Demystifying artificial intelligence: Here’s everything you need to know about AI

Crazy singularities, robot rebellions, falling in love with computers … artificial intelligence conjures up a multitude of wild what-ifs. But in the real world, AI involves machine learning, deep learning, and many other programmable capabilities that we’re just beginning to explore. Let’s put the fantasy stuff on hold — at least for now — and talk about this real-world AI. Here’s how it works, and where it’s going.

More: Is the AI apocalypse a tired Hollywood trope, or human destiny?

What is artificial intelligence?

coward_lion/123RF

Today’s AI systems seek to process or respond to data in human-like ways. It’s a broad definition, but it needs to be as broad as possible, because there are a lot of different AI projects currently in existence. If you want a little more classification, there are two types of AI to consider.

• General: The purpose of general AI is to mimic human behavior as much as possible. Developers actually care about the Turing Test, and the goal is to make a system as life-like as possible. That also makes it less useful, however, and often unable to specialize. General AI systems are good for showy demonstrations and sales — Siri and Cortana are prime examples — but they are inherently limited because of their interaction requirements.
• Narrow: Narrow AI is focused on a specific problem or situation, and designed to analyze data and form conclusions far more efficiently than humans can. An automatic translator that converts Spanish to English can be considered a type of narrow AI, or software that analyzes stock options and recommends investment ideas. These aren’t very flashy and are usually confined to simple interfaces, but they are far more useful in a practical sense.

AI can also be classified by how it operates, which is particularly important when considering how complex an AI system is and the ultimate costs of that software. If a company is creating an AI solution, the first question must be, “Will it learn through training or inference?”

• Training: These AIs are designed to learn and improve over time, and will adjust their data sets and certain parts of their processes to become more efficient. This takes a lot of processing power, so most training features in commercial AI are very simple.
• Inference: These AIs are designed to look at data and draw conclusions in careful steps. For a casual example, an AI might infer, “To answer this question, data for yesterday’s game scores must be found; searching list of reliable sports data sets; comparing to favorite teams listed in settings; reporting scores in audio.” But they have no or little ability to change by themselves over time. This takes far less processing power (and lower costs).

There have been books and books written about what specific features AI must include to be truly AI, and unsurprisingly, no one really agrees on what these features are; every description of AI is a little different. But there are several examples of successful AIs in our current landscape worth looking at.

Demystifying artificial intelligence: Here’s everything you need to know about AI

Crazy singularities, robot rebellions, falling in love with computers … artificial intelligence conjures up a multitude of wild what-ifs. But in the real world, AI involves machine learning, deep learning, and many other programmable capabilities that we’re just beginning to explore. Let’s put the fantasy stuff on hold — at least for now — and talk about this real-world AI. Here’s how it works, and where it’s going.

More: Is the AI apocalypse a tired Hollywood trope, or human destiny?

What is artificial intelligence?

coward_lion/123RF

Today’s AI systems seek to process or respond to data in human-like ways. It’s a broad definition, but it needs to be as broad as possible, because there are a lot of different AI projects currently in existence. If you want a little more classification, there are two types of AI to consider.

• General: The purpose of general AI is to mimic human behavior as much as possible. Developers actually care about the Turing Test, and the goal is to make a system as life-like as possible. That also makes it less useful, however, and often unable to specialize. General AI systems are good for showy demonstrations and sales — Siri and Cortana are prime examples — but they are inherently limited because of their interaction requirements.
• Narrow: Narrow AI is focused on a specific problem or situation, and designed to analyze data and form conclusions far more efficiently than humans can. An automatic translator that converts Spanish to English can be considered a type of narrow AI, or software that analyzes stock options and recommends investment ideas. These aren’t very flashy and are usually confined to simple interfaces, but they are far more useful in a practical sense.

AI can also be classified by how it operates, which is particularly important when considering how complex an AI system is and the ultimate costs of that software. If a company is creating an AI solution, the first question must be, “Will it learn through training or inference?”

