OK, yesterday’s post has me thinking long and hard down a new road that I had not yet considered.  A great benefit to this project.  Yes, one of the main reasons for me engaging in this project is taking my brain to the gym.  So today’s thought is a further consideration of artificial intelligence, and a couple very cool outcomes that will be possible.

English as math, specifically the assignment of a mathematical value to each word in the English language.  This will be done in the process of loading the language into the computer for not just translation functions (yes after English, we will then load in all the languages of the world), but for much deeper functions, such as paraphrasing, and content creation.  It’s math in terms of absolutes, (like the word “always”) having a higher value than words with less strength (like the word “occasionally” or “usually” ).   Another measure will be a value of literary simplicity or difficulty.  Remember, I am suggesting that the computer will be loading all words, phrases, meanings and uses into a database, and making them available to aid a person in creation of content.  The “writer” may want to gear their paper for 6th grade English class, and another “writer” may be  intending to create a PhD level essay.  The computer could rate all words on their ability to be understood by young readers, or perhaps their ability to impress high level intellectuals.

Now add another step to the equation.  Take the same level of intelligent analysis of the language and have the software go out and catalog every sentence of every scholarly sentence in existence, and then every news article, and even every opinion piece and blog post.  These items could all be rated as well.  Studies could be rated high on one scale while opinion could be rated high on another.  Now, take the intuitive auto complete of a standard Google search and connect it to this in depth database of all information, and you have a new world.

Many things should just out at you right away, ways that you could use such a database, but here’s a few that come to mind tonight.  First, Siri would become much MUCH smarter.  Second, let’s say you wanted to write an essay for college.  No more wasted hours looking up information and using citations and crediting others just to back up an opinion.  Now you just make an opinion statement verbally to the computer.  The software comes back and reports, “I have 48 sources on that topic, and they are 82% agreeable to your position. You then simply state the required word count, amount of sources, and any particular points you want to make, and the software goes out and gathers the data, paraphrases all pertinent data, organizes the content and writes an entire essay, to include citations and reference list.This leaves you, the student, thinking and learning, instead of reading, and searching.  Lawyers could in seconds find precedent on topics not by searching keywords, but for searching for topics and particulars and the software could find actual relevant information without being hung up by keywords that may not match exactly.  Individuals could look up medical issues and immediately find ALL related study data, and it would be simplified ACCURATELY down to whatever level of understanding is needed.  Politicians could be fact checked as the words came out of their mouth, by a computer.

Now, this is where the conversion would be very critical.  Conversions would have to be exacting.  Opinion would be wildly dangerous to the overall math if represented as fact, and vice versa, and yes, now take a computer that can accurately create content based on basic concepts and combine that with proper translation software and similarly setup databases of language in other tongues, don’t forget a brilliant text to speech technology, and you can pick up the phone anytime and have a game of worldwide phone roulette.  How much fun would that be?

These glasses are the Sony HMZT1 and provide not just sound, but a virtual 72″ 3d screen.

This is the virtual keyboard, using lasers to create a virtual keyboard, and trace the movements of the hand, taking in keystroke data.  I actually did have a brief email exchange, some years back with one of the Siemens’ engineers in Germany, who was working on the initial concept development.  (that was concerning just some of the finer points on the virtual keyboard, specifically the initial calibration and setup)

The really cool stuff occurs when you look at the two of these combined, with the addition of position tracking.  The concept occurred to me a few years ago.  With the virtual keyboard you are limited to “press” the virtual keys within the confines of the laser representation of the keyboard.  Linking up the two devices would allow you to have a completely adjustable keyboard surface, colored anyway you want.  Now I will describe what I’m talking about.

The user places the keyboard on the desk surface.  With added positional tracking of the device, the computer is able to track the actual location of the keyboard surface.  Now the user puts on the glasses, and with the positional tracking of the glasses, the computer is then also able to track the actual location of the users viewpoint.

Now imagine a simple black background screen.  Using the positional tracking, you swivel your head 360 degrees, and everywhere you look is black.  Turn on the virtual keyboard, and now when you look down in the vicinity of the keyboard, a virtual representation of it appears.  You position your hands, (also represented on the screen because they are being picked up by the laser sensors built into the virtual keyboard), and the keyboard now can adjust to you.  Perhaps you just hold down your pointer fingers wherever you’d like and the computer knows this is the designated “calibration” command.  The virtual keyboard grows or shrinks and aligns itself to your fingers, and now you can just start typing.  When you look up, the computer can show you whatever you’d like.  If you need to look down again to orient yourself, you will see the virtual keyboard, existing in the field of view exactly where it is in reality.

If I get a chance I will put up some sketches of this, as I know it is a concept that some will not completely grasp either what it means visually, or what it means functionally.  I assure you, it’s mind blowing stuff.  🙂