Janelle Shane

Rock climbing routes generated by neural network

By Janelle Shane On June 14, 2018 - 2 min read

Climbers have given nicknames to thousands and thousands of rock climbing routes - and the names range from quirky to rude to bizarre. Clearly, this makes them an excellent candidate for imitation by a neural network [https://github.com/karpathy/char-rnn], which specializes in these three things exactly. With the

Why did the neural network cross the road?

By Janelle Shane On June 08, 2018 - 3 min read

Can a machine learning algorithm learn to tell a joke? I’ve experimented with neural networks and jokes before, teaching them to tell knock-knock jokes [http://aiweirdness.com/post/159132506927/in-which-a-neural-network-learns-to-tell] , or to generate April Fools pranks [http://aiweirdness.com/post/172345256807/april-fools-pranks-written-by-neural-network] . In each case, the results were… underwhelming.

Neural network-generated roller derby names

By Janelle Shane On June 01, 2018 - 2 min read

Or, this neural network is terrible at puns. There’s a contact roller skate sport called roller derby where participants tend to use pseudonyms when they play. There are online databases of derby names so players can make sure their chosen name hasn’t been taken. Derby names are often

Metal Band or My Little Pony?

By Janelle Shane On May 24, 2018 - 3 min read

Neural networks are algorithms that learn by example, rather than by following a programmer’s set of rules. Although on this blog I’ve mostly been using them to generate new examples of things (like paint [http://aiweirdness.com/post/160776374467/new-paint-colors-invented-by-neural-network] colors [http://aiweirdness.com/post/160985569682/paint-colors-designed-by-neural-network-part-2] , halloween

Generated ice cream flavors: now it’s my turn

By Janelle Shane On May 17, 2018 - 3 min read

Last week, [http://aiweirdness.com/post/173797162852/ai-scream-for-ice-cream] I featured new ice cream flavors generated by Ms. Johnson’s coding classes at Kealing Middle School in Austin, Texas. Their flavors were good - much better than mine, in fact. In part, this was because they had collected a much larger

A.I. scream for ice cream

By Janelle Shane On May 11, 2018 - 3 min read

Or, the time a class of middle schoolers kicked my butt at neural network ice cream naming. The other day I got an email from Anita Johnson, who teaches coding classes at Kealing Middle School in Austin, Texas. She explained that her students had been reading the neural network experiments

D&D character names - generated by a neural network

By Janelle Shane On May 03, 2018 - 3 min read

There are algorithms called artificial neural networks that can learn to imitate examples of just about anything. They’re used in all sorts of everyday programs, translating languages, identifying photos, colorizing drawings, delivering ads, and tons more. It turns out neural networks may also be a dungeon master’s best

NFL draft picks, as described by a neural network

By Janelle Shane On April 26, 2018 - 2 min read

Every year the NFL recruits new football players in a process known as the NFL Draft. Scouts watch the prospective players, and the NFL posts their lists of each player’s strengths and weaknesses [https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/prospects/allPositions?college=allColleges&page=1&status=ALL]

SkyKnit: When knitters teamed up with a neural network

By Janelle Shane On April 19, 2018 - 7 min read

[Make Caows and Shapcho - MeganAnn] [https://www.ravelry.com/projects/MeganAnn/skyknit-the-collection] [Pitsilised Koekirjad Cushion Sampler Poncho - Maeve] [https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Maeve/skyknit-the-collection] [Lacy 2047 [https://www.ravelry.com/projects/michaela112358/skyknit-the-collection-3] - michaela112358 [https://www.ravelry.com/people/michaela112358]] I use algorithms called neural networks

When algorithms surprise us

By Janelle Shane On April 13, 2018 - 5 min read

Machine learning algorithms are not like other computer programs. In the usual sort of programming, a human programmer tells the computer exactly what to do. In machine learning, the human programmer merely gives the algorithm the problem to be solved, and through trial-and-error the algorithm has to figure out how

Rock climbing routes generated by neural network

Why did the neural network cross the road?

Neural network-generated roller derby names

Metal Band or My Little Pony?

Generated ice cream flavors: now it’s my turn

A.I. scream for ice cream

D&D character names - generated by a neural network

NFL draft picks, as described by a neural network

SkyKnit: When knitters teamed up with a neural network

When algorithms surprise us

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