2017 June | AIVAnet

21

Jun

Uber finally gives in, now lets you tip your driver from the app

Why it matters to you

If you use Uber and always wanted to give more than a good rating to a rider, now you can.

Uber changed the taxi industry but mostly failed to adopt one of its foundational tenets — tipping. On Tuesday, the ridesharing giant is changing that and announced you can now tip your drivers straight from the app.

After upgrading to the latest version of the app, you will be able to add a tip after a completed trip or UberEats delivery. Once you input your star rating for the driver you will be given the option to tip in predetermined increments or any amount you desire. If you are unable to tip at the time or wish to do it later, you have up to 30 days to tip your rider. You will get detailed information on which trips you gave tips and the amount in your trip history.

Drivers will need to update their version of the app and click the Accept Tips button to opt-in. Drivers will also be happy to know their star ratings will not affect how much of the tip they receive as Uber does not get a cut of the money. Drivers can also cash out their tips using Instant Pay as soon as they receive the money.

At first, tipping will only be available in Seattle, Minneapolis, and Houston so Uber can test-run and properly assess the feature. But, everyone in the United States riding in Uber and/or ordering from UberEats will be able to give a bit extra to the driver in the Uber app by the end of July.

Uber has had a particularly complicated stance on tipping. At one point, Uber’s website informed riders “tips are included in the price of a ride,” even though they have never been. It took Uber paying a $100 million settlement for the company to change its messaging to indicate drivers are allowed to solicit tips. Now the company has a policy where “drivers may request tips at their discretion.”

Lyft has allowed riders to do in-app tipping for years and announced its drivers have amassed more than $200 million in tips over four years.

21

Jun

Creative AI makes epic dinosaur art by cleverly arranging pictures of flowers

Why it matters to you

Think machines can’t be creative? This awesome use of artificial intelligence to make epic dinosaur art will make you question that assumption.

Neural networks can do some awesome things, from allowing cars to drive on their own to instantly translating dozens of languages. But when it comes to our personal favorite use cases, we’re going with one recently engineered by Australian artist Chris Rodley.

By combining a deep-learning algorithm, a book of dinosaur pictures, and a book of flower paintings, he’s created some of the trippiest images this side of an M.C. Escher or Salvador Dali.

“The tech that makes this work isn’t mine, but was created by a team of researchers from Germany who published a paper on it two years ago,” Rodley told Digital Trends. “The idea of the group, led by Leon Gatys, was to transfer an art style as represented in a sample print to a target photograph. They called it ‘style transfer,’ and it was a huge success. Many people have been using it to see how they’d look painted in the style of [Georges] Seurat or [Pablo] Picasso or whatever. But the most interesting work I came across wasn’t just applying form; it was actually taking content from one image, and using it to reconstruct the original target image.”

Chris Rodley

As well as flowers, Rodley also attempted combining dinosaur images with still-life paintings of fruits and vegetables, along with several other objects, with the results being truly mesmerizing.

“It turns out, through trial and error, that dinosaurs are perfect targets for this algorithm, because their shapes are instantly evocative,” Rodley continued. “[Whereas something like] the Mona Lisa is not so great, since its composition isn’t especially distinctive; rather it’s in the detail.”

It’s a stunning example of some of the creative possibilities available to artists when they utilize artificial intelligence as a tool that essentially transforms into brushes that can think for themselves. “AI is developing so fast now that there seem to be more creative tools than there are creative people to use them,” he said.

Since uploading the pictures to his website, Rodley said he has been overwhelmed by requests from people, many of whom want to know where they can get copies of the images themselves. “I added a contact form to my site since so many people were asking for prints,” he said. “I’ll try and make that happen.”

21

Jun

Creative AI makes epic dinosaur art by cleverly arranging pictures of flowers

Why it matters to you

Think machines can’t be creative? This awesome use of artificial intelligence to make epic dinosaur art will make you question that assumption.

Neural networks can do some awesome things, from allowing cars to drive on their own to instantly translating dozens of languages. But when it comes to our personal favorite use cases, we’re going with one recently engineered by Australian artist Chris Rodley.

By combining a deep-learning algorithm, a book of dinosaur pictures, and a book of flower paintings, he’s created some of the trippiest images this side of an M.C. Escher or Salvador Dali.

“The tech that makes this work isn’t mine, but was created by a team of researchers from Germany who published a paper on it two years ago,” Rodley told Digital Trends. “The idea of the group, led by Leon Gatys, was to transfer an art style as represented in a sample print to a target photograph. They called it ‘style transfer,’ and it was a huge success. Many people have been using it to see how they’d look painted in the style of [Georges] Seurat or [Pablo] Picasso or whatever. But the most interesting work I came across wasn’t just applying form; it was actually taking content from one image, and using it to reconstruct the original target image.”

Chris Rodley

As well as flowers, Rodley also attempted combining dinosaur images with still-life paintings of fruits and vegetables, along with several other objects, with the results being truly mesmerizing.

“It turns out, through trial and error, that dinosaurs are perfect targets for this algorithm, because their shapes are instantly evocative,” Rodley continued. “[Whereas something like] the Mona Lisa is not so great, since its composition isn’t especially distinctive; rather it’s in the detail.”

It’s a stunning example of some of the creative possibilities available to artists when they utilize artificial intelligence as a tool that essentially transforms into brushes that can think for themselves. “AI is developing so fast now that there seem to be more creative tools than there are creative people to use them,” he said.

