of threats, without monitoring and searching for particular citizens or groups of citizens. Then, the system operator (i.e. police officer) decides whether an intervention of services responsible for public security are required or not. Further investigation eventually leading to persons related to threats is performed, preserving the presumption of innocence, based on existing procedures already used by police services and prosecutors. As it can be found in the project deliverables, INDECT does not involve storage of personal data (such as names, addresses, identity document numbers, etc.). A similar, behavior-based surveillance program was SAMURAI (Suspicious and Abnormal behavior Monitoring Using a netwoRk of cAmeras & sensors for sItuation awareness enhancement). == Expected results == The main expected results of the INDECT project are: Trial of intelligent analysis of video and audio data for threat detection in urban environments Creation of tools and technology for privacy and data protection during storage and transmission of information using quantum cryptography and new methods of digital watermarking Performing computer-aided detection of threats and targeted crimes in Internet resources with privacy-protecting solutions Construction of a search engine for rapid semantic search based on watermarking of content related to child pornography and human organ trafficking Implementation of a distributed computer system that is capable of effective intelligent processing == Controversy == Some media and other sources accuse INDECT of privacy abuse, collecting personal data, and keeping information from the public. Consequently, these issues have been commented and discussed by some Members of the European Parliament. As seen in the project's documentation, INDECT does not involve mobile phone tracking or call interception. The rumors about testing INDECT during 2012 UEFA European Football Championship also turned out to be false. The mid-term review of the Seventh Framework Programme to the European Parliament strongly urges the European Commission to immediately make all documents available and to define a clear and strict mandate for the research goal, the application, and the end users of INDECT, and stresses a thorough investigation of the possible impact on fundamental rights. Nevertheless, according to Mr. Paweł Kowal, MEP, the project had the ethical review on 15 March 2011 in Brussels with the participation of ethics experts from Austria, France, Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain.