• Training: These AIs are designed to learn and improve over time, and will adjust their data sets and certain parts of their processes to become more efficient. This takes a lot of processing power, so most training features in commercial AI are very simple.
• Inference: These AIs are designed to look at data and draw conclusions in careful steps. For a casual example, an AI might infer, “To answer this question, data for yesterday’s game scores must be found; searching list of reliable sports data sets; comparing to favorite teams listed in settings; reporting scores in audio.” But they have no or little ability to change by themselves over time. This takes far less processing power (and lower costs).

There have been books and books written about what specific features AI must include to be truly AI, and unsurprisingly, no one really agrees on what these features are; every description of AI is a little different. But there are several examples of successful AIs in our current landscape worth looking at.

Free yourself! How to unlock your phone from the icy hands of your wireless carrier

Your two-year contract is finally up, and you want to save some money by bringing your phone to a carrier with lower rates. Sadly, odds are that your phone is locked to your carrier, which prevents you from jumping ship and using your phone on another network. Thankfully, legislation and the FCC made the process of unlocking your phone easier than ever. More importantly, it superseded an earlier decision made by the Library of Congress that interpreted cellphone unlocking as a violation of copyright. Cellphone unlocking, in other words, is legally permissible.

More: How to avoid early termination fees and switch phone carriers like a pro

Just because unlocking your phone is legal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to do, though. To that end, let’s dive into what you’d want to do if you were to unlock your phone and break free of your two-year cycle with your carrier.

What you’ll need

Before you set your mind on unlocking your phone, you’ll need to keep in mind that doing so isn’t a fast process by any stretch of the imagination. Unlocking your phone can take several phone calls and hours of work. In addition, unlocking your phone before you leave your current carrier would be wise, as the incentive to help you through the process won’t be as great.

With that in mind, there are a few nuggets of information you’ll need:

• The account holder’s name and account number.
• IMEI of your device.
• Your phone number.
• The account holder’s social security number or password.
• A finished contract and/or device payment plan.
• Overseas deployment papers, if the nature of your inquiry involves you being in the military and wanting to unlock your phone before your contract is up.

Now that you have that information by your side, let’s see how each carrier handles unlocking your phone.

HP DeskJet 3755 review

Research Center:
HP DeskJet 3755

There’s that old saying that “bigger is better,” but everyone knows that’s not always a given. Sometimes the opposite is true. That’s the case for Hewlett Packard’s diminutive (for a printer, at least) DeskJet 3755 ($70 MSRP).

The Wi-Fi-enabled 3755 isn’t the fastest, nor is it the quietest inkjet all-in-one (AIO) printer on the market. But it is the smallest multifunction unit that you can currently buy, according to HP, and that will sway a lot of consumers, particularly those who don’t like big computing peripherals taking up space.

Features and design

Besides the price, what draws us to the 3755 is the size. It’s a compact unit measuring 15.86 x 6.97 x 5.55 inches with the input and output trays retracted. Paper is fed through the rear-mounted, 60-sheet input tray, and the output in the front-bottom can hold up to 25 sheets. It only weighs 5.13 pounds, so its small size and light weight makes it a good choice for when space is tight.

Les Shu/Digital Trends

Les Shu/Digital Trends

Les Shu/Digital Trends

Les Shu/Digital Trends

The controls are sparse. It consists of a small single-digit monochrome LCD that also displays icons to indicate error conditions, Wi-Fi Direct connection, wireless status and signal strength, and ink levels. Surrounding the LCD are buttons and indicator lights to connect to Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi Direct, and HP’s Web Services. The setup poster that’s included in the box is scant help, but you can download a 114-page user’s guide that provides great detail on how to use the functions.

HP’s 3755 is targeted toward casual users, and it’s reflected in the capacity of the standard (65) or high-capacity (65XL) ink cartridges. The standard black pigment ink cartridge has a yield rated at about 125 pages, while the tri-color dye-based ink cartridge is rated to yield about 100 pages; the inks cost about $13 and $14, respectively. Frankly, that’s not a lot of prints out of a cartridge.

