AI can generate portaits indistinguishable from real human faces. what does this mean?

"
NemoJr wrote:


I'm not squeamish, so it was more surprising than disturbing.

Didn't expect cats to have 'claws' there (I only took care of a neutered female cat, you see).


No, who would expect that? I'm going to think of it as grappling hooks from now on.

"
NemoJr wrote:
Reminded me of this:

There's more if you wanna have some fun.


Those are great, not least for God's tone.
"

[God creating spiders]
"Make it have 8 legs"
Seems excessive but ok
"And 8 eyes"
You need to calm down a li-
"Give it a butt rope"


"
NemoJr wrote:
"
erdelyii wrote:


I don't know how many successful horror works come out of Australia per year, but I think it's safe to say there should be more.

Atmospheric horror in particular, like the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. If Ukrainians can make being chased by dogs so fucking scary in a video game, I shudder to think what you guys could manage. Certainly no lack of source material.


the horror. The horror.

Seriously though yes, there's some creepy Australian horror movies, for sure. It can be weird here, in a land that god forgot kind of way. Definitely some haunted places.

You from the Ukraine?

"
NemoJr wrote:
I'm guessing the environmental lore of Wraeclast practically wrote itself.


But! Possums are cute though and horror is universal.

I do like this one:

If God wills it, the final account of First Mate Piken, castaway on the rock somewhere off the Twilight Strand.
Near as I can tell, the rest of the crew, along with Captain Caruso, be dead... or worse. What happened? I'd not have believed it myself had I not seen it with me own two eyes.

At dawn, a light, green and dark, rose from 'neath the waves and into the sky. While most of us stood back in awe, I heard a cry rise up from the lower deck. Casting me eyes in that direction, I saw the waves upchuck, and a swarm of ocean crabs cover the vessel. Ravenous and of countless numbers they were, making quick work of the sailors about them. Nothing but bones and tatters of cloth!

We fled to the longboats as fast we could, hoping to leave them ungodly crustaceans behind us, but lo, from within that green pillar of light, I saw him! The Brine King, like a bloated whale he breached the familiar waters and turned the ship beneath our feet to match-wood. I was flung into the sea, yet managed to cling to some flotsam and make my way to rest on this damnable rock.

Seems that ancient Tsoagoth has a mind to take dominion of these seas once more. Captain Caruso was right to drown those mutineers in the old king's name. A shame we'd not found more. For now, beneath the waves, I hear the whispers of me own passing in a thousand clicking pincers. May God have mercy on me, and may someone benefit from this warning.


claws in the air!


"
NemoJr wrote:
"
erdelyii wrote:
What incident?


Oh, sorry, that's my bad. Messed up the timelines again. It hasn't happened yet.

#timetravelerproblems


Ohhh.

Of course. Yes, of course. I got caught up and forgot that maybe we're not quite there yet.

Made me poke around looking for a Wolf clip. I was hoping for some Sunglasses at night action. So excited to discover - Future Man season 2 is nigh.

Time travel confuses the heck out of me often enough, but this series nails it.








"
erdelyii wrote:
the horror. The horror.


Hehe, nice to see Australia got its fair share of the 80s.



"
erdelyii wrote:
You from the Ukraine?


Turkey. Just a fan of the Stalker series. Also, I believe the Metro series were made by a Ukrainian developer as well.

I find it interesting that, on the subject of 'nuclear devastation', Americans seem to specialize in 'dark humor' (Fallout series and Dr. Strangelove come to mind) while Eastern Europeans simply in 'dark'.

*thinking*



"
erdelyii wrote:


If this starts playing in my head every time I go through The Coast, I'm blaming you.

____________________________________________________________________________________

- Self-proclaimed king of level 172 budget builds -
"Security token has expired. Please submit the form again."
____________________________________________________________________________________
"
NemoJr wrote:


Turkey. Just a fan of the Stalker series. Also, I believe the Metro series were made by a Ukrainian developer as well.

I find it interesting that, on the subject of 'nuclear devastation', Americans seem to specialize in 'dark humor' (Fallout series and Dr. Strangelove come to mind) while Eastern Europeans simply in 'dark'.

*thinking*


Turkey, huh? Cappadocia?

The Road counters that on the USA side however Eastern Europeans do tend towards simply dark.

Big fan of (non Saw vein) horror movies, don't play horror games for some odd reason. I'd probably enjoy them.

Further thoughts?

"
NemoJr wrote:
"
erdelyii wrote:


If this starts playing in my head every time I go through The Coast, I'm blaming you.


XD

If you take a crab pet or two with you while you do it, I won't blame you.



"
erdelyii wrote:
Turkey, huh? Cappadocia?


