What Is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence, or AI for short, is a specialized type of computer science that’s able to mimic human intelligence. Instead of being limited to just what a human programmer tells a computer to do, AI continues to learn and adjust based on interactions and feedback. While AI is becoming increasingly more intelligent and prevalent in everyday life, it’s actually been around for years. Some of the ways you interact with it daily include:
Email spam filters (AI might not be perfect, but it does keep out a surprising amount of spam.)Smart assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google AssistantStreaming service recommendations on what to watch nextSelf-driving cars (You may not interact with them daily, but they are on the roads in many areas.)Online shoppingOnline banking, especially smart alerts regarding suspicious usage
AI can be classified as narrow or artificial general intelligence (AGI). Narrow AI focuses on single tasks, such as Google’s search engine or smart assistants. They’re programmed specifically to perform and learn more about a specific purpose and that’s all. AGI encompasses more in-depth AI, such as deep learning and machine learning. This is the far more complex version. Programs are essentially fed data to help them learn as much as possible. The program then continues to learn and adapt without a programmer needing to continually add more code. This is the type of AI that functions more like a human brain. As more data is received, more connections are made, helping AI programs make real-time decisions about various situations. Deep learning is more advanced than machine learning, making it more human-like. Self-driving cars are a good example, as they have to adapt to constantly changing driving conditions. Now that you have a basic understanding of AI, let’s get on with some ways to experience it from your browser.
1. This Person Does Not Exist
The days of obviously fake photos are long gone. If you want to be amazed at how accurate artificial intelligence experiments can be, just play around with This Person Does Not Exist. By using images of actual humans, the AI tool generates completely fake, yet realistic images of people who don’t exist. The only real indication that these aren’t real photos is the surrounding area around the face. You’ll see blurring and and weird things like extra fingers on a hand that just happens to also be in the picture. You can also learn how to train your own version, along with trying out a version specifically for art, cats, horses, and more.
2. AttnGAN
This AI experiment takes text captions and turns them into images. Be prepared for some very strange images, though. It’s a very crude representation, but you can usually see something at least a little similar to what you type. The tool uses AttnGAN from Tao Xu mixed with Runway, which is an AI video-editing software. You can also give Runway’s main software a try for free. You’re limited to 15 minutes, but it gives you even more AI to play around with.
3. Cyborg Writer
Writing generators are nothing new. However, Cyborg Writer takes a slightly different approach. You write a sentence, or nothing at all, and you’ll get new lines based on a writing style you choose, such as Taylor Swift, Shakespeare, and even Linux Kernel. Of course, most of it is nonsense, but it’s still fun to play around with. When I tried Pop Music, the lyrics really did fit with common pop songs. The same holds true for Shakespeare and Linux Kernel. Mix the styles up and you really will get a mind blowing piece of work.
4. Pix2Pix
Want to see your very bad drawings turned into more realistic images? Pix2Pix does just that. If you’re a terrible artist like me, the realistic rendering might look more like a horrific blog. The tool features several different types of images you can try to draw, including cats, buildings, purses, and shoes. The examples shown on the site before you start trying to draw your own look far better than anything I came up with as the strange black blob with a tail shows in the above image. Yes, it was supposed to be a cat.
5. Evolution by Keiwan
For a more game-like experience, try Evolution by Keiwan. You build a creature using joints, bones, and muscle. The tool then uses AI to simulate movement based on your design. With each generation, your creature evolves to get become better at movement. It seems simple enough, but it is interesting to see how your creations change and move. Plus, it’s just fun to see if you can create something that moves and lasts throughout generations or just falls flat.
6. I Told You This Was a Bad Idea
Another game-like AI experiment is I Told You This Was a Bad Idea. If you ever played text-based games on DOS, this may seem familiar. However, you’re not limited to just specific words, phrases, or commands. This game uses AI to provide matching responses based on questions you ask. It’s your job to ask the right types of questions to get out of the situation. Actually, you have to ask the right questions to even figure out the situation. It’s fun and changes every time you play. Some responses are the same, but it’s surprisingly good at matching responses with your questions.
