What is Artificial Intelligence?

swarm intelligence theory

Ants are by nature intelligent little creatures that work together to locate food and overcome threats. They traverse a seemingly single path, in one continuous line. Similarly, digital ants were used by computer scientists to locate the threats to computer security.

Swarm intelligence is the new technology in overcoming digital threats in the network security. Digital ants swarm over a virus or worms, self-replicating programs designed to steal information or facilitate unauthorized use of machines and report the location of the infection to sentinels. It works best on large networks like in the government, universities and large corporations.

Swarm intelligence's concept is to deploy about 3,000 different types digital ants. As they move about to search for threats, they leave scented trails for the rest of the digital ants to follow. When one or more ants find threats, they are programmed to leave a stronger scent for all the digital ants to swarm over the threat in less than a time, this marks the site of infection. Once located, the marked site is then reported to a software 'sentinel' which in turn report to network 'sergeants' that are directly monitored by humans.

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Ants marcing in an unbroken line

I remember when I was a child I used to memorize few rhymes about ants, like "The Ants Go Marching" and "Army Ants". Although it was observable that ants work together, help each other complete a task, and of course walking towards somewhere there's food, in a single unbroken line, I never thought these will inspire researchers to design a software that will determine the best route path for military tactics.

At the University of Granada in Spain, a researcher designed a simulator for the mobility of military troops within a battlefield based on the mechanisms used by ant colonies. This software was developed in order for the armies to define the best path, considering that such path will be covered by a company, involving the security criteria (reaching their destination with the lower number of casualties) and speed (reaching their destination as quickly as possible).

This mini-simulator works by defining the settings (in the battlefields), locating the unit and their enemies, executing the algorithms and identifying the results. In addition, the software designed offers a few tools useful to analyze both the initial map and the results.

The mysterious Mona Lisa smile, a painting by Leonardo da Vinci

Everybody, or rather the whole world, knows about the Mona Lisa smile. It has been a mystery for centuries, why the famous smile of a beautiful painting subject could create such an impact in the world of art. Done by the very famous medieval painter, Leonardo da Vinci, created an Obra that will cause many to wonder about the smile.

Today, it's no longer a mystery. The secret of the famed painting is revealed. Thanks to artificial intelligence, a researcher from Amsterdam, Netherlands developed a computer software which can analyze the emotions of a person by calculating the expression based on facial points like lip curvature, eyebrow position, and cheek contraction, with 85-percent accuracy.

The software can detect happiness, sadness, fear, anger and disgust. For example, Michael Jackson was 33-percent fearful in his mug shot and angry and disgusted as the press snapped pictures after his trial. This technology can also be used in driving to detect if the driver is getting sleepy at the wheel and have an alert signal.

And, for the anticipated score, Mona Lisa's expression is 83-percent happy, 9-percent disgusted, 6-percent fearful, and two-percent angry.

Immamusys, a whole different music based on emotions

Why 'feel the music'? Shouldn't that be 'listen to the music'? No, the first one is just as exactly what I would like to tell you about. It's really about how you feel or what you feel that initiates original music to play endlessly.

For example, you feel so bad about something, this kind of software understands your emotion, translates it into a computer language and then plays an original music that will make you feel relax and calmed.

This emotion-response software is called Immamusys, an acronym for Intelligent Multiagent Music System. An Artificial intelligence application that enables original, copyright-free and emotion-inspiring music to be played continuously.

Inmamusys was designed by UGR researchers Miguel Delgado, Waldo Fajardo and Miguel Molina. The main objective of the project was mainly to revolutionalize our listening experience, from canned repetitive music to an endless all-original music that inspires.

A survey was performed to evaluate Immamusys, and results showed that the respondents relate well to the computer-generated music.

A soldier equipped with cameras and sensors; ASSIST a sensor software to extract and index information during combat

Pentagon has been doing a project through its research arm DARPA. The project, named Advanced Soldier's Sensor Information System and Technology or ASSIST's main objective is to record everything in a soldier's life during actual combat. This project was formerly known as Lifelog, which the Pentagon aborted because of its vague and broad concept.

ASSIST, on the other hand, is made of sensors that is embedded in a soldier's gear that would record everything what a soldier does, hears, or sees. It's vision is much clearer than its predecessor, Lifelog. ASSIST has addressed some if not all of the issues, such as personal privacy and usability, that Lifelog failed to comply.

Similarly, ASSIST works like an electronic diary, but the focus is of the soldier's life during combat. The data that will be gathered will then be compiled into digital memories, so that battle commanders will have a better understanding of how the combat unfolded.

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