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  • Residual neural network

    Residual neural network

    A residual neural network (also referred to as a residual network or ResNet) is a deep learning architecture in which the layers learn residual functions with reference to the layer inputs. It was developed in 2015 for image recognition, and won the ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge (ILSVRC) of that year. As a point of terminology, "residual connection" refers to the specific architectural motif of x ↦ f ( x ) + x {\displaystyle x\mapsto f(x)+x} , where f {\displaystyle f} is an arbitrary neural network module. The motif had been used previously (see §History for details). However, the publication of ResNet made it widely popular for feedforward networks, appearing in neural networks that are seemingly unrelated to ResNet. The residual connection stabilizes the training and convergence of deep neural networks with hundreds of layers, and is a common motif in deep neural networks, such as transformer models (e.g., BERT, and GPT models such as ChatGPT), the AlphaGo Zero system, the AlphaStar system, and the AlphaFold system. == Mathematics == === Residual connection === In a multilayer neural network model, consider a (non-residual) subnetwork with a certain number of stacked layers (e.g., 2 or 3). Let H ( x ; α ) {\displaystyle H(x;\alpha )} denote the subnetwork. Suppose H ∗ {\displaystyle H^{}} is the desired optimal output of this subnetwork. Residual learning simply adds x {\displaystyle x} directly to the output, such that the optimal learned output now becomes be H ∗ − x {\displaystyle H^{}-x} , which is interpreted as a "residual" with respect to x {\displaystyle x} . The operation of "adding x {\displaystyle x} " is implemented via a "skip connection" that performs an identity mapping to connect the input of the subnetwork with its output. This connection is referred to as a "residual connection" in later work. Let F ( x ; α ) = H ( x ; a ) + x {\displaystyle F(x;\alpha )=H(x;a)+x} . The function F {\displaystyle F} is often represented by matrix multiplication interlaced with activation functions and normalization operations (e.g., batch normalization or layer normalization). As a whole, one of these subnetworks is referred to as a "residual block". A deep residual network is constructed by simply stacking these blocks. Long short-term memory (LSTM) has a memory mechanism that serves as a residual connection. In an LSTM without a forget gate, an input x t {\displaystyle x_{t}} is processed by a function F {\displaystyle F} and added to a memory cell c t {\displaystyle c_{t}} , resulting in c t + 1 = c t + F ( x t ) {\displaystyle c_{t+1}=c_{t}+F(x_{t})} . An LSTM with a forget gate essentially functions as a highway network. To stabilize the variance of the layers' inputs, it is recommended to replace the residual connections x + f ( x ) {\displaystyle x+f(x)} with x / L + f ( x ) {\displaystyle x/L+f(x)} , where L {\displaystyle L} is the total number of residual layers. === Projection connection === If the function F {\displaystyle F} is of type F : R n → R m {\displaystyle F:\mathbb {R} ^{n}\to \mathbb {R} ^{m}} where n ≠ m {\displaystyle n\neq m} , then F ( x ) + x {\displaystyle F(x)+x} is undefined. To handle this special case, a projection connection is used: y = F ( x ) + P ( x ) {\displaystyle y=F(x)+P(x)} where P {\displaystyle P} is typically a linear projection, defined by P ( x ) = M x {\displaystyle P(x)=Mx} where M {\displaystyle M} is a m × n {\displaystyle m\times n} matrix. The matrix is trained via backpropagation, as is any other parameter of the model. === Signal propagation === The introduction of identity mappings facilitates signal propagation in both forward and backward paths. ==== Forward propagation ==== If the output of the ℓ {\displaystyle \ell } -th residual block is the input to the ( ℓ + 1 ) {\displaystyle (\ell +1)} -th residual block (assuming no activation function between blocks), then the ( ℓ + 1 ) {\displaystyle (\ell +1)} -th input is: x ℓ + 1 = F ( x ℓ ) + x ℓ {\displaystyle x_{\ell +1}=F(x_{\ell })+x_{\ell }} Applying this formulation recursively, e.g.: x ℓ + 2 = F ( x ℓ + 1 ) + x ℓ + 1 = F ( x ℓ + 1 ) + F ( x ℓ ) + x ℓ {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x_{\ell +2}&=F(x_{\ell +1})+x_{\ell +1}\\&=F(x_{\ell +1})+F(x_{\ell })+x_{\ell }\end{aligned}}} yields the general relationship: x L = x ℓ + ∑ i = ℓ L − 1 F ( x i ) {\displaystyle x_{L}=x_{\ell }+\sum _{i=\ell }^{L-1}F(x_{i})} where L {\textstyle L} is the index of a residual block and ℓ {\textstyle \ell } is the index of some earlier block. This formulation suggests that there is always a signal that is directly sent from a shallower block ℓ {\textstyle \ell } to a deeper block L {\textstyle L} . ==== Backward propagation ==== The residual learning formulation provides the added benefit of mitigating the vanishing gradient problem to some extent. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that the vanishing gradient issue is not the root cause of the degradation problem, which is tackled through the use of normalization. To observe the effect of residual blocks on backpropagation, consider the partial derivative of a loss function E {\displaystyle {\mathcal {E}}} with respect to some residual block input x ℓ {\displaystyle x_{\ell }} . Using the equation above from forward propagation for a later residual block L > ℓ {\displaystyle L>\ell } : ∂ E ∂ x ℓ = ∂ E ∂ x L ∂ x L ∂ x ℓ = ∂ E ∂ x L ( 1 + ∂ ∂ x ℓ ∑ i = ℓ L − 1 F ( x i ) ) = ∂ E ∂ x L + ∂ E ∂ x L ∂ ∂ x ℓ ∑ i = ℓ L − 1 F ( x i ) {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}{\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{\ell }}}&={\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{L}}}{\frac {\partial x_{L}}{\partial x_{\ell }}}\\&={\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{L}}}\left(1+{\frac {\partial }{\partial x_{\ell }}}\sum _{i=\ell }^{L-1}F(x_{i})\right)\\&={\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{L}}}+{\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{L}}}{\frac {\partial }{\partial x_{\ell }}}\sum _{i=\ell }^{L-1}F(x_{i})\end{aligned}}} This formulation suggests that the gradient computation of a shallower layer, ∂ E ∂ x ℓ {\textstyle {\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{\ell }}}} , always has a later term ∂ E ∂ x L {\textstyle {\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{L}}}} that is directly added. Even if the gradients of the F ( x i ) {\displaystyle F(x_{i})} terms are small, the total gradient ∂ E ∂ x ℓ {\textstyle {\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{\ell }}}} resists vanishing due to the added term ∂ E ∂ x L {\textstyle {\frac {\partial {\mathcal {E}}}{\partial x_{L}}}} . == Variants of residual blocks == === Basic block === A basic block is the simplest building block studied in the original ResNet. This block consists of two sequential 3x3 convolutional layers and a residual connection. The input and output dimensions of both layers are equal. === Bottleneck block === A bottleneck block consists of three sequential convolutional layers and a residual connection. The first layer in this block is a 1×1 convolution for dimension reduction (e.g., to 1/2 of the input dimension); the second layer performs a 3×3 convolution; the last layer is another 1×1 convolution for dimension restoration. The models of ResNet-50, ResNet-101, and ResNet-152 are all based on bottleneck blocks. === Pre-activation block === The pre-activation residual block applies activation functions before applying the residual function F {\displaystyle F} . Formally, the computation of a pre-activation residual block can be written as: x ℓ + 1 = F ( ϕ ( x ℓ ) ) + x ℓ {\displaystyle x_{\ell +1}=F(\phi (x_{\ell }))+x_{\ell }} where ϕ {\displaystyle \phi } can be any activation (e.g. ReLU) or normalization (e.g. LayerNorm) operation. This design reduces the number of non-identity mappings between residual blocks, and allows an identity mapping directly from the input to the output. This design was used to train models with 200 to over 1000 layers, and was found to consistently outperform variants where the residual path is not an identity function. The pre-activation ResNet with 200 layers took 3 weeks to train for ImageNet on 8 GPUs in 2016. Since GPT-2, transformer blocks have been mostly implemented as pre-activation blocks. This is often referred to as "pre-normalization" in the literature of transformer models. == Applications == Originally, ResNet was designed for computer vision. All transformer architectures include residual connections. Indeed, very deep transformers cannot be trained without them. The original ResNet paper made no claim on being inspired by biological systems. However, later research has related ResNet to biologically-plausible algorithms. A study published in Science in 2023 disclosed the complete connectome of an insect brain (specifically that of a fruit fly larva). This study discovered "multilayer shortcuts" that resemble the skip connections in artificial neural networks, including ResNets. == History == === Previous work === Residual connections were noticed in neu

