“Mind reading” may be about to become a reality – and in the most literal sense possible‚ as a new breakthrough from researchers at the University of Technology Sydney’s GrapheneX-UTS Human-centric Artificial Intelligence Centre sees thoughts transformed into words on a screen.“This research represents a pioneering effort in translating raw EEG waves directly into language‚ marking a significant breakthrough in the field‚” said Ching-Ten Lin‚ Distinguished Professor at the UTS School of Computer Science and Director of the GrapheneX-UTS HAI Centre.“It is the first to incorporate discrete encoding techniques in the brain-to-text translation process‚ introducing an innovative approach to neural decoding‚” Lin‚ who led the research‚ explained. “The integration with large language models is also opening new frontiers in neuroscience and AI.”In a study that has been selected as a spotlight paper at the NeurIPS conference‚ an annual meeting of researchers in artificial intelligence and machine learning‚ participants silently read passages of text while an AI model called DeWave – using only their brainwaves as input – projected those words onto a screen. While it’s not the first technology to be able to translate brain signals into language‚ it’s the only one so far to require neither brain implants nor access to a full-on MRI machine. It also has an edge on predecessors that require additional input such as eye-tracking software‚ the researchers say‚ as the new technology can be used with or without such extras.Instead‚ users need only to wear a cap that records their brain activity via electroencephalogram (EEG) – much more practical and convenient than an eye-tracker (not to mention an MRI machine). That meant the signal was a bit noisier than information gained from implants‚ the researchers admitted – though even then‚ the tech performed pretty well in trials. Accuracy measurements using the BLEU algorithm – a way to evaluate the similarity of an original text to a machine-translated output by giving it a score between 0 and 1 – put the new tech at about 0.4. That‚ admittedly‚ isn’t as good as some of the other options that depend on these more invasive methods. “The model is more adept at matching verbs than nouns‚” explained Yiqun Duan‚ first author on the paper accompanying the research – and “when it comes to nouns‚ we saw a tendency towards synonymous pairs rather than precise translations‚ such as ‘the man’ instead of ‘the author’.” “We think [these errors are] because when the brain processes these words‚ semantically similar words might produce similar brain wave patterns‚” Duan said. But the researchers believe they can improve this accuracy up to 0.9 – a level comparable with traditional language translation programs. They already have an advantage‚ they suspect‚ due to carrying out their tests on 29 participants – it may not sound like a lot‚ but it’s an order of magnitude higher than many other decoding tech trials.“Despite the challenges‚ our model yields meaningful results‚” Duan said‚ “aligning keywords and forming similar sentence structures.”The results were shown at the NeurIPS conference and a preprint can be found on ArXiV. It has yet to be peer reviewed.

Patriotic mobs and harbor tea-dumping returned to Boston on Saturday as the city marked the 250th anniversary of the revolutionary protest that preceded America's independence.The commemoration of the Boston Tea Party included scheduled reenactments of the throwing of tea...

The top strategist for the embattled super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ' campaign for the White House resigned Saturday night in the latest sign of trouble for the GOP hopeful less than one month before voting begins with Iowa's kickoff caucuses.Jeff Roe‚ the top...

Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic is looking to further tighten his grip on power in an election on Sunday that has been marred by reports of major irregularities during a tense campaign.The main contest in the parliamentary and local elections is expected to be...

Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin dismissed as complete nonsense remarks by U.S. President Joe Biden that Russia would attack a NATO country if it won the war in Ukraine‚ adding that Russia had no interest in fighting the NATO military alliance. The war in Ukraine has triggered...

The struggle is real!

Stephen Andrew‚ Member of Parliament for Mirani‚ Queensland‚ Australia‚ has alerted the public to sneaky tactics being employed by the Australian Government to push through digital ID laws over the Christmas period. […]

On Tuesday‚ Big Brother Watch released documents that showed how the UK military supported Whitehall officials in monitoring the British public via the “Ministry of Truth.” As well as the British Army’s […]

