Can Computers Read? They're Learning To

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Recognizing letters, while an easy task for humans, proves tricky for AI.

When logging into a website or app, we sometimes have to prove we're a human. This is a tricky task, previously done by filling out a Captcha.

But those squiggly, sometimes nonsensical word combos have quickly become much easier to read and much easier to crack for computer systems, provided they use the right algorithms. So tech companies like Google have retired them from use, and are developing new methods to keep bots out.

Artificial Intelligence researchers also want computer systems to learn how to read more like humans do, though not just to crack a Captcha code.

"There is a wide variety of things that a human would call an 'A' and understand as an 'A' that is very hard to get into a computer," said Dileep George, lead researcher at Vicarious, an artificial intelligence company.

To learn how they're doing it, check out the video below from Axios