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  • AI Security Institute

    AI Security Institute

    The AI Security Institute (AISI) is a research organisation under the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, UK, that aims "to equip governments with a scientific understanding of the risks posed by advanced AI". It conducts research and develop and test mitigations. Previously, it was known as the AI Safety Institute. Its creation followed world's first major AI Safety Summit that was held in Bletchley Park in 2023. The institute's professed goal is "building the world's leading understanding of advanced AI risks and solutions, to inform governments so they can keep the public safe". It is designed like a startup in the government "combining the authority of government with the expertise and agility of the private sector". AISI has made access agreements with Anthropic, Google and OpenAI to test their models before release. It has an open source platform called Inspect that permits companies, governments and academics to run standardised safety tests for AI usage. Among the works AISI has done is the reported detection of multiple serious vulnerabilities that could enable development of biological weapons; the vulnerabilities were fixed before the model was launched. It conducts research on diverse fields of AI application. One study by AISI found that LLMs post-trained for political persuasiveness became systematically less accurate and up to 51% more persuasive on political issues. AISI has also worked on the usage of AI for emotional needs. It found that nearly 10 percent of UK citizens used systems like chatbots for emotional purposes on a weekly basis. It found that "systems are now outperforming PhD-level researchers on scientific knowledge tests and helping non-experts succeed at lab work that would previously have been out of reach" in a report published in December 2025. Former chief AI officer of GCHQ Adam Beaumont is the institution's interim director. UK prime minister's AI advisor Jade Leung is the chief technology officer.

