Streaming algorithm is ‘more likely to pick music by male artists’

Founded as a small start-up firm just 14 years ago, Spotify has quickly risen to take the music world by storm. From its humble beginnings, the music streaming service, which boasts a library of 60million songs, now has a staggering 320million monthly active users and is worth an estimated $23billion. The meteoric rise began in … Read more

Coronavirus England: NHS algorithm wrongly identified 430k as ‘high risk’

More than 400,000 people in England were wrongly marked as at high risk from coronavirus because of an over-cautious algorithm. The QCovid algorithm, used to help identify who should be shielding or getting early access to vaccines, automatically put people in the high-risk pile when data was missing, health news site Pulse reported.  If their … Read more

Gavin Williamson says exam grades ‘in the hands of teachers’ after algorithm debacle last year

Gavin Williamson said ministers were putting their trust in teachers to  mark pupils’ GCSEs and A-Levels today as he confirmed that no computer algorithms would be used to work our fair grades. The Education Secretary fronted a Government press conference tonight ahead of an announcement tomorrow on how grades will be awarded this summer. Last … Read more

YouTube algorithm accidentally blocks ‘black v white’ CHESS strategy

YouTube’s overeager AI might have misinterpreted a conversation about chess as racist language. Last summer, a YouTuber who produces popular chess videos saw his channel blocked for including what the site called ‘harmful and dangerous’ content. YouTube didn’t explain why it had blocked Croatian chess player Antonio Radic, also known as ‘Agadmator,’ but service was … Read more

Instagram updates Reels recommendation algorithm to de-rank clips with TikTok watermarks

Instagram takes a jab at TikTok by updating its Reels recommendation algorithm to de-rank clips with its competitor’s watermarks Instagram is updated its Reels recommendation algorithm The algorithm will not promote Reels that have a TikTok watermark The firm says its users do not enjoy seeing recycled content on the platform  Instagram has been trying … Read more

NHS algorithm used to spot which Covid patients are most at risk of dying isn’t accurate

NHS algorithm used to spot people most at risk of dying or being admitted to intensive care performs ‘poorly’ on Covid-19 patients, study finds NEWS2 is an algorithm used almost universally across the NHS   It gives a score to a patient which indicates how likely they are to deteriorate  But King’s College London researchers found ‘poor-to-moderate’ performance when used … Read more

Tories hail U-turn on ‘mutant algorithm’ after shires planning revolt

Tories hail U-turn on ‘mutant algorithm’ that sparked fears of planning free-for-all in the shires as Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says shift WON’T wreck target of building 300,000 new homes a year Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt led the revolt against the  planning algorithm  Housing Secretary announced algorithm had been tweaked to include the North  … Read more

Army-funded algorithm decodes brain signals responsible for behaviors like walking and breathing

A machine learning algorithm has shown the ability to link specific behaviors, such as walking and breathing, to their related brain signals – a first step to developing brain-machine interfaces. The algorithm, funded by the US Army, was tested on two monkeys that made various arm and eye movements. The technology successfully isolated the neural … Read more

Algorithm trained with hundreds of zombie faces transforms selfies into blood thirsty undead corpses

People across the world will soon put on scary makeup, terrifying masks and spooky costumes in honor of Halloween, but an algorithm is capable of transforming you into a flesh eating zombie in just seconds. The website, called MakeMeAZombie,’ stems from Toonify that transforms portraits into fun-loving cartoons, but has been redesigned to make users … Read more

Algorithm could help ‘share the load’ of ICU beds and support up to 1,000 Covid-19 patients

A new algorithm could be used in the NHS to help hospitals ‘share the load’ and ensure Covid-19 patients get access to an ICU bed when needed, a study has found.  Queen Mary University of London researchers, proposes a load balancing system that would see critical ICU patients transferred between hospitals as needed. This would involve an algorithm … Read more