The World of Artificial Intelligence: Solving the Color Name Problem
May 24, 2017
I eagerly wait the accuracy and precision of artificial intelligence in my everyday life. My wife has presented me with three color chips. Each chip has a name; for example, almond, parchment, and old ivory. She asks me, “Which do you prefer?”
I reply, “Which one do you like?”
The reason is that the names and the colors make zero sense to me. The color is white and the differences among them are not discernable to me. White is pretty much white to me.
I read “Turdly? Stoner Blue? Stanky Bean? Never Let an AI Name Colors.” The main idea is that a research scientist “taught” smart software to name colors. The results were encouraging. Almond? Parchment? Old ivory. Dull. I simply do not relate to odd ball, metaphorical names.
However, the smart software is on my wave length. Why fool around with poetry when there are AI identified names to make colors come alive; for example:
- Tired of the weird names for a mixture of black and white? Go with “Horble Gray.” (Does an AI program know the difference between “horrid” and “horble”?)
- Want something to go with that snappy new sofa? Why not select both carpet and trim in “Golder cream”? Sounds good enough to eat, right?
- Looking for the perfect highlight for one’s non binary child? I would select without hesitation “Burf Pink”. Descriptive and only one vowel away from my favorite word used to describe AI software, “barf.”
Believe me. I wanted to highlight “Bank Butt” and “Dorkwood.” But I was not sure if these colors were the work of a person with an MFA, a product of the Onion’s editorial team, or just another one of these “real news” items which inform and delight.
I think I am slipping into an AI “Clardic Fug.” Others may embrace “Stoner Blue.” (See I did not reference “Turdly Brown,” you “Stanky Bean.”
Stephen E Arnold, May 24, 2017
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