Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch
I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been sold on the artificial intelligence (AI) trend that seems to be taking over the world. So far, it seems to be mostly smoke and mirrors hype. Will jobs be lost, or just different? That was said about every technological advancement. Will it take over the world? I’ve heard that story before. Will AI create misinformation on the internet? I’ll just wait to find out what George Washington and Abe Lincoln have to say about it.
Like many people, I’ve played around with AI. A couple of months ago, I used it to write this column. I’ve made some pictures and had several conversations with ChatGPT. Mostly, I’ve been bored with AI.
Then I found Seeing AI, an app for both Android and IOS. It is a Microsoft app that aims to help blind and low-vision folks understand more of the world around them with the assistance of their smartphone’s cameras and AI-powered narration. My vision is pretty good when I wear my eyeglasses, but I’ve still found Seeing AI to be useful.
Seeing AI opens and immediately activates a live camera with voice narration built into the app. Voice types and tempo can be changed in settings. There are several functions that you can utilize with a simple tap.
Short Text – reads text that you point your camera at.
Document – is similar to Short Text, but more sophisticated. It can read and scan complete documents.
Product – is a bar code reader.
Scene – takes a picture and describes it in detail.
Person – identifies people.
Currency – identifies money.
Color – tells whatever color your camera is pointed at.
Handwriting – still experimental. Recognizes handwriting.
Light – plays a tone that changes pitch depending on how much ambient light there is.
In the Google Play Store, Microsoft says it doesn’t collect or share any user data. Would they lie to us?
Thanks for reading.