I think, year-round, there are more tourists there than locals.

Nah. Istanbul. Same place as 1/5 of the Turkish population.


Cappadocia:

Dreams / Reality


Okay okay, I'm just kidding. The reality is more like this.



"
erdelyii wrote:
Big fan of (non Saw vein) horror movies, don't play horror games for some odd reason. I'd probably enjoy them.


I'm more into psychological horror, or more generally, 'haunting' experiences. That's why I enjoyed the Stalker games so much, despite hating jump scares. There were a few of those, but even then, they felt like a natural part of the environment rather than a "Boo! Gotcha!".

If you want to get into the genre, I'd recommend Sanitarium. An oldie but a goodie that I still consider head and shoulders above similarly themed titles. Grabbed it on a Steam sale some time ago but didn't have a chance to replay it. I guess this is my cue to do so.

Oh, speaking of haunting experiences, while games tend to be a bigger commitment, you might wanna check out the movie Stalker. The setting of the first game (Shadow of Chernobyl) is basically an amalgamation of that and Roadside Picnic.

____________________________________________________________________________________

- Self-proclaimed king of level 172 budget builds -
"Security token has expired. Please submit the form again."
____________________________________________________________________________________
"
NemoJr wrote:


I think, year-round, there are more tourists there than locals.

Nah. Istanbul. Same place as 1/5 of the Turkish population.


Too many tourists is a real problem. It puts me off seeing some places and becoming one of them.

You could guess Sydney or Melbourne with an Australian and have a good chance of being right.

Do you like it in Istanbul?

"
NemoJr wrote:
Cappadocia:

Dreams


Not unlike the coast loading screen (sans water)

"


Haha! That's attarct MORE tourists, good thing it's under wraps.

"
Okay okay, I'm just kidding. The reality is more like this.


That's a lot of balloons, aside from the development of all the roads to get there.

Can imagine tourists quaffing wine and taking lots of photos.

This is beautiful, all the same.

ok quaffing wine and doing yoga

I should also say I hope my countryfolk don't behave too badly when we come over for ANZAC day and slam the Dardanelles each April.

"
NemoJr wrote:
"
erdelyii wrote:
Big fan of (non Saw vein) horror movies, don't play horror games for some odd reason. I'd probably enjoy them.


I'm more into psychological horror, or more generally, 'haunting' experiences. That's why I enjoyed the Stalker games so much, despite hating jump scares. There were a few of those, but even then, they felt like a natural part of the environment rather than a "Boo! Gotcha!".

If you want to get into the genre, I'd recommend Sanitarium. An oldie but a goodie that I still consider head and shoulders above similarly themed titles. Grabbed it on a Steam sale some time ago but didn't have a chance to replay it. I guess this is my cue to do so.

Oh, speaking of haunting experiences, while games tend to be a bigger commitment, you might wanna check out the movie Stalker. The setting of the first game (Shadow of Chernobyl) is basically an amalgamation of that and Roadside Picnic.



Psychological horror is where it's at for me too. Oh we all hate jump scares but don't they remind you you're alive?

Thanks for the recommend. Old asylums are a great location. Aside from the fear generated of being committed, tortured, and experimented on, if haunting is bound up with psychic energy and traumatic events then definitely those places are hotspots for some serious bad stuff.

No doubt it's on Steam? I might check it out, but as you mentioned time, not sure I'm up for a new game at the minute. Movie, sure. I watched two awful ones yesterday, being in the mood for horror. The Bye Bye Man, [execrable despite the titular character having a cool Hell Beast sidekick pet and some mythical coin tossing abilities, both which were never explained] and Open House after it in an attempt to recalibrate. MY GOD NO. Open House was worse. Usually check out the Tomatometer before I watch something, and SHOULD HAVE.

SMH and laughing. SO BAD.

Roadside Picnic? Haha :) Ok, Stalker.



Last edited by erdelyii on Dec 28, 2018, 8:20:40 PM
AI is a hoax. While admittedly more complex than a for loop, programming a computer to deterministically write it's own programming isn't "machine learning," it's just another programming shortcut to have computers deterministically compute desired results. While this type of programming has some risks to it, those risks are less SkyNet and more Mickey's brooms in Fantasia (although admittedly such brooms could, in a worst case scenario, nuke major cities). There's no threat (or hope) of truly artificial intelligence without an additional component computer science has yet to discover.
When Stephen Colbert was killed by HYDRA's Project Insight in 2014, the comedy world lost a hero. Since his life model decoy isn't up to the task, please do not mistake my performance as political discussion. I'm just doing what Steve would have wanted.
Last edited by ScrotieMcB on Dec 28, 2018, 11:37:04 PM
"
ScrotieMcB wrote:
AI is a hoax. While admittedly more complex than a for loop, programming a computer to deterministically write it's own programming isn't "machine learning," it's just another programming shortcut to have computers deterministically compute desired results. While this type of programming has some risks to it, those risks are less SkyNet and more Mickey's brooms in Fantasia (although admittedly such brooms could, in a worst case scenario, nuke major cities). There's no threat (or hope) of truly artificial intelligence without an additional component computer science has yet to discover.


