Photo Credit: Janelle Shane’s Tumblr, Lewis and Quark
The Portland Guinea Pig Rescue is home to many fluffy critters, but coming up with creative names can be a challenge. So researcher Janelle Shane developed an algorithm to generate guinea pig names. Given a list of examples, (”Snickers”, “Pumpkin”, “Ginger”, “Rascal”, etc.), a neural network learned to make more. Neural networks are a type of computer program with thousands of processing nodes that mimic the way human brains learn. They work in a network to “train” on sample datasets with enough examples, adapting over time and identifying patterns. In this case, 628 names was enough to generate “remixes” and new words. For the most part, the neural network excelled at its task, generating names that are both eclectic and cute. The resident puffballs include: Popchop, Fuzzable, Buzzberry, Fleury White, Stargoon, and Princess Pow. However, some of the misfires were names like Madly Mean, Fleshy, and Bho8otteeddeeceul. Go check out the adorable guinea pigs, along with pictures, here, or on the researcher’s own blog. And of course, you can head over to the Portland Guinea Pig Rescue’s website if your life needs a little Popchop or Princess Pow. Sources (besides links in the article): Smithsonian Magazine The Mary Sue
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The month of November will bring a number of submission and application deadlines that readers may want to take note of.
The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award application is due on November 6, 2017. The application includes several questions and essays. The award is based off of aspirations, so don’t worry if you are relatively new to coding! The Google Code-in starts on November 28, 2017. Participants perform a variety of tasks for various open-source organizations in order to win prizes and possibly a trip to Google HQ. Don’t miss these great opportunities! Start preparing/sending in submissions today! Google has many impressive achievements in the field of AI; one especially renowned accomplishment was AlphaGo’s over Lee Sedol (one of the world’s best Go players). In addition, Google also has a great collaborative community, where passionate coders and AI learners alike can create their own projects and share them with others.
https://experiments.withgoogle.com/ai This website currently has fifteen machine learning experiments, where you can see for yourself how AI really works. Here is the list of all the experiments. Note that some experiments require the use of a camera.
“I want you to know there’s a place for you in this industry,” Sundar Pichai, Google Chief Executive Officer said to the young women finalists at Technovation, a months-long app-building competition. “There’s a place for you at Google. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You belong here, and we need you.”
His remarks came at a particularly controversial time, when software engineer James Damore’s manifesto went viral. Damore criticized Google’s diversity efforts and said women may be worse at tech jobs due to biological differences. He was fired by Pichai. At the Technovation Challenge World Pitch Summit award ceremony, girls around the world proved Damore wrong. Since 2009, Technovation has inspired and supported thousands of teen girls in learning to code and make their own apps. 2,300 apps addressing social issues have been made. Technovation is held by the nonprofit Iridescent, which aims to “empower the world’s underrepresented young people, especially girls, through engineering and technology to become innovators and leaders.” This year, Google partnered with the program to bring the finalists to the center of the tech world. During the summit, the final six teams in the senior division presented their apps, which targeted problems from female genital mutilation, to building recycling infrastructure, to assisting pregnant women. They also presented business plans, expansion goals, and inspirational behind their projects. The winners of this year’s competition, from Almaty, Kazakhstan, were the creators of the app QamCare. The problem they aim to solve is a relatable one: feeling unsafe when walking home alone after dark. One team member shared her story of realizing a man was following her as she walked home alone. Though she was able to make it home safe, not everyone does: 9 people go missing every day in Kazakhstan, including many underage girls. Technovation definitely is inspiring a new generation of women in tech. Sources: The Verge Technovation Teen Vogue (2) she++ has opened registration for its annual #include Fellowship! We want to encourage all of our readers to participate, as it is an overall rewarding experience from what we’ve heard.
For the fellowship, you can start your own CS initiative – e.g. a club, tech talk, hackathon, etc. In January, you will have the opportunity to apply to attend the she++ gala. During the gala, which stretches over several days in April, #include fellows will get the chance to meet prominent technologists such as Sheryl Sandberg and tour tech companies such as Google and Facebook. Visit the she++ website here and register to participate today! |