New Computer Game to Help People with Visual Impairments

A woman takes an eye test in east London. REUTERS/Olivia Harris
A woman takes an eye test in east London. REUTERS/Olivia Harris
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New Computer Game to Help People with Visual Impairments

A woman takes an eye test in east London. REUTERS/Olivia Harris
A woman takes an eye test in east London. REUTERS/Olivia Harris

A team of researchers at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, has developed new electronic games that help patients get rid of vision problems.

The innovative computer game, dubbed "Gözcü” (spotter), does not require the use of hands, but is managed by eye movement.

Kursat Cagıltay, a computer professor at Middle East Technical University of Ankara, said in a statement about the new innovation, that the project aims to improve the sight of people with partial visual impairments.

He added that the innovative games offer the eye the required exercises by tracking what is happening inside the game and controlling its elements with the eye movement.

"It is known that eye exercises are usually practiced by using beads, threads or colored objects, under the supervision of a specialist, but these traditional methods have no positive results in most cases, especially in young people with visual impairment. But, the new games give better results, because the patient has to follow the game while sitting in front of the computer screen, and thus move his eyes in all directions,” said Cagıltay.

The team behind the games was able to achieve good results during the pilot phase, which involved a child with strabismus, he explained.



OpenAI, Anthropic Sign Deals with US Govt for AI Research and Testing

OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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OpenAI, Anthropic Sign Deals with US Govt for AI Research and Testing

OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)

AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic have signed deals with the United States government for research, testing and evaluation of their artificial intelligence models, the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute said on Thursday.

The first-of-their-kind agreements come at a time when the companies are facing regulatory scrutiny over safe and ethical use of AI technologies.

California legislators are set to vote on a bill as soon as this week to broadly regulate how AI is developed and deployed in the state.

Under the deals, the US AI Safety Institute will have access to major new models from both OpenAI and Anthropic prior to and following their public release.

The agreements will also enable collaborative research to evaluate capabilities of the AI models and risks associated with them, Reuters reported.

"We believe the institute has a critical role to play in defining US leadership in responsibly developing artificial intelligence and hope that our work together offers a framework that the rest of the world can build on," said Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

Anthropic, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet , did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

"These agreements are just the start, but they are an important milestone as we work to help responsibly steward the future of AI," said Elizabeth Kelly, director of the US AI Safety Institute.

The institute, a part of the US commerce department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will also collaborate with the U.K. AI Safety Institute and provide feedback to the companies on potential safety improvements.

The US AI Safety Institute was launched last year as part of an executive order by President Joe Biden's administration to evaluate known and emerging risks of artificial intelligence models.