Google is improving Maps with features including where to find EV charging stations and in-depth visualization.

  • AngryHumanoid@reddthat.com
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    8 months ago

    Wow, they’re using Artificial Intelligence to do the same thing predictive analytics has been doing for over 50 years, what a time to be alive!

    • Phanatik@kbin.social
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      8 months ago

      I’m a data analyst moving into data science. I have been ranting about this since the beginning but everyone’s too obsessed with the new shiny thing.

      It’s just an optimisation algorithm that’s learned certain words have different probabilities of occurring depending on context.

      I had to remind my friend, “when it tells you something, it has no idea what it’s just told you” because that’s all it really does; it spits out text on a guessed context but has no precognition of that context.

    • Dojan@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Reminds me of an article I read a few years ago about an Israeli start up aiming to use AI to analyse images of people and detect what they are likely to work with. Doctor, teacher, terrorist, etc.

      Basically phrenology. They were making a digital racist uncle.

      • WoodenBleachers@lemmy.basedcount.com
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        8 months ago

        If the model is accurate though, I’d be okay with it. I understand it’ll never be perfect and laws should be put in place banning people being arrested or interrogated just for that kind of suspicion, but still

        • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          8 months ago

          Except that is literally judging you from how you look. And you don’t think actual bad actors will try to trick the system?

          • WoodenBleachers@lemmy.basedcount.com
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            8 months ago

            Yes, yes. We do this already and we are probably safer for it. If we had a model we could point to evidence that, in general, this helps. It should never be admissible evidence in a court, but it would help police figure out who to keep eyes on

  • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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    8 months ago

    Google is improving Maps

    No they’re not. I use it every single day, and it’s actively getting worse.

      • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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        8 months ago
        • I mentioned in another post, but pointlessly (AI?) segmenting the same straight road or highway so you think your next turn or exit is way sooner

        • Search: “Carl’s Jr”, wants me to turn around and drive for hours, rather than guiding me to the one 15 min away on my route

        • Connected to Android Auto select “Start” multiple times, nothing ever happens on phone or vehicle screen

        • GPS stops sensing at all for no reason, other apps still work

        • Doesn’t know the names of places I added to Google maps, either in Labeled, Favorites, or Starred places

        • Forgets my custom maps that I refer to every day

        • Voice: “Report hazard on road” Response: “That feature haven’t been implemented yet” Oh yeah? It works in Waze, which you bought years ago!

        • Some streets incorrect in navigation, despite being correct on the map… Obviously I’m not the only one who doesn’t know how I would even report that, seeing how they’ve been wrong for years…

        I’ll let you know if I think of anything else…

          • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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            8 months ago

            Not really, just some things that have undoubtedly gotten worse (in my opinion) and on my mind because they annoy me…

          • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
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            8 months ago

            Maps also really wants access to my camera for some reason. When I’m driving it changes the blue dot to a bar that says the location is imprecise and you can tap to improve it. When you tap it asks for additional permissions (that wouldn’t help with positioning at all) including camera access. If you ignore it the message goes away after a few seconds and the dot reappears.

            • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              8 months ago

              It obviously shouldn’t be asking you while you’re driving, but Google Maps does use the camera to improve your location. It scans things like buildings and landmarks, and gets your position based on where you are in relation to them. It’s surprisingly accurate.

              • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
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                8 months ago

                This might work in famous places but I can’t imagine pictures of endless crop fields where I live would help google with shit. And how exactly is GPS less accurate than pictures of buildings anyway? GPS works on your phone even without internet access, so I don’t think google has our best interests at heart here.

                • Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  8 months ago

                  I live in a small village in the UK, and it works here. GPS doesn’t always get a great signal, so this supplements it.

        • driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br
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          8 months ago

          I personally had only bad experiences with Google maps while traveling abroad. Like it cannot comprehend that im not in brazil anymore and dosen’t know where i am. If I ask for restaurants or grocery recommendations close to me it just gave me global results, like why the fuck are you reccomend me restaurants in England and New York while im on Buenos Aires?

  • _number8_@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    how do you define fun

    like some think clubs are fun but really they sound like hell on earth

  • 21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com
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    8 months ago

    I get that this apartment complex is kinda the town party house but if Google maps starts bringing tourists here we’ll riot.

    • Salamendacious@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      Could you imagine throwing a party and then random people start showing up saying Google maps brought them there?

  • Oaksey@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Search with live view, I think they will harvest that for up to date imagery / street view

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    8 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Google users can now make plans through a new Maps update that will generate events and activities by typing “things to do” into the search bar.

    Activities like art exhibitions or lists providing inspiration for things to do will now populate, giving photo-first results to users, according to a Google news release Thursday.

    Google Maps uses artificial intelligence to analyze billions of photos shared by the app’s community and focuses on specific activities.

    Its Lens feature also incorporates AI with its “Search with Live View,” creating the option to select the icon and hold up your phone to scan the area for information about nearby landmarks.

    After ChatGPT launched in November of last year, Google strove to catch up with the release of its chatbot Bard, alongside other AI endeavors across the company.

    Google has not launched SGE to the general public yet, but CEO Sundar Pichai said in a Q3 earnings call earlier this week that using AI will create “new opportunities for content to be discovered.”


    The original article contains 312 words, the summary contains 168 words. Saved 46%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!