MAGIC TRICKS CREATED USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR THE FIRST TIME
Researchers working on
artificial intelligence at Queen Mary University of London have taught a
computer to create magic tricks.
The
researchers gave a computer program the outline of how a magic jigsaw puzzle
and a mind reading card trick work, as well the results of experiments into how
humans understand magic tricks, and the system created completely new variants
on those tricks which can be delivered by a magician.
The
magic tricks created were of the type that use mathematical techniques rather
than sleight of hand or other theatrics, and are a core part of many magicians'
repertoires. The tricks, details of which are published today (Monday) in the
journal Frontiers in
Psychology, proved popular with audiences
and the magic puzzle was put on sale in a London magic shop. The card trick is
available as an app called Phony in the Google Play Store.
Co-creator
of the project, Howard Williams, explains how a computer can aid trick
creation: "Computer intelligence can process much larger amounts of
information and run through all the possible outcomes in a way that is almost
impossible for a person to do on their own. So while, a member of the audience
might have seen a variation on this trick before, the AI can now use
psychological and mathematical principles to create lots of different versions
and keep audiences guessing."
The
magic jigsaw involves assembling a jigsaw to show a series shapes, then taking
it apart and reassembling it so that certain shapes have disappeared using a
clever geometric principle. Creation of tricks of this kind involve several
simultaneous factors such as the size of the puzzle, the number of pieces
involved, the number of shapes that appear and disappear and the ways that the
puzzle can be arranged. Something this complex is ideal for an algorithm to
process, and make decisions about which flexible factors are most important.
The
mind reading card trick involves arranging a deck of playing cards in a
specific way then, based on a few seemingly innocuous pieces of information
from the audience, identifying a card that has been seen selected from the deck
and using an Android app to reveal the card on a mobile phone screen. The
computer was used to arrange the decks in such a way that a specific card could
be identified with the least amount of information possible. The program
identified arrangements for the deck that on average required one fewer
question to be asked before the card was found than with the traditional
method. The app simply avoids the magician having to remember the order of the
cards.
Professor
Peter McOwan, part of the QMUL team who worked on the project, added:
"Using AI to create magic tricks is a great way to demonstrate the
possibilities of computer intelligence and it also forms a part of our research
in to the psychology of being a spectator. For example, we suspected that
audiences would be suspicious of the involvement of technology in the delivery
of a trick but we've found out that isn't the case."
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