Watchdog Ofqual knew its algorithm was ‘doomed’ as far back as June but pressed ahead anyway, it has been claimed. An adviser who helped it develop the software said there was ‘always an understanding there would be winners and losers’. Ofqual has always said its system was as ‘fair as possible’ – despite so many … Read more
Facebook has been accused of ‘actively promoting’ Holocaust denial on its platform, in a new report by a British think-tank. Researchers from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which works to counter extremism, found that people who had ‘liked’ Holocaust denial content on Facebook were directed to more of the same by the site’s algorithm. The … Read more
Eton College’s headmaster is leading calls from some of the top private schools in the country to scrap the controversial A-level algorithm that decided A-level results. Simon Henderson said that several of pupils had seen their teacher-assessed grades downgraded by the standardising process, sometimes by more than one grade, ‘and in a way which on … Read more
Examination body Ofqual has blamed the government for the chaos over A-level results, with a leading member claiming ‘policy changes every 12 hours’ led to the debacle. Professor Tina Isaacs, who sits on Ofqual’s advisory group, warned that Thursday, when GCSE results are due to be released, could see ‘another wave’ of grades that do … Read more
Some Ofqual board members want to get rid of their own controversial A-level algorithm after almost 40 per cent of grades were downgraded by the system. Critics have complained the algorithm used by Ofqual penalised pupils in schools in more disadvantaged areas, while benefiting those in private schools. Some Ofqual board members now believe the … Read more
The complex algorithm used to calculate a student’s A-level results this year is formed of a series of detailed stages looking at their school’s previous results. Exam regulator Ofqual had initially decided grades would be based on teacher assessments of how pupils would have performed, moderated by exam boards. But it became apparent that teachers’ … Read more
Drones all in a spin! AI algorithm enables quadcopters to perform acrobatic manoeuvres like power loops and barrel rolls autonomously Switzerland-based scientists have worked with Intel to teach a drone acrobatics Drone is powered by an algorithm to perform series of high speed tricks and flips The algorithm trains drone to do stunts that would challenge … Read more
Revealed: deepfake contest run by Facebook shows that top algorithm was only able to spot a doctored video 65% of the time A contest found the best algorithm had a 65 percent success rate The contest had 2,000 participants with 35,000 algorithms tested Facebook will release the winner as an open-source tech for researchers It will … Read more
Researchers develop a new computer algorithm to locate people lost at sea by modeling ‘traps’ in the water that could pull them in different directions Scientists from MIT and elsewhere developed a new search and rescue tool The computer algorithm identifies multiple ‘trap’ regions in the ocean These traps could pull people in several different … Read more
Stanford and Fitbit are joining forces in a bid to develop technology that detects early signs of the coronavirus using wearables. The team is designing an algorithm that measures the wearer’s vitals such as heart rate and skin temperature to determine if the body is fighting an infection. The software will be capable of spotting … Read more