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Monday, March 31, 2014
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Facebook’s working on facial verification...
Facebook’s working on facial verification that’s ‘nearing human-level performance’
Identifying faces is a relatively simple task if you’re a human, but it’s been a long road for computers to do the same thing. Now Facebook says it’s developed a technology for verifying whether two people in side-by-side photos are the same that comes pretty close to replicating human abilities. That project is called DeepFace, and according to Facebook it’s 97.25 percent accurate, which is just shy the 97.5 percent humans have scored in the same standardized test. In order to pull off that feat, the technology maps out 3D facial features, then makes a flat model that’s filtered by color to characterize specific facial elements. Facebook also says it’s tapped into a pool of 4.4 million labeled faces from 4,030 different people on its network in order to help the system learn.
The research project isn’t immediately ending up on Facebook. Instead, the MIT Technology Review reports that Facebook’s released it ahead of presenting it at the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition this June, all in order to get feedback from the research community.
Facebook introduced facial recognition — that is, the actual capability to figure out who a person is in a photo — in late-2010. The feature was initially available only to US users before the company made it worldwide in 2011, drawing scrutiny in Germany and Ireland where privacy authorities claimed Facebook hadn’t given users warning or required consent. The feature also got its fair share of scrutiny from the US, including the ire of Senator Al Franken, who in 2012 grilled the company for not clearly warning users about it.
[via TheVerge]
[via TheVerge]
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Obama has first audience with Pope Francis
ROME — President Obama and Pope Francis met for the first time Thursday in a discussion that was expected to focus on shared priorities including poverty, conflict and religious freedom.
President Obama walks with Pope Francis.
Obama also invited Francis to visit the U.S. next year.
Obama also invited Francis to visit the U.S. next year.
The meeting was widely expected to be a cordial occasion, but it was also thought that Francis could bring up some more prickly issues, such as the mandate that the Affordable Care Act cover sterilization, contraception, and abortion, and the growing trend in the U.S. to legalize gay marriages — all areas the church frowns upon.
"I bring greetings from my family," the president said to the Pope as the meeting got underway. "The last time I came here to meet your predecessor I was able to bring my wife and children."
Obama presented Francis with a custom-made seed chest featuring a variety of fruit and vegetable seeds used in the White House's garden. "These I think are carrots," he said, holding a pouch. "Each one has a different seed in it. The box is made from timber from the first cathedral to open in the United States in Baltimore."
The pope gave the president an encyclical. "I actually will probably read this in the Oval Office when I'm deeply frustrated. I'm sure it will give me strength and calm me down," the president said smiling.
In Italy, Obama's visit — which will also include talks with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and President Giorgio Napolitano — has been a topic of conversation all week. Italians say they have hopes that Obama's short stop in Italy will lead to positive changes in the country and beyond.
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President Obama speaks with Pope Francis during a private audience on March 27 at the Vatican.
"The whole world is suffering, and when you have two great leaders meet to discuss the world's economic problems, you have to have hope it will make a difference," said Salvatore Mucci, a 44-year-old coffee bar worker.
Sandro Conti, 56, a commercial painter, said he hoped Thursday's summit would draw increased attention to the issues both men champion.
"If these leaders can't make people understand how much average people are suffering then it will be a sad day," he said.
Obama has repeatedly expressed admiration for Francis in the little more than a year since he was elected pontiff. Francis has said he is eager to meet Obama as well. And diplomats on both sides have said expectations are that Thursday's encounter will focus on shared priorities between the two leaders rather than on where they differ.
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President Obama, left, meets with Pope Francis, during an exchange of gifts at the Vatican.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/03/27/obama-rome-vatican-pope-francis-visit/6948433/
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