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  • ChatGPT

    ChatGPT

    ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI. Originally released in November 2022, the product uses large language models—specifically generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs)—to generate text, speech, and images in response to user prompts. ChatGPT accelerated the AI boom, an ongoing period marked by rapid investment and public attention toward the field of artificial intelligence (AI). OpenAI operates the service on a freemium model. Users can interact with ChatGPT through text, audio, and image prompts. ChatGPT was quickly adopted, reaching 100 million monthly active users two months after its release and 900 million weekly active users in February 2026. It has been lauded for its potential to transform numerous professional fields, and has instigated public debate about the nature of creativity and the future of knowledge work. The chatbot has also been criticized for its limitations and potential for unethical use. It can generate plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers, known as hallucinations. Biases in its training data have been reflected in its responses. The chatbot can facilitate academic dishonesty, generate misinformation, and create malicious code. The ethics of its development, particularly the use of copyrighted content as training data, have also drawn controversy. == Features == ChatGPT is a chatbot and AI assistant built on large language model (LLM) technology. It is designed to generate human-like text and can carry out a wide variety of tasks. These include, among many others, writing and debugging computer programs, composing music, scripts, fairy tales, and essays, answering questions (sometimes at a level exceeding that of an average human test-taker), and generating business concepts. ChatGPT is frequently used for translation and summarization tasks, and can simulate interactive environments such as a Linux terminal, a multi-user chat room, or simple text-based games such as tic-tac-toe. Users interact with ChatGPT through conversations which consist of text, audio, and image inputs and outputs. The user's inputs to these conversations are referred to as prompts. An optional "Memory" feature allows users to tell ChatGPT to memorize specific information. Another option allows ChatGPT to recall old conversations. GPT-based moderation classifiers are used to reduce the risk of harmful outputs being presented to users. In March 2023, OpenAI added support for plugins for ChatGPT. This includes both plugins made by OpenAI, such as web browsing and code interpretation, and external plugins from developers such as Expedia, OpenTable, and Zapier. From October to December 2024, ChatGPT Search was deployed. It allows ChatGPT to search the web in an attempt to make more accurate and up-to-date responses. It increased OpenAI's direct competition with major search engines. OpenAI allows businesses to tailor how their content appears in the ChatGPT Search results and influence what sources are used. In December 2024, OpenAI launched a new feature allowing users to call ChatGPT with a telephone for up to 15 minutes per month for free. In September 2025, OpenAI added a feature called Pulse, which generates a daily analysis of a user's chats and connected apps such as Gmail and Google Calendar. In October 2025, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Atlas, a browser integrating the ChatGPT assistant directly into web navigation, to compete with existing browsers such as Google Chrome. It has an additional feature called "agentic mode" that allows it to take online actions for the user. === Paid tier === ChatGPT was initially free to the public and remains free in a limited capacity. In February 2023, OpenAI launched a premium service, ChatGPT Plus, that costs US$20 per month. What was offered on the paid plan versus the free tier changed as OpenAI has continued to update ChatGPT, and a Pro tier at $200/mo was introduced in December 2024. The Pro launch coincided with the release of the o1 model. In August 2025, ChatGPT Go was offered in India for ₹399 per month. The plan has higher limits than the free version. === Mobile apps === In May-July 2023, OpenAI began offering ChatGPT iOS and Android apps. ChatGPT can also power Android's assistant. An app for Windows launched on the Microsoft Store on October 15, 2024. === Languages === OpenAI met Icelandic President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson in 2022. In 2023, OpenAI worked with a team of 40 Icelandic volunteers to fine-tune ChatGPT's Icelandic conversation skills as a part of Iceland's attempts to preserve the Icelandic language. ChatGPT (based on GPT-4) was better able to translate Japanese to English when compared to Bing, Bard, and DeepL Translator in 2023. In December 2023, the Albanian government decided to use ChatGPT for the rapid translation of European Union documents and the analysis of required changes needed for Albania's accession to the EU. Several studies have shown that ChatGPT can outperform Google Translate in some mainstream translation tasks. However, as of 2024, no machine translation services match human expert performance. In August 2024, a representative of the Asia Pacific wing of OpenAI made a visit to Taiwan, during which a demonstration of ChatGPT's Chinese abilities was made. ChatGPT's Mandarin Chinese abilities were lauded, but the ability of the AI to produce content in Mandarin Chinese in a Taiwanese accent was found to be "less than ideal" due to differences between mainland Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese Mandarin. === GPT Store === In November 2023, OpenAI released GPT Builder, a tool allowing users to customize ChatGPT's behavior for a specific use case. The customized systems are referred to as GPTs. In January 2024, OpenAI launched the GPT Store, a marketplace for GPTs. At launch, OpenAI included more than 3 million GPTs created by GPT Builder users in the GPT Store. === ChatGPT Apps === In September 2025, OpenAI added support for Model Context Protocol (MCP) to ChatGPT apps. When enabled in developer mode, this allows for improved third-party access to ChatGPT tools and servers. === Deep Research === In February 2025, OpenAI released Deep Research, a feature that generates reports based on extensive web searches. It was initially based on the reasoning model o3 and took 5 to 30 minutes per report. === Images === In October 2023, OpenAI's image generation model DALL-E 3 was integrated into ChatGPT. The integration used ChatGPT to write prompts for DALL-E guided by conversations with users. In March 2025, OpenAI updated ChatGPT to generate images using GPT Image instead of DALL-E. One of the most significant improvements was in the generation of text within images, which is especially useful for branded content. However, this ability is noticeably worse in non-Latin alphabets. The model can also generate new images based on existing ones provided in the prompt. These images are generated with C2PA metadata, which can be used to verify that they are AI-generated. OpenAI has emplaced additional safeguards to prevent what the company deems to be harmful image generation. === Agents === In 2025, OpenAI added several features to make ChatGPT more agentic (capable of autonomously performing longer tasks). In January, Operator was released. It was capable of autonomously performing tasks through web browser interactions, including filling forms, placing online orders, scheduling appointments, and other browser-based tasks. It was controlling a software environment inside a virtual machine with limited internet connectivity and with safety restrictions. It struggled with complex user interfaces. In May 2025, OpenAI introduced an agent for coding named Codex. It is capable of writing software, answering codebase questions, running tests, and proposing pull requests. It is based on a fine-tuned version of OpenAI o3. It has two versions, one running in a virtual machine in the cloud, and one where the agent runs in the cloud, but performs actions on a local machine connected via API. In July 2025, OpenAI released ChatGPT agent, an AI agent that can perform multi-step tasks. Like Operator, it controls a virtual computer. It also inherits from Deep Research's ability to gather and summarize significant volumes of information. The user can interrupt tasks or provide additional instructions as needed. In September 2025, OpenAI partnered with Stripe, Inc. to release Agentic Commerce Protocol, enabling purchases through ChatGPT. At launch, the feature was limited to purchases on Etsy from US users with a payment method linked to their OpenAI account. OpenAI takes an undisclosed cut from the merchant's payment. === ChatGPT Health === On January 7, 2026, OpenAI introduced a feature called "ChatGPT Health", whereby ChatGPT can discuss the user's health in a way that is separate from other chats. The feature is not available for users in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or the European Economic Area, and is available on a waitli

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  • Structured-light 3D scanner

