NYU Researchers Construct Humorously Childlike AI with the Vision of a Youngster
“New York University researchers build AI that see’s through a child’s eyes”
“Researchers at New York University have devised an artificial intelligence model that learns from and can replicate the way a child perceives the world.” In an attempt to evoke applause, they’ve essentially imbued a silicon brain with a toddler’s perspective. Now there’s a tickle to one’s funny bone!
Imagine having the capabilities of a supercomputer and using it to replicate the thought process of a four-year-old. It’s like buying a Ferrari just to go grocery shopping. But let’s hold back the sarcasm, right there. As it turns out, this research is actually super innovative and profound. Who would’ve thought?
The research team trained their AI model, childishly named “BabyMind,” using dataset from infant gaze studies. Funny how these intelligent beings spend their days tracing the erratic, unpredictable glances of babies. Considering the unpredictable nature of their data source, hats off to these brainy folks for even attempting to make sense of it. BabyMind essentially learns to predict where infants are most likely to look next. Imagine, a high-tech weatherman for gazes of infants!
But the punchline? This AI might actually help us understand human cognition – not from some pretentiously philosophical point of view, but an actual cognitive perception standpoint based on empirical data. Shame the rest of us have to be satisfied with just suppositions while BabyMind gets to enjoy the sandbox of human cognition in all its glory.
They’ve programmed BabyMind to play with blocks and predict what will happen, kind of like that precocious kid in preschool that everyone secretly admires, but pretends not to notice. And BabyMind does it pretty well. Almost, unsettlingly well. Terrifyingly precocious for something that doesn’t even possess flesh and blood.
So what’s next for this overachieving infant AI? Maybe a career in preschool education? A future Nobel laureate predicted by which block it chooses to play with next? Only time will tell.
Until then, the researchers assure everyone that BabyMind – child prodigy of the AI world – has also “proven that this seems to be a good model for human learning”. Comforting words, indeed, to those faint-hearted individuals among us who might be worried about brainy artificial toddlers running the world someday.
Well, for now, let’s raise a glass to the researchers at New York University for creating this strangely intriguing, yet somewhat paradoxical cognizant creature. Because what the world clearly needed was an artificial kid. Good luck taming your prodigious child, folks! We’ll be here, waiting to marvel at what fanciful thing BabyMind does next.