Human intelligence meets artificial intelligence: the new *um website

We are curious. We are inventive. We are fascinated and inspired by the world around us.

Artificial intelligence is already a huge part of our everyday lives, bridging the gap between man and machine. On the new *um website, we show how human and artificial intelligence are inextricably linked – and we even take a look inside the human brain.

Or, to be more precise, a look inside the brain of Ulf Schöneberg, who built his own EEG and transformed the data into a pioneering ‘algorithmic artwork’ that layers the recorded brainwaves over one another and changes in appearance depending on his mood.

The piece is completed by a headline ticker showing IT-related news above the image of the brainwaves. The headlines are generated automatically by a Markov chain trained in-house at *um; this same mechanism is used in robot journalism.

Headlines from the Markov machine

To create its headlines, the chain reads headlines from English-language IT news portals and splits them up based on their semantic components. The mechanism then draws from the resulting ‘word bag’ of individual text elements to build new headlines. The algorithm does not understand the contents of what it has read; it is only capable of applying the semantic rules that we have trained it to use. The headlines it produces may be nonsense or resemble a real, believable news headline. Whatever the outcome, the headlines certainly provide food for thought – and who knows? One day, it might produce a headline that will come true.

AI relies on human expertise

On our new website, artificial and human intelligence go hand in hand – and it works. But beyond pure functionality, this pairing also demonstrates that without human intelligence – which is capable of understanding why a specific algorithm should be used – even the best artificial intelligence is rendered essentially useless. This is the interface at which we operate: We bridge the gap between human and artificial intelligence to create future market leaders.

‘Human intelligence is needed to truly understand what you want to achieve. Only when you have understood this can you apply artificial intelligence to solve problems.’

Ulf Schöneberg

This post is also available in: German

Human intelligence meets artificial intelligence: the new *um website

We are curious. We are inventive. We are fascinated and inspired by the world around us.

Headlines from the Markov machine

AI relies on human expertise

‘Human intelligence is needed to truly understand what you want to achieve. Only when you have understood this can you apply artificial intelligence to solve problems.’

Ulf Schöneberg

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