Here’s a review of what happened…. 7/1 Queens Of The Stone Age (pictured above) sit at #1 on Billboard’s Top Rock &; Alternative Albums‚ Top Rock and Top Alternative charts with “In Times New Roman…”  7/5 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensk tells CNN that listening to AC/DC‚ Guns N’ Roses and Eric Clapton helps him get through Ukraine’s war with Russia.  “AC/DC‚ I don’t understand all the words‚ but I like the energy‚” states the president. 7/6 Former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing’s band KK’S Priest makes its live debut in Wolverhampton‚ U.K. In addition to Downing‚ the band includes former Judas Priest singer Tim “Ripper” Owens.     7/6 Guitarist Nita Strauss and her drummer Josh Villalta (aka Josh V.) are officially engaged during a record release party in L.A. for Strauss’ album “The Call Of The Void.”    7/7 Iron Maiden receive a gold disc in recognition of “Senjutsu” selling over 100‚000 physical copies in the U.K.  The presentation is made during the first of two sold-out shows at London’s O2 Arena. The album peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first week sales of 64‚000 album units. 7/8 Wrapping up his “Farewell Yellow Brick” trek‚ Elton John plays what he says is the last show on the final tour of his career in Stockholm‚ Sweden.  Though touring is done‚ John stills plans to continue performing.  7/10 Ozzy Osbourne cancels his Power Trip festival appearance citing health issues. “My body is telling me that I’m just not ready yet‚” explains Ozzy.   He doesn’t want his first show in nearly five years to be “half-assed.” Judas Priest is named Ozzy’s replacement.  7/12 The tribute concert for the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins is nominated for an Emmy in the ‘Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special’ category.  7/13 Metallica’s “Fuel‚” the third single from their seventh album “Reload‚” is the soundtrack for a NASA video promoting the agency’s Artemis lunar missions.   7/13 Armored Saint are inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood.  7/15 Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody (pictured) celebrates the opening of his Cheyenne‚ WY businesses at his Moody’s Rock Stop‚ a Rock and Roll-based convenience store and fueling station for everyday “recharging.”  He also offers discounts to military personnel.  7/20  All That Remains drummer Jason Costa announces his departure from the band for “deeply personal reasons.” “For the last 17 years I have had an absolute blast writing‚ touring‚ creating and partying in this band with people that I love and respect‚” states Costa.  7/22 Malaysia’s government cuts short the Good Vibes music festival in Kuala Lumpur after Matt Healy‚ lead singer for The 1975‚ slams the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws and kisses his bassist‚ Ross MacDonald‚ during their performance the previous evening.  7/22 Disturbed’s concert in Phoenix is canceled due to “excessive heat” which keeps the band’s equipment from powering up properly.  Also‚ Paramore postpones their concert in San Francisco two hours before it is scheduled start “due to sickness within the touring party.” Fans take to Twitter to express concern and to criticize Paramore for announcing the cancelation so late. The concerts are rescheduled.  7/22 Guitarist Christopher Amott announces his departure from Dark Tranquillity. Amott‚ a founding member of Arch Enemy‚ officially joined Dark Tranquillity in ‘20 after being in the band’s touring lineup since ‘17.  7/23  Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) receives the key to the city in his family’s ancestral hometown of Pratiglione‚ Italy. 7/25 Staind is #1 on Billboard’s Active Rock survey with “Lowest In Me‚” the lead single from the band’s “Confessions Of The Fallen” album. 7/25 Klaus Meine‚ Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs of the Scorpions are awarded the Great Lower Saxony Cross Of Merit by the prime minister of Lower Saxony‚ in Hannover‚ Germany.  7/26 Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge and his To The Stars… Academy Of Arts &; Sciences are credited during congressional hearings for reinvigorating interest in and bringing legitimacy to UFO studies.  “I am so proud of the three witnesses today that blew the lid off the UFO secrecy that has been intact for decades‚” writes DeLonge on Instagram.  7/26 Five Finger Death Punch frontman Ivan Moody is presented with the key to the city of Cheyenne‚ WY for his “support of the Cheyenne community.” 7/26 Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor dies at the age of 56. She courted controversy throughout her long career but rose to fame with her ‘90 rendition Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U‚” which went to #1 on the Billboard chart.  7/26 The Eagles founding member‚ bassist‚ and vocalist‚ Randy Meisner‚ passes away in L.A. at age 77‚ due to complications from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD). Meisner was the original bassist for Poco‚ before joining Glenn Frey‚ Don Henley‚ and Bernie Leadon‚ to form The Eagles. 7/27 Anthrax‘s Scott Ian thanks L.A. County firefighters for working to contain a brush fire that burned about 50 acres on a hillside near his home in the Topanga Canyon area. 7/28 Pantera Radio takes over SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal (channel 40) for weeklong run. Only Pantera and affiliated bands are played.  7/29 Foo Fighters and Alanis Morissette perform a live cover of “Mandinka” at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival as a tribute to the late Sinead O’ Conner (see above). The song originally appeared on O’Connor’s ‘87 debut album‚ “The Lion And The Cobra.” 7/29 Falling In Reverse vocalist Ronnie Radke is banned from Tik Tok for his comments challenging gender identity. The post Key Events: July 2023 appeared first on RockinTown.