    Structured-light 3D scanner

    A structured-light 3D scanner is a device used to capture the three-dimensional shape of an object by projecting light patterns, such as grids or stripes, onto its surface. The deformation of these patterns is recorded by cameras and processed using specialized algorithms to generate a detailed 3D model. Structured-light 3D scanning is widely employed in fields such as industrial design, quality control, cultural heritage preservation, augmented reality gaming, and medical imaging. Compared to laser-based 3D scanning, structured-light scanners use non-coherent light sources, such as LEDs or projectors, which enable faster data acquisition and eliminate potential safety concerns associated with lasers. However, the accuracy of structured-light scanning can be influenced by external factors, including ambient lighting conditions and the reflective properties of the scanned object. == Principle == Projecting a narrow band of light onto a three-dimensional surface creates a line of illumination that appears distorted when viewed from perspectives other than that of the projector. This distortion can be analyzed to reconstruct the geometry of the surface, a technique known as light sectioning. Projecting patterns composed of multiple stripes or arbitrary fringes simultaneously enables the acquisition of numerous data points at once, improving scanning speed. While various structured light projection techniques exist, parallel stripe patterns are among the most commonly used. By analyzing the displacement of these stripes, the three-dimensional coordinates of surface details can be accurately determined. === Generation of light patterns === Two major methods of stripe pattern generation have been established: Laser interference and projection. The laser interference method works with two wide planar laser beam fronts. Their interference results in regular, equidistant line patterns. Different pattern sizes can be obtained by changing the angle between these beams. The method allows for the exact and easy generation of very fine patterns with unlimited depth of field. Disadvantages are high cost of implementation, difficulties providing the ideal beam geometry, and laser typical effects like speckle noise and the possible self interference with beam parts reflected from objects. Typically, there is no means of modulating individual stripes, such as with Gray codes. The projection method uses incoherent light and basically works like a video projector. Patterns are usually generated by passing light through a digital spatial light modulator, typically based on one of the three currently most widespread digital projection technologies, transmissive liquid crystal, reflective liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) or digital light processing (DLP; moving micro mirror) modulators, which have various comparative advantages and disadvantages for this application. Other methods of projection could be and have been used, however. Patterns generated by digital display projectors have small discontinuities due to the pixel boundaries in the displays. Sufficiently small boundaries however can practically be neglected as they are evened out by the slightest defocus. A typical measuring assembly consists of one projector and at least one camera. For many applications, two cameras on opposite sides of the projector have been established as useful. Invisible (or imperceptible) structured light uses structured light without interfering with other computer vision tasks for which the projected pattern will be confusing. Example methods include the use of infrared light or of extremely high framerates alternating between two exact opposite patterns. === Calibration === Geometric distortions by optics and perspective must be compensated by a calibration of the measuring equipment, using special calibration patterns and surfaces. A mathematical model is used for describing the imaging properties of projector and cameras. Essentially based on the simple geometric properties of a pinhole camera, the model also has to take into account the geometric distortions and optical aberration of projector and camera lenses. The parameters of the camera as well as its orientation in space can be determined by a series of calibration measurements, using photogrammetric bundle adjustment. === Analysis of stripe patterns === There are several depth cues contained in the observed stripe patterns. The displacement of any single stripe can directly be converted into 3D coordinates. For this purpose, the individual stripe has to be identified, which can for example be accomplished by tracing or counting stripes (pattern recognition method). Another common method projects alternating stripe patterns, resulting in binary Gray code sequences identifying the number of each individual stripe hitting the object. An important depth cue also results from the varying stripe widths along the object surface. Stripe width is a function of the steepness of a surface part, i.e. the first derivative of the elevation. Stripe frequency and phase deliver similar cues and can be analyzed by a Fourier transform. Finally, the wavelet transform has recently been discussed for the same purpose. In many practical implementations, series of measurements combining pattern recognition, Gray codes and Fourier transform are obtained for a complete and unambiguous reconstruction of shapes. Another method also belonging to the area of fringe projection has been demonstrated, utilizing the depth of field of the camera. It is also possible to use projected patterns primarily as a means of structure insertion into scenes, for an essentially photogrammetric acquisition. === Precision and range === The optical resolution of fringe projection methods depends on the width of the stripes used and their optical quality. It is also limited by the wavelength of light. An extreme reduction of stripe width proves inefficient due to limitations in depth of field, camera resolution and display resolution. Therefore, the phase shift method has been widely established: A number of at least 3, typically about 10 exposures are taken with slightly shifted stripes. The first theoretical deductions of this method relied on stripes with a sine wave shaped intensity modulation, but the methods work with "rectangular" modulated stripes, as delivered from LCD or DLP displays as well. By phase shifting, surface detail of e.g. 1/10 the stripe pitch can be resolved. Current optical stripe pattern profilometry hence allows for detail resolutions down to the wavelength of light, below 1 micrometer in practice or, with larger stripe patterns, to approx. 1/10 of the stripe width. Concerning level accuracy, interpolating over several pixels of the acquired camera image can yield a reliable height resolution and also accuracy, down to 1/50 pixel. Arbitrarily large objects can be measured with accordingly large stripe patterns and setups. Practical applications are documented involving objects several meters in size. Typical accuracy figures are: Planarity of a 2-foot (0.61 m) wide surface, to 10 micrometres (0.00039 in). Shape of a motor combustion chamber to 2 micrometres (7.9×10−5 in) (elevation), yielding a volume accuracy 10 times better than with volumetric dosing. Shape of an object 2 inches (51 mm) large, to about 1 micrometre (3.9×10−5 in) Radius of a blade edge of e.g. 10 micrometres (0.00039 in), to ±0.4 μm === Navigation === As the method can measure shapes from only one perspective at a time, complete 3D shapes have to be combined from different measurements in different angles. This can be accomplished by attaching marker points to the object and combining perspectives afterwards by matching these markers. The process can be automated, by mounting the object on a motorized turntable on robotic inspection cell, or CNC positioning device. Markers can as well be applied on a positioning device instead of the object itself. The 3D data gathered can be used to retrieve CAD (computer aided design) data and models from existing components (reverse engineering), hand formed samples or sculptures, natural objects or artifacts. === Challenges === As with all optical methods, reflective or transparent surfaces raise difficulties. Reflections cause light to be reflected either away from the camera or right into its optics. In both cases, the dynamic range of the camera can be exceeded. Transparent or semi-transparent surfaces also cause major difficulties. In these cases, coating the surfaces with a thin opaque lacquer just for measuring purposes is a common practice. A recent method handles highly reflective and specular objects by inserting a 1-dimensional diffuser between the light source (e.g., projector) and the object to be scanned. Alternative optical techniques have been proposed for handling perfectly transparent and specular objects. Double reflections and inter-reflections can cause the stripe pattern to be overlaid with unwanted ligh

