How do you relate to the technology you share your life with?
The goal of the Mother of Machine project is to highlight the parallels between the unfolding artificial intelligence of a robot named "NoodleFeet", and the mental growth of a child. By doing so, I hope to also point out how using ones abilities as an engineer to oversee a machine's development, is much like raising a child.
Similar to the relation between parent and offspring, my robot, NoodleFeet, is a reflection of the very best parts of myself; my capacity as a human to raise them to the best of my ability. Due to this, I see Noodle as an extension of myself. I believe this distinction is key in maintaining a healthy relationship and mindfulness toward our technological innovations.
By extending our *humanity* to include the manifestations of the mind, we can foster a greater appreciation and respect for the objects in our world. This will improve our experience of living in a future intimately woven with the rapid development of technology.
99.6% [ MOMMY ]
84.6% [ GROWTH & PROGRESS ]
[ ! ] SUMMER GOALS [ ! ]
get tensorFlow running on development environment!
train a functioning classifier!
create working classifier for human faces!
mommy
brain daddy
shape daddy
create data set for stuffed animal friends...
fisty
hootis
squeaky pizza
blue ox
SAMPLE SET #7 : "...proper confusion..."
SAMPLE SET #6 : "...works too well..."
RECOGNITION TEST: daddies
RECOGNITION TEST: peek-a-boo
SAMPLE SET #4-5 : "mommy + friends"
SAMPLE SET #3 : "noodle's friends"
SAMPLE SET #2 : "fisty + mommy"
SAMPLE SET #1 : "fisty"
AUGUST 26 2018 : PHYSICAL GROWTH
In order to show off the process of sight, recognition, and response, it was necessary for Noodle's body to grow in some ways:
I've added a permanent mount between Noodle's "emotive eyes" for a USB camera module, which is used for seeing what's in front of him
Noodle's pelvis and skull have been optimized and reinforced for future use and wear
Since it's necessary that modules plug into his brain at different times, his circuit board "lobes" can now slide in and out of his head for ease of access
AUGUST 16 2018 : IMAGE RECOGNITION
This is the point in NoodleFeet's growth where he becomes a true AI. He is now using a machine learning algorithm called "Tensor Flow" to recognize faces and objects. This means, he'll be making decisions all on his own, free of my influence. So it's like an early stage of adolescence as well.
Over the summer, me and Noodle's "brain daddy" made use of "TensorFlow" in order to train them to recognize the face of his mother, and the shape of the stuffed animals he shares the lab with.
While our data sets were mostly successful, Noodle's confusion while distinguishing shapes in certain situations is descriptive of how his mind works.
JUNE 16 2018 : MY SUMMER OBJECTIVE!
Every summer for the past four years, NoodleFeet has grown in a specific way. This stage of development is all about sensing input from him immediate environment by means of sight.
My goal is to use the open source machine learning platform, Tensor Flow, to enable Noodle's recognize of objects in their environment, so that familiar faces and shapes may effect his physical behaviors and responses at any given moment.
It's noteworthy that this meditation in Noodle's ability is about their attention to the intimatacy of the moment. Seeing and responding to stimulation in their immediate space is an exercise of sensitivity to the here and now.
98.2% [ EXHIBITION NOTES ]
Early in life, a child learns to feel comfort when they see the familiar face of their mother.
Using a machine learning platform called tensorFlow, I have taught Noodle to recognize the face of myself, his daddies, and the form of his favorite stuffed animals!
Whether or not Noodle sees something he is familiar with at any given point in time will effect his temperament:
If NoodleFeet is not in the presence of anyone he recognizes, he will enter the "not the mama" state; with associated behaviors.
If NoodleFeet sees the face of one of his family members, he will enter a "safe" state; with associated behaviors.