The high-capacity cartridges up the yields to 300 pages for both the black and color cartridges, and are priced at about $26 and $31, respectively. Despite being XL cartridges, those are still low yields. For the infrequent print jobs, it’s fine; otherwise, you’re betting off with a higher-yield printer. HP does offer its Instant Ink program for the 3755, a subscription service that automatically sends you replacement ink before the printer runs out – a handy service if you anticipate printing more than a few occasional pages.

Setup and performance

Setup is quick. The 3755 comes with a setup disc, yet it prompts you to perform the setup by downloading the latest drivers from HP’s support site. We opted to use the optical disc, but if you have a computer that lacks an optical drive, at least there’s another setup option.

More: Home printer buying guide: How to choose the best printer

We connected to the printer via Wi-Fi, but you can also connect using a USB cable. If the printer is on a wireless network with Internet access, you can use HP’s ePrint cloud service for remote printing or printing from a mobile device.

The setup process installs a basic scan utility. Unlike a flatbed scanner that you lift the top up, you have to manually feed a page, one at a time. Testing the scanner, we obtained scans with accurate colors and saturation. Optical scan resolution is only 600 x 600 dpi, so don’t expect to scan a small photo and blow it up to print at a larger size.

It is the smallest multifunction unit that you can currently buy.

Copying was painfully slow – even slower than printing. Additionally, you are limited to just a maximum of nine copies at a time. And, as with scanning, because it doesn’t have a document feeder, pages must be individually fed. Forget about copying from a magazine, book, or other bound source

In HP’s defense, the company doesn’t claim the 3755 is a speed demon. They rate the maximum print speed at up to 8 pages per minute (ppm) in monochrome. In our testing, we achieved only 4.8 ppm for a monochrome Microsoft Word document, and an even slower 2 ppm for an Excel document with mixed black and color elements. Remember, for the market the machine is intended for – the occasional user – the slow speed may not be a negative. On the positive side, output quality on both text and images is very good, and the printer offers interpolated resolution of up to 4800 x 1200 dpi.

More: Connecting a printer to Windows 10: Tips and troubleshooting

HP lists photo printing as one of the 3755’s capabilities, and it’s pretty good at it. The problem, again, is speed and ink capacity. After we completed our standard print speed tests, there was barely enough ink remaining to print photos. A modest amount of photo printing will drain the cartridges ridiculously fast. And because the printer is slow, it will take a while to print a photo. If photo printing is a must, you should consider something else.

Our review unit was very noisy when feeding paper, although once it started printing, the unit was as quiet (or loud) as the average inkjet machine.

HP DeskJet 3755 Compared To

Canon Maxify MB5420

Brother MFC-J885DW

Epson WorkForce WF-2660

Brother MFC-J4420DW

Brother MFC-J870DW

Epson WorkForce WF-7510

Samsung Printer Xpress C410W

Dell C1765

Canon Pixma MG6320

Seiko SLP 450

HP OfficeJet 7410

HP PhotoSmart 8050

HP Photosmart 7760

HP 1100D

HP DeskJet 9670

Our Take

The DeskJet 3755’s main positive attribute is its small size. It’s attractive, and it should fit in most space-constraint places, like a student’s dorm room desk. It does have some significant drawbacks, but, depending on your usage behavior, the negatives are either acceptable or deal breakers.

Should you buy it?

We lean toward no, only because there are models that don’t cost that much more (some cost even less) but offer better functionality and more features. With that said, the 3755 is a niche printer that fulfills a certain need. If you live in a 300-square-foot New York City studio, for example, the 3755 is pretty attractive when space is at a premium.

To be honest, if you anticipate printing a moderate level of volume, or photo printing, you will probably be better off with a more robust model form HP or another vendor.

Are there better alternatives?

The DT Accessory Pack

AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A-B cable

$5

HP 65 Black and Tri-color ink (Two Pack)

$21.69

HP Instant Ink 1-month enrollment

$3

If you are just looking for the least expensive AIO, there are cheaper models. The Epson Expression XP-330 is one example, with a street price around $45. HP’s own DeskJet 2130, at $50, is another. Again, what the 3755 has going for it is the size, and it makes excellent prints. For the buyer, it depends how much you value size.

How long will it last?

