Google's article Artificial neural networks training to do visual recognition learn vaguely how the human brain learns: layers of neurons detecting increasingly high-level patterns. So neurons at lower levels will learn to detect edges and corners, and higher levels will learn to detect bananas. In theory. To test this, Google has been training neural networks to recognize pictures of various objects, and then have them try to "enhance" random noise, CSI-style. Results: weird stuff. For example, take random noise, feed to a neural network, then tweak the noise until the neural network starts claiming to see bananas. What is it actually seeing? Spoiler: Bananas! Even more fun: run the process iteratively; start with noise, have the neural network print out what it thinks is happening; input new picture into network, get new picture, repeat. Spoiler: Warning: Large, disorienting, possibly headache-inducing Check out the gallery here (same warnings). Kind of creepy. I love it. This is essentially how some types of visual hallucinations arise; in the absence of stronger stimuli, low-level noise in the visual cortex gets interpreted as best as the brain can, since the brain isn't smart enough to realize that it's not actually getting meaningful input from the eyes. So this is one more way that AIs are slowly learning to do everything that humans do. Soon even the stoners won't be safe from being replaced by automation.
That bottom one is absolutely stunning *u* I want a print of it, it looks like one of my dreamscapes. Spoiler: another one that made my brain sing
Video! In particular, a network with 1000 output nodes, each trained to recognize a different category of objects; each node is amplified in turn to get it to reinterpret the previous node's result. The top label is the node number; the middle is what the node was trained on, the last line is what the node seems to think is the primary image. Also, nightmare fuel! Seriously, this one is kind of fucked up. It's a video of a pair of bunnies, run through a network that only recognizes dogs and small birds. I love it; it's so gross. Spoiler
Just in case anyone wants it for Halloween: Deep Dream makeup tutorial Any tutorial that starts out with "print out a bunch of pictures of dogs" gets my vote.