Three points:

1. Consciousness is not magic
2. AI doesn't need consciousness to be on par with humans at most, if not all tasks (this includes things like "creativity")
3. There's an above zero probablity that the universe is deterministic
GGG banning all political discussion shortly after getting acquired by China is a weird coincidence.
"
Xavderion wrote:
"
ScrotieMcB wrote:
AI is a hoax. While admittedly more complex than a for loop, programming a computer to deterministically write it's own programming isn't "machine learning," it's just another programming shortcut to have computers deterministically compute desired results. While this type of programming has some risks to it, those risks are less SkyNet and more Mickey's brooms in Fantasia (although admittedly such brooms could, in a worst case scenario, nuke major cities). There's no threat (or hope) of truly artificial intelligence without an additional component computer science has yet to discover.
Three points:

1. Consciousness is not magic
2. AI doesn't need consciousness to be on par with humans at most, if not all tasks (this includes things like "creativity")
3. There's an above zero probablity that the universe is deterministic
1. In the Thor movie sense of the word — that is, technology we don't understand yet — it precisely is magic. What AI believers expect is that computer scientists will somehow poof into existence the thing that neurologists haven't deconstructed yet. It's the modern equivalent to alchemy.
2. I don't like the name "AI" but yes, absolutely. However, this was more than apparent two decades ago. What has happened is basically that that list of tasks predictably expanded, and the new wunderkinds of Silicon Valley chose the most pretentious name for the programming advances which made that expansion possible.
3. Perhaps, in the same sense as "there is a nonzero possibility the Matrix is real." But in a deterministic universe there is no real human choice and therefore no morality — one's behavior cannot be right or wrong if one had no choice in it. Without the context of choice, contrasting analysis of potential value hierarchies is irrelevant and everything descends into nihilism. Therefore, either the universe is not fully deterministic, or this entire argument is moot.
When Stephen Colbert was killed by HYDRA's Project Insight in 2014, the comedy world lost a hero. Since his life model decoy isn't up to the task, please do not mistake my performance as political discussion. I'm just doing what Steve would have wanted.
Last edited by ScrotieMcB on Dec 29, 2018, 2:07:34 AM
"
ScrotieMcB wrote:
AI is a hoax. While admittedly more complex than a for loop, programming a computer to deterministically write it's own programming isn't "machine learning," it's just another programming shortcut to have computers deterministically compute desired results. While this type of programming has some risks to it, those risks are less SkyNet and more Mickey's brooms in Fantasia (although admittedly such brooms could, in a worst case scenario, nuke major cities). There's no threat (or hope) of truly artificial intelligence without an additional component computer science has yet to discover.


What we gernerally know as AI isn't whatever lies beyond the technological singularity.

"
Some call it “strong” AI, others “real” AI, “true” AI or artificial “general” intelligence (AGI)… whatever the term (and important nuances), there are few questions of greater importance than whether we are collectively in the process of developing generalized AI that can truly think like a human — possibly even at a superhuman intelligence level, with unpredictable, uncontrollable consequences.

This has been a recurring theme of science fiction for many decades, but given the dramatic progress of AI over the last few years, the debate has been flaring anew with particular intensity, with an increasingly vocal stream of media and conversations warning us that AGI (of the nefarious kind) is coming, and much sooner than we’d think. Latest example: the new documentary Do you trust this computer?, which streamed last weekend for free courtesy of Elon Musk, and features a number of respected AI experts from both academia and industry. The documentary paints an alarming picture of artificial intelligence, a “new life form” on planet earth that is about to “wrap its tentacles” around us. There is also an accelerating flow of stories pointing to an ever scarier aspects of AI, with reports of alternate reality creation (fake celebrity face generator and deepfakes, with full video generation and speech synthesis being likely in the near future), the ever-so-spooky Boston Dynamics videos (latest one: robots cooperating to open a door) and reports about Google’s AI getting “highly aggressive”

However, as an investor who spends a lot of time in the “trenches” of AI, I have been experiencing a fair amount of cognitive dissonance on this topic. ...