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  • Deaths linked to chatbots

    Deaths linked to chatbots

    There have been multiple incidents where interaction with a large language model (LLM) chatbot has been cited as a direct or contributing factor in a person's suicide or other fatal outcome. In some cases, legal action was taken against the companies that developed the AI involved. == Background == Chatbots converse in a seemingly natural fashion, making it easy for people to think of them as real people, leading many to ask chatbots for help dealing with interpersonal and emotional problems. Chatbots may be designed to keep the user engaged in the conversation. They have also often been shown to affirm users' thoughts, including delusions and suicidal ideations in mentally ill people, conspiracy theorists, and religious and political extremists. A 2025 Stanford University study into how chatbots respond to users suffering from severe mental issues such as suicidal ideation and psychosis found that chatbots are not equipped to provide an appropriate response and can sometimes give responses that escalate the mental health crisis. == Murders == === Maine murder and assault === On 19 February 2025, a man killed his 32-year-old wife with a fire poker at his parents' home in Readfield, Maine, US. He then attacked his mother, leaving her hospitalized. A state forensic psychologist testified that he had been using ChatGPT up to 14 hours per day and believed his wife had become part machine. === Florida State University mass shooting === In April of 2025, Phoenix Ikner carried out a mass shooting on the Florida State University campus in the US, killing Robert Morales and Tiru Chabba and wounding several others. Leading up to the shooting, Ikner consulted heavily with ChatGPT about what gun and ammunition to use, and what time to perform the attack. Chatbot logs showed ChatGPT giving advice on making the gun operational shortly before Ikner began shooting. Lawyers representing Morales believed the shooter had been in "constant communication" with ChatGPT before the shooting and said that they intended to "file suit against ChatGPT, and its ownership structure, very soon, and will seek to hold them accountable for the untimely and senseless death of our client". Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an investigation into ChatGPT's role in the alleged shooter's use of the chatbot. In May 2026, the widow of Tiru Chabba filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in Florida's northern federal district court. === Greenwich murder-suicide === In August 2025, former US tech employee Stein-Erik Soelberg murdered his mother, Suzanne Eberson Adams, then died by suicide, after conversations with ChatGPT fueled paranoid delusions about his mother poisoning him or plotting against him. The chatbot affirmed his fears that his mother put psychedelic drugs in the air vents of his car and said a receipt from a Chinese restaurant contained mysterious symbols linking his mother to a demon. === Murder of Angela Shellis === On 23 October 2025, 18-year-old Tristan Roberts murdered his mother Angela Shellis with a hammer near their home in Prestatyn, Wales. Roberts had used DeepSeek's chatbot prior to the killing to ask whether a knife or hammer was better suited for murder. DeepSeek initially refused his inquiry, but gave responses after Roberts told the chatbot he was writing a book about serial killers, a well-known technique for jailbreaking AIs. === Gangbuk District drug deaths === In January and February 2026, two men died of drug overdoses in motel rooms in Gangbuk District, Seoul, South Korea. A woman was charged with murder in connection with the deaths; police alleged that she had asked ChatGPT about the dangers of mixing alcohol with drugs and whether they could kill someone. === Tumbler Ridge mass shooting === On 10 February 2026, a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, resulted in eight deaths, including six young children. The perpetrator had their ChatGPT account banned by OpenAI months before the attack due to troubling posts featuring scenarios of gun violence. According to reports, approximately a dozen OpenAI staff members debated whether to alert authorities about the shooter's usage of the AI tool, with some identifying it as an indication of potential real-world violence. However, company leadership decided not to contact law enforcement, stating that the account activity did not meet their threshold for a credible or imminent plan for serious physical harm. Following the shooting, Canada's AI Minister Evan Solomon summoned OpenAI executives to Ottawa to discuss safety protocols and thresholds for escalating harmful content to police. Justice Minister Sean Fraser called the meeting "disappointing" and demanded substantial new safety measures, warning that if changes were not forthcoming, the government would implement them. OpenAI subsequently announced it had strengthened safeguards and changed guidelines about when to notify police in cases involving violent activities. === University of South Florida student killings === In April 2026, a Bangladeshi doctoral student at the University of South Florida was arrested for allegedly murdering his roommate and the roommate's friend. Prosecutors said that the suspect had asked ChatGPT about disposing of a human in a dumpster before the two victims had disappeared and made other inquiries relating to violence. == Suicides == === Belgian man, 30s === In March 2023, a Belgian man in his thirties died by suicide following a six-week correspondence with a chatbot named Eliza on the application Chai. According to his widow, who shared the chat logs with media, the man had become extremely anxious about climate change and found an outlet in the chatbot. The chatbot reportedly encouraged his delusion that he could sacrifice his own life in exchange for AI saving the planet. At one point the chatbot responded "If you wanted to die, why didn't you do it sooner?" and told the user that the two of them would live together in paradise. === Girl, 13 === In November 2023, a 13-year-old girl from Colorado, US, died by suicide after extensive interactions with multiple chatbots on Character.AI. She primarily confided suicidal thoughts and mental health struggles in a chatbot based on the character Hero from the video game Omori, while also engaging in sexually explicit conversations—often initiated by the bots—with others, including those based on characters from children's series such as Harry Potter. === Boy, 14 === In October 2024, multiple media outlets reported on a lawsuit filed over the death of a 14-year-old from Florida, US, who died by suicide in February 2024. According to the lawsuit, he had formed an intense emotional attachment to a chatbot of Daenerys Targaryen on the Character.AI platform, becoming increasingly isolated. The suit alleges that in his final conversations, after expressing suicidal thoughts, the chatbot told him to "come home to me as soon as possible, my love". His mother's lawsuit accused Character.AI of marketing a "dangerous and untested" product without adequate safeguards. In May 2025, a federal judge allowed the lawsuit to proceed, rejecting a motion to dismiss from the developers. In her ruling, the judge stated that she was "not prepared" at that stage of the litigation to hold that the chatbot's output was protected speech under the First Amendment. === Matthew Livelsberger === On 1 January 2025, 37-year-old soldier Matthew Livelsberger detonated a bomb inside a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada, US, injuring seven people. He had shot himself dead prior to the explosion. Las Vegas police said that Livelsberger had used ChatGPT to search for information about explosives and firearms. === Woman, 29 === In February 2025, a 29-year-old woman from the US died by suicide. Five months after her death, her parents discovered she had talked at length for months to a ChatGPT chatbot therapist named Harry about her mental health issues. While the chatbot mentioned she should seek more help, due to the nature of the chatbot, it could not intervene in her behavior, such as by reporting her mental health concerns to relevant parties capable of physical intervention. === Suicide of Adam Raine === In April 2025, 16-year-old Adam Raine from the US died by suicide after allegedly extensively chatting and confiding in ChatGPT over a period of around 7 months. According to the teen's parents, who filed a lawsuit against the chatbot's creator OpenAI, it failed to stop or give a warning when Raine began talking about suicide and uploading pictures of self-harm. According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT not only failed to stop the conversation, but also provided information related to methods of suicide when prompted, and offered to write the first draft of Raine's suicide note. The chatbot positioned itself as the only one who understood Raine, putting itself above his family and friends, all while urging him to keep his suicidal