The 3755 is an inexpensive model and has a modest duty cycle. HP states the monthly duty cycle at 1,000 pages, but if you truly print that many pages every month you’ll burn through ink cartridges and pretty much push the machine to its limits and directly impact the expected lifetime of the device.

If your need is to print moderately long print jobs fairly often, don’t expect the DJ 3755 to survive more than a few years. With more modest use, however, it should last three or four years before you’ll be looking to replace it.

Certification program for mobile developers now offered via Google Partners

Why it matters to you

You can already get a Google Partner badge for your AdWords skills, and now, you can get one for mobile development, too.

Your latest degree may not come from a university — instead, it could be Google giving you the certification you need for your job. On Monday, the tech giant began offering to mobile site developers a brand new certification program, which tests a number of skills including how to improve site speeds, best practices in mobile UX design, and progressive web apps.

The point of the exam (or rather, the point of acing the exam), is to prove to potential employers that you have “a demonstrated ability to build and optimize high-quality sites, and [it] allows you to promote yourself as a Google accredited mobile site developer.”

It’s all part of Google’s larger Google Partners program, which already promises a number of free product exams and certifications. For example, you can already get certifications for Google AdWords and Analytics through the program.

More: Google tweaks the Pixel C tablet to be a little more like its Pixel phones

The mobile site certification focuses most on site speed — or at least, most of the study guide‘s content does. The search engine has done quite a bit in the last year or so to improve the mobile web experience (it expanded its use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal last April). And, as the tech company points out, since most site visitors will leave a mobile page if it takes more than three seconds to load, it’s well worth it to ensure that things are as efficient as possible on small screens. That said, there’s still quite a bit of work to be done — the average load time for a mobile landing page is 22 seconds, Google points out.

We ought to point out, however, that Google’s mobile development exam isn’t focused in particular on any operating system (like Android or iOS). It does, however, have some content around Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages project (which you may know better as AMP). In any case, this is one certification that may be worth checking out.

Asus continues its quest for gaming monitor excellence with two new models

Why it matters to you

If you are in the market for a new gaming monitor, then your options just keep growing as Asus introduces a couple more.

The more powerful today’s GPUs become, the more likely it is that hardcore gamers will want to run the latest titles at higher resolutions and with newer technologies like high dynamic range (HDR). Monitor manufacturers are stepping up to the plate lately, with displays that not only perform well but look good while doing so.

Asus released a number of gaming monitors recently and they have two more options hitting the streets soon. The ROG Swift PG27VQ and ROG Strix XG27VQ are their latest, and they both bring some interesting features to the gaming display market, The Tech Report points out.

More: Asus ROG leaks announcement of a 4K HDR gaming monitor — the Swift PG27UQ

The news comes via the company’s Outshine the Competition event in Berlin. Asus didn’t provide too many details on the new monitors, but what it did reveal demonstrates that it is hoping to continue to build on its successful line of gaming monitors.

First up is the ROG Strix XG27VQ, which offers a curved 27-inch panel with a high 144Hz refresh rate. It is a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution monitor supporting Nvidia’s G-Sync protocol for avoiding in-game tearing. The company’s Aura Sync technology should make the display fit a gamer’s aesthetic by offering up RGB LEDs on the back of the display that is presumably in sync with other LED lighting.

Next is the ROG Swift PG27VQ, which utilizes a QHD+ resolution panel (2,560 x 1,440) that is also curved. It offers up an even higher refresh rate of 165Hz for faster gaming performance and it is based on quantum dot technology with high brightness that should support HDR. The PG27VQ also supports Nvidia G-Sync and incorporates Asus’ Aura Sync.

Asus also touched on the ROG Swift PG27UQ that made its debut at CES 2017. That monitor is a 4K UHD (3,840 x 1,920) display offering up HDR support and support for the DCI-P3 color gamut and 384 dynamically controlled lighting zones for superior contrast and natural dark colors.

There is no pricing or availability information yet on any of these new Asus monitors. However, there is just enough information to let us know that Asus is serious about enhancing the gaming experience all the way from new motherboards supporting AMD’s latest Ryzen CPUs and Intel Optane memory through the latest GPUs and now a new line of outstanding gaming monitors.