Since uploading the pictures to his website, Rodley said he has been overwhelmed by requests from people, many of whom want to know where they can get copies of the images themselves. “I added a contact form to my site since so many people were asking for prints,” he said. “I’ll try and make that happen.”

21

Jun

Project Fi’s Group Repay makes it easier to manage plan member payments

Why it matters to you

If you’ve ever been a part of a family data plan, you know how complicated payments can get. Project Fi’s Group Repay aims to make things simpler.

Sometimes, one of the most challenging things about group cell phone plans is ensuring every member pays their fair share. If you draw from the same data bucket, it is pretty much inevitable that one or two folks will use much more than the others, which can make for uncomfortable conversations. Leave it to Google, the brains behind prototypical cell phone carrier Project Fi, to come up with a solution: Automatic bill payments.

“To take the headache out of sharing your wireless plan, today we’re introducing group repay — an easier way to split your Project Fi group plan,” Project Fi product manager Marcia Jung wrote in a blog post. “Each month, we’ll calculate participating members’ portion of the bill, send out payment reminders, and provide a simple way for members to repay plan owners directly through Project Fi.

If you are sharing your Google Fi account with one or more people, there is a new way to pay your bill: Group Repay. Participating group plan members have the option of paying individual totals, fixed monthly amounts, or the cost of data they used on top of the basic plan’s cap. Members get reminders when payments are due, or have the option automatic monthly repayment to a debit card or checking account.

It is even easier if they use Wallet, Google’s mobile payments app. Plan subscribers can make payments from a notification on their Android home screen and browse past charges and payment statuses to see how their contributions compare.

“You shouldn’t have to pull out a calculator every month to figure out everyone’s share of the phone bill,” Jung wrote. “There are many different ways to split the bill, but whatever you decide, Project Fi will do the math.”

To celebrate the launch of Group Repay, Google’s throwing in a free month of Fi Basics for new subscribers. New plan members who activate by July 17 and remain active for 30 days get a $35 credit when they add a new Project Fi subscriber to their group plan.

Project Fi, which launched in 2015, is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that provides phone, messaging, and data services using a combination of Wi-Fi and cellular networks belonging to Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Three. Subscriptions start at $20 per month for unlimited calls and messaging, $10 for a gigabyte of data per month, and $15 per month per additional user. Money for unused data is credited back to users’ accounts.

Not every device is supported, unfortunately. As of now, only the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, and Google’s Pixel-branded devices are fully compatible.

Google expects Group Repay to simplify bills for the millions of people on group cellphone plans. According to the Mountain View, California-based company, about 50 percent of people aged 18 to 34 who have a group plan share their plan with their parents, and half pay at least some share of the bill. Another 42 percent share their plans with a spouse or significant other, and 5 percent share it with their friend or roommates.

21

Jun

Lenovo flashes hinge-free, ThinkPad laptop concept with a bending screen

Why it matters to you

Lenovo is looking into the future with its ThinkPad prototype design, but the final product may not appear for years to come.

During the Lenovo Transform event in New York City, Lenovo Senior Vice President Christian Teismann revealed a concept design showcasing where Lenovo wants to take the ThinkPad brand. The device was presented via a slide showcasing a laptop-like form factor with no hinge. Instead, the device featured a foldable, unibody design with a screen that could bend as well.

“This is more than just design, or look and feel. It’s a new set of advanced materials and new screen technologies,” he told the audience. “It’s how you can speak to it, or write on it, or how it speaks to you. Always connected. Always on.”

He added that the future ThinkPad would have the ability to communicate on multiple inputs and outputs. He also indicated that the device would rely heavily on artificial intelligence so that it could anticipate the user’s next meeting, next vacation, and every task.

Based on the slide, Lenovo’s prototype does not have a touchpad. Instead, the device includes what appears to be left/right mouse buttons and a flattened mouse wheel complemented by a red TrackPoint button seated within the keyboard. Also not present are actual ports for Ethernet, USB devices, and HDMI output to keep the paper-thin form factor.

In addition to the bending shape, what is interesting about this prototype is the actual screen that extends well below the “bend” to connect with the keyboard. He also indicated that users could write directly on the screen with the typical pencil. The screen itself suggests OLED panel technology for its high brightness, brilliant colors, and low power requirement.

A display you can “roll” is not anything new, but getting the remaining hardware to fit within the proposed super-slim form, in addition to the keyboard, will be an interesting feat. The latest LG Gram laptop measures just 0.6 inches closed and it is extremely thin and light.

In addition to teasing the Lenovo Transform attendees with a prototype, Teismann said that a special edition of its ThinkPad laptop will be officially revealed in October. As part of the ThinkPad brand’s 25-year anniversary, the laptop will include “throwback” features of past models while sporting the best, most powerful features of today.

Overall, the Lenovo Transform event revealed new products for the business and enterprise sectors including the ThinkStation P320 Tiny sporting a discrete Nvidia Quadro P600 graphics chip. Teismann called it the world’s smallest professional workstation, and in his hand the device resembled a set-top-box for streaming media. It has “the power of a tower” despite its small size.

Lenovo just refreshed its ThinkPad lineup in May with the Yoga 370, the T470, the T470p, the T470s, and more. The company even introduced the ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 dock along with the ThinkPad USB-C dock.

21

Jun

Lenovo flashes new hinge-free, ThinkPad laptop concept with a bending screen