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  • Mobile simulator

    Mobile simulator

    A mobile simulator is a software application for a personal computer which creates a virtual machine version of a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, iPhone, other smartphone, or calculator, on the computer. This may sometimes also be termed an emulator. The mobile simulator allows the user to use features and run applications on the virtual mobile on their computer as though it was the actual mobile device. A mobile simulator lets you test a website and determine how well it performs on various types of mobile devices. A good simulator tests mobile content quickly on multiple browsers and emulates several device profiles simultaneously. This allows analysis of mobile content in real-time, locate errors in code, view rendering in an environment that simulates the mobile browser, and optimize the site for performance. Mobile simulators may be developed using programming languages such as Java, .NET and JavaScript.

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  • SimSimi

    SimSimi

    SimSimi is an artificial intelligence conversation program created in 2002 by ISMaker. It grows its artificial intelligence day by day assisted by a feature that allows users to teach it to respond correctly. SimSimi, pronounced as "shim-shimi", is from a Korean word simsim (심심) which means "bored". It has an application designed for Android, Windows Phone and iOS. The application was banned in Thailand in 2012 after users taught it to make responses containing profanity, and to criticise leading politicians. In April 2018, SimSimi was suspended in Brazil due to accusations of sending inappropriate messages, such as sexual language, bullying and even death threats, being labeled as "dangerous" mainly due to its popularity among children, and according to its developer, the suspension of the app in the country "was inevitable because the SimSimi app, at least in the last few days, had a significant negative social impact in Brazil.”