So, how far are we from AGI? This high level tour shows contradictory trends. On the one hand, the pace of innovation is dizzying — many of the developments and stories mentioned in this piece (AlphaZero, new versions of GANs, capsule networks, RCNs breaking CAPTCHA, Google’s 2nd generation of TPUs, etc.) occurred just in the last 12 months, in fact mostly in the last 6 months. On the other hand, many the AI research community itself, while actively pursuing AGI, go to great lengths to emphasize how far we still are — perhaps out of concern that the media hype around AI may lead to dashed hopes and yet another AI nuclear winter.

Regardless of whether we get to AGI in the near term or not, it is clear that AI is getting vastly more powerful, and will get even more so as it runs on ever more powerful computers, which raises legitimate concerns about what would happen if its power was left in the wrong hands (whether human or artificial). One chilling point that Elon Musk was making the “Do you trust this computer?” documentary was that AI didn’t even need to want to be hostile to humans, or even know what humans are, for that matter. In its relentless quest to complete a task by all means, it could be harmful to humans just because they happened to be in the way, like a roadkill.

Leaving aside physical harm, progress in AI leads to a whole series of more immediate dangers that need to be thoroughly thought through — from significant job losses across large industries (back offices, trucking) to a complete distortion of our sense of reality (when fake videos and audio can be easily created).


full article

"
ScrotieMcB wrote:
1. In the Thor movie sense of the word — that is, technology we don't understand yet — it precisely is magic. What AI believers expect is that computer scientists will somehow poof into existence the thing that neurologists haven't deconstructed yet. It's the modern equivalent to alchemy.


"
If Frankenstein can be perplexed about to what extent he or humanity is responsible for the making of a monstrous intelligence, then so can we feel muddled. We owe it to ourselves (and to such great literary minds as Shelley and Čapek) to pause and ask a philosophical question about our past creativity through science and technology. What forms of intelligence have we humans actually made that could put us at such grave moral fault?

The Google engineer François Chollet argued in his article ‘The Impossibility of Intelligence Explosion’ that to understand what artificial intelligence is, we need to grasp that all intelligence is ‘fundamentally situational’. An individual human’s intelligence manifests solving the problems associated with processing her experiences of being human. Likewise, a particular computer algorithm’s intelligence concerns solving the problems associated with applying that algorithm to analyse the data fed into it. Intelligence – whether construed as natural or artificial – is adaptive to a situation.

Chollet reminds us, too, that people are a product of their own tools. Akin to how early hominins used fire or etched seashells, modern humans have used pens, printing presses, books and computers to process data and solve problems related to their particular circumstances. Running parallel to the insights of anthropologists such as Agustín Fuentes at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Marc Kissel at the Appalachian State University in North Carolina, Chollet sums up the human condition: ‘Most of our intelligence is not in our brain, it is externalised in our civilisation.’

Science and technology are two defining artefacts of modern human civilisation. The fact that humans now use them to make intelligences for further problem solving is simply one more iteration of what Fuentes in The Creative Spark (2017) called humanity’s process of creative interface with its environment. From this long view of humanity, anthropology shows that civilisation itself is a kind of AI: a collective set of tools developed over time and through cultures, equipping people to learn from the past for the benefit of life in myriad forms, present and future.


article




I'm just waiting for the scientists to decipher the human brain (consciousness in particular) so we can replicate / simulate it, thereby creating 'artificial humans' in the truest sense of those words, and having to give them citizenship / human rights.

That'll be the most interesting discussion humanity at large have had since the abolishment of slavery, and not entirely unrelated to that issue.



Off-topic chat that I'm enjoying perhaps a bit too much:
"
erdelyii wrote:
Do you like it in Istanbul?


As a local, yeah. Not much to complain about -- it's your run-of-the-mill metropolitan city, if a bit on the 'historical' side. Can't imagine it being much different than living in London or Tokyo, provided you speak the local language.

And I'd say it's relatively tourist-friendly. Transportation is robust enough, and there's no shortage of youngsters who speak English. Just don't give taxi drivers the benefit of the doubt (in terms of pricing) and you should be fine. :)



"
erdelyii wrote:


Ah, travel agencies and their promotional materials. Almost as entertaining as the tourists themselves.



"
erdelyii wrote:
I should also say I hope my countryfolk don't behave too badly when we come over for ANZAC day and slam the Dardanelles each April.


That's actually kind of a soft spot for me, but in a good way. War usually tends to result in generations of 'bad blood' between the sides. This is one of the few precious exceptions.

Maybe it was a consequence of Aussies and Kiwis being brought over by the boatload to fight a country they had no quarrel with before, "for the empire". Or maybe a few inspirational words were enough to salve both peoples' collective consciousnesses and turn enmity into camaraderie.

Whatever the case, I'm happy with where we ended up.

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- Self-proclaimed king of level 172 budget builds -
"Security token has expired. Please submit the form again."
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