Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have unveiled an updated version of a brain decoder that uses artificial intelligence to convert thoughts into text. The primary advantage of the new algorithm is its ability to train an existing decoder without requiring hours of training. In a study published on February 6 in the journal Current Biology, the team explored how a decoder trained on one group of people could be adapted to work on the brains of other participants. This advancement could have a significant impact on individuals with aphasia, a disorder that impairs communication abilities. Previously, decoders required extensive training, with participants listening to stories while inside an MRI machine. However, this approach limited their utility, as the models only functioned effectively for the individuals they were trained on. As study co-author Alexander Huth explained, people with aphasia often struggle to understand and produce speech, rendering the traditional method ineffective. In the new study, researchers trained a decoder on several reference participants by collecting fMRI data while they listened to 10 hours of radio broadcasts. They then developed two conversion algorithms: one using data from 70 minutes of radio listening and another using data from 70 minutes of watching Pixar short films. Using a technique called functional alignment, the team analyzed how participants’ brains responded to the same audio and video clips. This allowed them to train a decoder for a target group without needing to collect hours of additional data. The decoders were tested using a short story that participants had not heard before. While the accuracy of the predictions was higher for the control group, the results still demonstrated a semantic connection between the predicted words and the story’s text. For example, in one part of the test story, a character reflects on a job he dislikes. A decoder trained on movie data predicted, “I worked in a job that I thought was boring. I had to take orders, and I didn’t like them.” Although the prediction wasn’t perfectly accurate, the underlying ideas were closely aligned. Researchers noted that the most intriguing aspect is the decoder’s ability to function even without language-specific data, opening new possibilities for information collection. This could help individuals with aphasia express their thoughts and underscores the similarities in how ideas are represented in both language and visual imagery. The next step for the research team will be to test the algorithm on participants with aphasia and develop an interface to help them generate the phrases they need. The post Scientists Improve Brain’s Decoder to Translate Thoughts into Text appeared first on Anomalien.com.

All that was missing was Joe railing against "gr-e-e-e-d." With MSNBC on the Comcast chopping block, if things don't work out for Joe Scarborough, he might consider a new career as a comedic impressionist.  Close your eyes and listen to the video clip. If you didn't know better, you might have thought it was Bernie Sanders ranting about "millionaires and billionaires." But no, that was Scarborough on today's Morning Joe. Self-styled "small-government conservative" Scarborough first condemned the Trump administration's plans to reduce the number of IRS agents!  Adopting the liberal lexicon, Scarborough complained that "working-class" people can't afford lawyers to take care of the problems with the IRS, unlike "millionaires and billionaires." A bit later, Scarborough condemned proposed tax cuts for "billionaires and millionaires. This is not about protecting Medicare or Medicaid of Social Security. This is about protecting tax cuts for billionaires." Sanders-Scarborough '28: Vote Democrat Socialist! Just as Bernie Sanders has three homes, Nantucket Joe Scarborough is a multi-millionaire. Mr. and Mrs. Scarborough each have an estimated MSNBC salary of $8 million a year and each has an estimated net worth of $20 million or more. Before Scarborough goes off on his next class-warfare rant, here's a quick tax tutorial for him: In a recent year, the bottom half of taxpayers faced an average income tax rate of 3.7 percent. The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid an average income tax rate of 26.1 percent—seven times the rate faced by the bottom half of taxpayers. The top 1 percent paid 40.4 percent of all federal income taxes.  Here's the transcript. MSNBC Morning Joe 2/21/25 6:18 am ET JOE SCARBOROUGH: Maybe politicians want to paint the IRS as the bad guys because they audited Donald Trump too much, Donald Trump would say.  At the end of the day, it is working Americans trying to get their refund. It's middle-class Americans trying to get their refunds. They can't afford the lawyers or, or, or whatever millionaires and billionaires can afford to take care of their problems with the IRS.  It's going to be working-class and middle-class taxpayers who are going to be impacted by this.  . . .  Our interest on the debt is larger than any of these things that they're talking about cutting right now. And what are they doing at the same time he says we have to make choices? They are about to pass the biggest tax cuts ever for billionaires and for millionaires.  That's the choice they've made. This is not about protecting Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security. This is about protecting tax cuts for billionaires. 

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Conway Twitty had the voice and the talent to dominate the charts, having recorded one of the all-time greatest country classics, “Hello Darlin.” However, he experienced a tough beginning in the entertainment industry, as it proved challenging for him to be noticed. He soon realized that if he were to stand a chance for true fame, he needed a stage name. Unlike today’s stars, who brainstorm with marketing departments to come up with names, Twitty employed a different method, and he was right. It turned out that adopting a new name was the first step in creating his legendary career. What was Conway Twitty’s real name? Conway Twitty, ca. 1960/Everett collection Twitty’s real name is Harold Jenkins, and he knew early enough that his name simply did not compare to that of the likes of Elvis Presley. Radio stations of the ’50s would get stacks of records and decide what to play and what not, and Twitty believed a good name would give him an advantage over the competition. When he promoted his album, Old Lonesome Road, on The David Letterman Show in 1989, he explained that he wanted a name that would ring a bell with radio DJs as they sifted through their stacks of new records. If his moniker caught their attention, his song would likely be played on air. How did Conway Twitty select his stage name? After searching everywhere, Twitty unfolded a map of the United States and started to scan it. Two locations interested him: Conway, Arkansas, and Twitty, Texas. He merged them, and there he got “Conway Twitty.” Conway Twitty/Instagram After this change, his song, “It’s Only Make Believe,” went through the roof in 1958 and stayed number one on the Billboard chart for two weeks. The song’s popularity was a way to show that his strategy had worked. Twitty continued to dominate the charts with other hits, such as “Linda on My Mind,” “You’ve Never Been This Far Before,” and “Don’t Take It Away.” Next up: Recently Discovered Chandelier From The Actual Titanic Now On Display At New Jersey Museum The post Conway Twitty’s Stage Name Has A Clever Story Behind It All appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Peace A

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