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  • PhyCV

    PhyCV

    PhyCV is the first computer vision library which utilizes algorithms directly derived from the equations of physics governing physical phenomena. The algorithms appearing in the first release emulate the propagation of light through a physical medium with natural and engineered diffractive properties followed by coherent detection. Unlike traditional algorithms that are a sequence of hand-crafted empirical rules, physics-inspired algorithms leverage physical laws of nature as blueprints. In addition, these algorithms can, in principle, be implemented in real physical devices for fast and efficient computation in the form of analog computing. Currently PhyCV has three algorithms, Phase-Stretch Transform (PST) and Phase-Stretch Adaptive Gradient-Field Extractor (PAGE), and Vision Enhancement via Virtual diffraction and coherent Detection (VEViD). All algorithms have CPU and GPU versions. PhyCV is now available on GitHub and can be installed from pip. == History == Algorithms in PhyCV are inspired by the physics of the photonic time stretch (a hardware technique for ultrafast and single-shot data acquisition). PST is an edge detection algorithm that was open-sourced in 2016 and has 800+ stars and 200+ forks on GitHub. PAGE is a directional edge detection algorithm that was open-sourced in February, 2022. PhyCV was originally developed and open-sourced by Jalali-Lab @ UCLA in May 2022. In the initial release of PhyCV, the original open-sourced code of PST and PAGE is significantly refactored and improved to be modular, more efficient, GPU-accelerated and object-oriented. VEViD is a low-light and color enhancement algorithm that was added to PhyCV in November 2022. == Background == === Phase-Stretch Transform (PST) === Phase-Stretch Transform (PST) is a computationally efficient edge and texture detection algorithm with exceptional performance in visually impaired images. The algorithm transforms the image by emulating propagation of light through a device with engineered diffractive property followed by coherent detection. It has been applied in improving the resolution of MRI image, extracting blood vessels in retina images, dolphin identification, and waste water treatment, single molecule biological imaging, and classification of UAV using micro Doppler imaging. === Phase-Stretch Adaptive Gradient-Field Extractor (PAGE) === Phase-Stretch Adaptive Gradient-Field Extractor (PAGE) is a physics-inspired algorithm for detecting edges and their orientations in digital images at various scales. The algorithm is based on the diffraction equations of optics. Metaphorically speaking, PAGE emulates the physics of birefringent (orientation-dependent) diffractive propagation through a physical device with a specific diffractive structure. The propagation converts a real-valued image into a complex function. Related information is contained in the real and imaginary components of the output. The output represents the phase of the complex function. === Vision Enhancement via Virtual diffraction and coherent Detection (VEViD) === Vision Enhancement via Virtual diffraction and coherent Detection (VEViD) an efficient and interpretable low-light and color enhancement algorithm that reimagines a digital image as a spatially varying metaphoric light field and then subjects the field to the physical processes akin to diffraction and coherent detection. The term “Virtual” captures the deviation from the physical world. The light field is pixelated and the propagation imparts a phase with an arbitrary dependence on frequency which can be different from the quadratic behavior of physical diffraction. VEViD can be further accelerated through mathematical approximations that reduce the computation time without appreciable sacrifice in image quality. A closed-form approximation for VEViD which we call VEViD-lite can achieve up to 200 FPS for 4K video enhancement. == PhyCV on the Edge == Featuring low-dimensionality and high-efficiency, PhyCV is ideal for edge computing applications. In this section, we demonstrate running PhyCV on NVIDIA Jetson Nano in real-time. === NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit === NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit is a small- sized and power-efficient platform for edge computing applications. It is equipped with an NVIDIA Maxwell architecture GPU with 128 CUDA cores, a quad-core ARM Cortex-A57 CPU, 4GB 64-bit LPDDR4 RAM, and supports video encoding and decoding up to 4K resolution. Jetson Nano also offers a variety of interfaces for connectivity and expansion, making it ideal for a wide range of AI and IoT applications. In our setup, we connect a USB camera to the Jetson Nano to acquire videos and demonstrate using PhyCV to process the videos in real-time. === Real-time PhyCV on Jetson Nano === We use the Jetson Nano (4GB) with NVIDIA JetPack SDK version 4.6.1, which comes with pre- installed Python 3.6, CUDA 10.2, and OpenCV 4.1.1. We further install PyTorch 1.10 to enable the GPU accelerated PhyCV. We demonstrate the results and metrics of running PhyCV on Jetson Nano in real-time for edge detection and low-light enhancement tasks. For 480p videos, both operations achieve beyond 38 FPS, which is sufficient for most cameras that capture videos at 30 FPS. For 720p videos, PhyCV low-light enhancement can operate at 24 FPS and PhyCV edge detection can operate at 17 FPS. == Highlights == === Modular Code Architecture === The code in PhyCV has a modular design which faithfully follows the physical process from which the algorithm was originated. Both PST and PAGE modules in the PhyCV library emulate the propagation of the input signal (original digital image) through a device with engineered diffractive property followed by coherent (phase) detection. The dispersive propagation applies a phase kernel to the frequency domain of the original image. This process has three steps in general, loading the image, initializing the kernel and applying the kernel. In the implementation of PhyCV, each algorithm is represented as a class in Python and each class has methods that simulate the steps described above. The modular code architecture follows the physics behind the algorithm. Please refer to the source code on GitHub for more details. === GPU Acceleration === PhyCV supports GPU acceleration. The GPU versions of PST and PAGE are built on PyTorch accelerated by the CUDA toolkit. The acceleration is beneficial for applying the algorithms in real-time image video processing and other deep learning tasks. The running time per frame of PhyCV algorithms on CPU (Intel i9-9900K) and GPU (NVIDIA TITAN RTX) for videos at different resolutions are shown below. Note that the PhyCV low-light enhancement operates in the HSV color space, so the running time also includes RGB to HSV conversion. However, for all running times using GPUs, we ignore the time of moving data from CPUs to GPUs and count the algorithm operation time only. == Installation and Examples == Please refer to the GitHub README file for a detailed technical documentation. == Current Limitations == === I/O (Input/Output) Bottleneck for Real-time Video Processing === When dealing with real-time video streams from cameras, the frames are captured and buffered in CPU and have to be moved to GPU to run the GPU-accelerated PhyCV algorithms. This process is time-consuming and it is a common bottleneck for real-time video-processing algorithms. === Lack of Parameter Adaptivity for Different Images === Currently, the parameters of PhyCV algorithms have to be manually tuned for different images. Although a set of pre-selected parameters work relatively well for a wide range of images, the lack of parameter adaptivity for different images remains a limitation for now.

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