AI can read your mind. Here's how

+ AI Jesus - has it gone too far?

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The cornea is the only part of the human body that receives oxygen directly from the air rather than through blood vessels, which contributes to its ability to heal quickly.

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What’s in store:

  • AI can do Sci-Fi things now.

  • There are pictures of AI-generated Jesus and he looks… extra rugged in them.

  • Around the web: Apple's rumoured HomePod with a screen may arrive with Apple Intelligence.

  • Guidde makes onboarding and training a breeze.

Read Time: 5 minutes

AI SCIENCE

AI systems can now accurately recreate what you're looking at by analysing brain activity.

The key is teaching the AI to focus on specific brain regions, enhancing the accuracy of the reconstructed images.

Researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands, led by Umut Güçlü, have made significant strides in this field.

Their AI system uses functional MRI (fMRI) scans and direct brain recordings from implanted electrodes to generate these images.

Here’s the key bits:

  • fMRI Scans: Brain activity was recorded from three people viewing photographs. The AI system significantly improved the reconstruction accuracy by focusing on key brain areas.

  • Direct Brain Recordings: Using implanted electrodes in a macaque monkey, the AI produced highly accurate reconstructions of images the monkey saw, especially AI-generated ones. The AI was trained to pay attention to parts of the brain relevant to image reconstruction.

  • Improved Accuracy: While fMRI-based reconstructions are less accurate due to noise and the complexity of real photographs, the focus on specific brain regions helps in enhancing the quality.

Mind reading?

With fMRI scans, the accuracy improved when the attention-directing system was used, although the images were less precise compared to those from the macaque.

This is partly because real photographs were used, and reconstructing images from fMRI scans is more challenging due to their non-invasive but noisy nature.

The ultimate goal is to develop advanced brain implants to restore vision.

These implants would stimulate high-level vision areas, creating richer visual experiences by representing objects directly.

For instance, directly stimulating the brain part that corresponds to a dog can create a visual experience much closer to natural sight.

This innovative research highlights the potential of AI in understanding and enhancing human perception.

Now we just need to find a way to clear our brain browser history.

Do you think AI mind-reading tech is a breakthrough or a privacy nightmare?

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AI TOOLS

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On This Day

July 6th 1964 - The Beatles released the film "A Hard Day's Night," a mockumentary that portrays a couple of days in the lives of the group.

AI Image or Real?

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Mystery Link…

We don’t know where it goes either…

AI IMAGE GEN

AI-generated images are now commonplace on social media, capturing attention with their dramatic and sometimes bizarre scenes.

Among these, images of Jesus take up a significant portion, often depicted in an idealised and sometimes surreal manner.

For centuries, artists have created various likenesses of Jesus, reflecting different theologies and aesthetics.

In the age of AI, these depictions have multiplied, often showing Jesus in unexpected roles.

For example, Jesus as a durian fruit or Jesus battling shirtless with Satan.

These images are not found in the Bible but are crafted to engage and provoke reactions on platforms like Facebook.

What's unsettling is the trend of AI-generated images depicting Jesus as unusually handsome and rugged, akin to an Instagram influencer.

Historically, artists have taken creative liberties with Jesus' appearance, but AI-generated images are based on patterns the machines learn from the data they're fed.

This raises questions about our cultural perceptions.

Here’s what you should know:

  • AI images of Jesus often portray him as unusually handsome and rugged, reflecting historical artistic idealisations.

  • These depictions are shaped by the data fed into AI models, which combine artistic styles and user prompts to generate new images.

  • The prevalence of these AI-generated images raises questions about how we view religious and cultural icons.

Religious depictions in art have always reflected idealised forms.

For example, Greek and Roman gods were portrayed to represent strength and health.

This tradition continued in Christian art, with artists like Michelangelo depicting biblical figures in idealised ways.

Generative AI creates images based on patterns and data, often idealising figures like Jesus.

These AI images, while engaging, may lead to a distorted perception of religious figures.

They attract thousands of likes and comments, often linked to questionable websites or repetitive hashtags.

This creates a feedback loop, reinforcing certain aesthetic standards.

Are these gonna be in museums in 1,000 years?

Mindstream Picks

U.S.-based crypto mining stocks fell nearly 10% in premarket trading, with Marathon Digital down 6.5%, Hut 8 down 8.1%, and MicroStrategy down 6.4%, following Mt. Gox's $2.6 billion Bitcoin transfer and a 10% Bitcoin drop.

Airbus Defense and Space won a $2.5 billion contract to deliver next-gen SATCOMBw 3 communications satellites for the German military, including two geostationary satellites and 15 years of support.

A new petition to cancel Assassin's Creed Shadows has reached 50,000 signatures.

Stock futures rose on Friday after the Fourth of July break, as the U.S. added 206,000 nonfarm jobs last month, surpassing the forecast of 189,500.

Don’t Miss - Apple's rumoured HomePod with a screen might arrive with Apple Intelligence. MacRumors found code hinting at a new HomeAccessory 17,1, likely powerful enough for Apple Intelligence, suggesting new smart home hardware is on the way.

AI Art

Our Image of the Day

Artwork submitted by Mindstream reader Laetitia C: “An intricate watch”

Daily Image Prompt

A snowy landscape with a cozy cottage and northern lights

Yesterday’s Poll

“How confident are you in OpenAI’s security measures?”

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