7. Fontjoy
Hate trying to come up with the perfect font pairing? Let Fontjoy do it for you. This experiment lets you combine up to three fonts. You choose whether you want them anywhere from extremely different (high contrast) to extremely similar (low contrast). You can lock fonts you want to keep once they pop up. Start by generating three random fonts that fit your matching criteria. You can click a font at any point to see best matches. It’s fun for font lovers and anyone trying to come up with fonts for a project.
8. Text Analytics
Microsoft AI has a several AI demos you can test out, including Text Analytics. You enter your text, which can be short or longer, and the AI tool analyzes it to judge the sentiment, link to relevant Wikipedia articles, and generates search results cards from Bing. You can try out other Microsoft AI demos, too, to see what types of projects Microsoft is working on and better understand how AI works in general.
9. DeepBeat
Coming up with rap lyrics isn’t easy. If the words aren’t flowing, try DeepBeat. It’s an AI rap lyric generator that allows you to add your own lines, customize keywords and themes, and get suggested rhyming and keyword lines based on individual lines. It’s a fun experiment that provides endless entertainment and ideas. Some of the lines don’t make much sense, but others actually aren’t bad. If nothing else, it’s a good way to give you ideas and help you create some impressive lines of your own.
10. Akinator
The Akinator AI experiment mimics the game 20 Questions. By using AI, the game guesses what you’re thinking about using a series of questions. You can answer Yes, No, Don’t Know, Probably, and Probably Not. You can choose to think of a character, animal, or object. While the questions start out fairly general, they quickly get more specific, such as asking if the animal I was thinking of originated in Russia. I tried answering a few questions wrong just to see what would happen, but it still guessed correctly.
Experiments with Google
Some of the most interesting artificial intelligence experiments come courtesy of Google. These are different than Experience AI in a variety of ways, including everything from creating a machine learning tool to drawing. While I won’t list every one of Google’s AI experiments, you should definitely try at least a few of the following.
11. AutoDraw
If you’re not the best artist, AutoDraw is a must have. You start with a crude representation of a shape and then get suggestions of what you might be trying to draw. For example, I attempted to draw a moon and immediately got suggestions for a moon, elbows, and bananas. All similar to what I drew. You can also try Quick, Draw!, which is an AI game that gives you a word to draw. The AI component tries to guess your drawing in less than 20 seconds. It’s like Pictionary – but with AI.
12. Semi-Conductor
Wish you could conduct a symphony in the privacy of your home? Semi-Conductor lets you do just that. By using your webcam, you conduct a symphony using different arm movements. It may feel silly at first, but then you can really get into it. I got to conduct Eine Kleine Nachtmusik during my session. Another fun music option is A.I. DUET where an AI pianist plays along with you.
13. Teachable Machine
You don’t need to be an experienced programmer to develop your own machine learning model. Teachable Machine lets you do this with no experience or coding necessary. This is a more in-depth experiment. You’ll have the chance to actually teach and train your model using your own examples. You’re able to use images, sounds, poses, and more. You’re free to use your final project however you wish, including hosting it online for free. If you’re not sure what’s possible, check out some of the sample projects and tutorials on Teachable Machine’s main page for inspiration.
14. Semantris
Semantris is a fun word association game that uses machine learning. It uses semantic search and natural language understanding technology to match what you type to the words in the list. Arcade is a more fast-paced version, and it’s impressive to see how quickly the AI responds to the words you type. You can also try Blocks: a slower version that uses blocks versus just a word list. If you like the AI games, you may want to try some hidden Google games.
15. Talk to Books
Finding something interesting to read next isn’t always easy. Let the AI experiment Talk to Books help. Simply enter a sentence or question to get recommended books based on passages in those books. For example, I asked “what are some great sword fights” and was presented with five passages from five different books, including “Clash of Kings” by George R.R. Martin and “Skin Game” by Jim Butcher. It’s recommended to use natural wording versus just a keyword to get better results. It’s a fun way to find books and experiment with AI at the same time.