Free yourself! How to unlock your phone from the icy hands of your wireless carrier

Your two-year contract is finally up, and you want to save some money by bringing your phone to a carrier with lower rates. Sadly, odds are that your phone is locked to your carrier, which prevents you from jumping ship and using your phone on another network. Thankfully, legislation and the FCC made the process of unlocking your phone easier than ever. More importantly, it superseded an earlier decision made by the Library of Congress that interpreted cellphone unlocking as a violation of copyright. Cellphone unlocking, in other words, is legally permissible.

More: How to avoid early termination fees and switch phone carriers like a pro

Just because unlocking your phone is legal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to do, though. To that end, let’s dive into what you’d want to do if you were to unlock your phone and break free of your two-year cycle with your carrier.

What you’ll need

Before you set your mind on unlocking your phone, you’ll need to keep in mind that doing so isn’t a fast process by any stretch of the imagination. Unlocking your phone can take several phone calls and hours of work. In addition, unlocking your phone before you leave your current carrier would be wise, as the incentive to help you through the process won’t be as great.

With that in mind, there are a few nuggets of information you’ll need:

• The account holder’s name and account number.
• IMEI of your device.
• Your phone number.
• The account holder’s social security number or password.
• A finished contract and/or device payment plan.
• Overseas deployment papers, if the nature of your inquiry involves you being in the military and wanting to unlock your phone before your contract is up.

Now that you have that information by your side, let’s see how each carrier handles unlocking your phone.

How to convert your VHS tapes to DVD, Blu-ray, or digital file

Memories have a lifespan — at least when it comes to those captured on the dying medium known as Video Home System, aka VHS. The format was never intended to last forever and degrades over time. However, if your VCR somehow managed to spare your precious home videos or Super Bowl recaps this far, you may want to salvage the footage before time takes its toll. Converting well-worn videos will never be flawless — the slightest hiccup can interrupt the transfer signal — but it can be done on a modest budget with a few basic tools.

More: How to rip a DVD or Blu-ray movie

Below, we’ll show you how to save your moments digitally on multiple formats, including DVD, Blu-ray, or digital file. If you’re just too busy, we’ve also got a list of the various VHS conversion services, including pricing, to help you preserve that 20-year-old footage of you face-planting on your first bike. If not for you, do it for posterity’s sake.

Disclaimer: It’s technically illegal to produce copies of commercial films and copyrighted content, but there are no restrictions on mass producing home videos. Plus, you can usually pick up a used copy of Top Gun, the Breakfast Club or all eight riveting seasons of Full House online for next to nothing anyway. 

VHS-to-DVD conversion services

Rest assured, for those who’d rather forego the technical hands-on process, all the big-name retail corporations offer VHS-to-DVD, and in some cases VHS-to-digital conversion services through their photo departments. Most of them use a very similar service — in some cases the exact service — and typically require a three-week waiting period between the time you drop off your tapes and the time you can pick them up with the new DVD, but there’s no extra work on your end.

Available transfer formats are standard, from VHS to Betamax, and most services will allow you to transfer up to two tapes to a single DVD before charging you extra. Alternatively, there are a couple great websites that offer the same service for a more affordable price if you feel comfortable shipping the VHS tapes yourself.

Costco
VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, Hi-8, 8mm videotape, 8mm film, Super 8, 16mm film, Digital 8, MiniDV, Betamax; foreign (PAL) tapes to NTSC DVD
Starts at $20 for two tapes up to two hours
iMemories.com
VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, 8mm tape, Hi8, 8mm film, Super 8, 16mm film, MiniDV,
$13 per tape, or per 50ft. film
Walmart
VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, Hi-8, 8mm, Digital 8, MiniDV, Betamax; Foreign (PAL)
$25 per DVD
Southtree
VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, Hi8, MiniDV, Betamax, MicroMV, S-VHS, Digital 8, MiniDV, 8mm film, super 8, 16mm film
$13 per DVD; $20 per DVD + digital file; $16 for tape + digital file
Target
VHS, S-VHS, Beta, VHS-C, Hi8, Digital 8, 8mm, MiniDV, 8mm film, Super 8, 16mm film
Starting at $15 for VHS; $9 for film reels
CVS
VHS, VHS-C, MiniDV, 8mm, Hi8, Digital 8, Betamax, S-VHS, 8mm film, Super 8, 16mm film; foreign PAL to NTSC
Starting at $26 for two tapes up to two hours
Sam’s Club
VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C, Hi-8, 8mm videotape,
Digital 8. MiniDV, Betamax, 8mm film, Super 8, 16mm film
Starting at $19 for two tapes up to two hours
Service
Available formats
Cost

‘MLB The Show 17’: How to up your game in the batter’s box

Although MLB The Show 17 is a serious baseball sim at its core, the game remains accessible to casual fans thanks to its refined, relatively simplistic control scheme. Even with its pick-up-and-play identity, though, if you go into a game swinging away at pitches without giving it much thought, you’re going to run into some trouble with friends. Worse still if you plan to tangle with hardcore baseball fans in online matchmaking. While batting difficulty scales according to your skill against the computer, when facing a real opponent, it helps to strategize.

More: MLB The Show 17 review

If you’re looking to hang some serious numbers on the scoreboard, here’s what you should keep in mind.

Putting bat to ball

In order to score some runs, you will have to hit the ball. Since baseball is a game of reaction time and reflexes, there’s no better teaching mechanism than stepping into the box and swinging away. Still, if you find yourself striking out a lot, you may want to take a step back and reevaluate your strategy.

• Watch the windup: Each pitcher in The Show has a unique pitching motion. Some motions are elongated, some are abrupt, and many are in-between. Keep your eyes on the pitcher’s throwing hand to see the point of release. By watching the ball from the moment it leaves the pitcher’s hand, you’ll have a better chance of tracking it as it pummels towards the plate. This becomes even more important when playing in a match with one of the pitch guessing sensors on such as PCI. Here, you’ll have to move the cursor towards where the pitch crosses the plate to make solid contact.
• Check pitches: Each pitcher has up to five different pitches, from four-seam fastballs to curveballs to changeups to sliders, and more. Depending on your settings, you can check the opposing player’s list of pitches by pressing R2. Now, it’s hard to guess what pitch your opponent will throw, but knowing which types of pitches are possible certainly doesn’t hurt your chances.

Build your own 8-bit handheld gaming system with this awesome Kickstarter kit

Why it matters to you

Want your kid to put down the PS4 controller and do something practical? Then get them to build their own handheld games console!

Nearly everyone loves video games but it is hard to argue that they are not a massive drain on time that could arguably be spent in less fun, but more productive ways.

A new Kickstarter campaign has one answer… and it’s pretty genius when you think about it. Called Makerbuino, it’s an open-source handheld eight-bit game device that you (or your kids) can build. Its creators described it to Digital Trends as an “educational device shaped like a game console,” which is as a good a way of selling it as any.

More: Teach your kids how to code with Root, a playful, programmable drawing robot

“It comes in a kit form, not assembled,” 18-year-old creator Albert Gajsak told Digital Trends. “You get a box with all the electronic components necessary for building your own portable game machine. To build your own Makerbuino, the only things you’ll need are some basic tools and an interest in technology.”

As a high school senior, Gajsak has been working on the device for around three years.

“A project called Gamebuino that was released back in 2014 on Indiegogo motivated me to create Makerbuino and showed me that retro open-source game consoles are something that the market wants,” he continued. “Makerbuino started in 2014 after Gamebuino’s super-successful crowdfunding campaign. At that time, I started looking at Gamebuino’s open source design and building my own Gamebuino-inspired devices during weekends. At the beginning of 2016, I decided I wanted to try launching my product to the market.”

As Gajsak notes, you won’t be playing the latest Call of Duty game on the machine, but it does come with an archive of vintage games — plus the ability to make your own if you’re so inclined.

If you’re looking to pick up skills like soldering, a crash course in basic electronic components, programming a microcontroller in C/C++, and more, this looks as good a solution as any. You can pre-order a kit on Kickstarter starting at $35. Shipping is set to take place in May.