#the debrief

[sommer-girl]

The Debrief | Danna

The debrief was a crucial part of any weekend. Getting breakfast the next morning, recapping the events of the previous night, recalling with glee or shame or shock all of the drama that had gone down. And following Halloween, there was a lot to unpack. 

Anna hadn’t gone to the murder mystery party, and she was trying to make an effort to continue to hang out with Danny even though they didn’t do improv together anymore, so she made plans to meet up with him in the dining hall later that week. 

“I’m just glad nobody got hurt,” Anna said, dumping sugar into her coffee. “Luckily, all of us at Nancy’s house were able to get boards up on the windows and just hide. It was almost kinda fun. But I feel really bad for all the people who got their houses and businesses destroyed...”

[outfit]

@darling-lost-boy

#the debrief #danny

[xtruss]

Image: Wikimedia Commons

5000-Year-Old Tablets Can Now Be Decoded By Artificial Intelligence, New Research Reveals

— M.J. Banias | November 27, 2023

A team from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and Mainz University of Applied Sciences has unveiled an AI system capable of deciphering ancient cuneiform texts. This novel technology, leveraging 3D models, represents a significant advancement in understanding one of humanity’s earliest forms of writing.

Published in The Eurographics Association Journal, the researchers’ study focused on a set of cuneiform tablets from the Frau Professor Hilprecht Collection. These tablets primarily originate from ancient Mesopotamia, a historical region in present-day Iraq. Often referred to as the cradle of civilization, this area is where some of the earliest human societies developed. These tablets, in particular, are inscribed with a series of symbols, signs, and wedges that form the languages of the region, such as Sumerian, Assyrian, and Akkadian.

Many are over 5,000 years old and offer a glimpse into ancient civilizations, covering a wide range of topics from everyday life to legal matters.

“Everything can be found on them: from shopping lists to court rulings,” said Hubert Mara, one of the study’s authors. “The tablets provide a glimpse into mankind’s past several millennia ago. However, they are heavily weathered and thus difficult to decipher even for trained eyes.”

The team turned to AI for help.

Using a novel AI process to decode ancient cuneiform tablets, they leveraged a sophisticated AI model based on the Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (R-CNN) architecture, a specialized system designed for object recognition. The study utilized a unique dataset consisting of 3D models of 1,977 cuneiform tablets, with detailed annotations of 21,000 cuneiform signs and 4,700 wedges.

The AI’s methodology entailed a two-part pipeline: initially, a sign detector, built on a RepPoints model with a ResNet18 backbone, identified cuneiform characters on the tablets. In simple terms, the RepPoints model combs through the ResNet18 collection of images connected to the Mesopotamian languages and then combines the patterns to ‘see’ the text. This step was crucial for locating the signs accurately. Subsequently, the wedge detector, using Point R-CNN with advanced features like Feature Pyramid Network (FPN) and RoI Align, classified and predicted the wedges’ positions, which forms the basis of the cuneiform script’s fundamental elements, allowing the AI, in effect, to ‘read.’

These tools take the 3D scans of the tablets and sift through the multitude of measurements of things like the impression depth made by the stylus into the clay or the distance between the symbols and wedges. This nuanced approach enabled the AI to overcome the challenges posed by traditional 2D photographs, such as inconsistent lighting and color distractions, thus providing a more accurate analysis of the ancient texts.

Traditional research on ancient texts uses optical character recognition software (OCR), which converts scanned images or 2D photographs of the writing into machine-readable text.

“OCR usually works with photographs or scans. This is no problem for ink on paper or parchment. In the case of cuneiform tablets, however, things are more difficult because the light and the viewing angle greatly influence how well certain characters can be identified,” said co-author Ernst Stötzner.

Ancient scrolls, parchment, and old books are easy- they are a 2D medium translated into another 2D medium. Cuneiform tablets, however, are 3D, and all that depth impacts interpretation.

To address this, the research team put their AI system through an extensive training regimen, utilizing three-dimensional scans and supplemental data. A substantial portion of this data was contributed by the Mainz University of Applied Sciences, which is currently leading a significant project focused on creating 3D models of these ancient clay tablets. This enabled the AI to achieve remarkable success in accurately identifying the symbols inscribed on the tablets.

This technology not only democratizes access to these ancient records but also opens up new avenues for research, allowing for broader analysis and interpretation of historical texts. Future enhancements could extend its application to other three-dimensional scripts, such as weathered inscriptions found in cemeteries.

— MJ Banias is a journalist and podcaster who covers security and technology. He is the host of The Debrief Weekly Report and Cloak & Dagger | An OSINT Podcast.

#The Debrief #MJ Banias #5000-Year-Old Tablets #Artificial Intelligence #Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg #Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz #Mainz University of Applied Sciences #Eurographics Association Journal

[angel-in-your-basement]

For the love of god, praise and reassure your Dom after sex. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve told a Dom they did a good job after sex and they’re like “???? Why are you saying that???” It’s INSANE. Aftercare goes both ways! Praise! Your! Dom! Tell them the specific things you liked! Tell them how hot they were! Tell them that you appreciate them taking control! It goes such a long way, trust me.

#this has been a psa #the post sex debrief is actually my fav #cala posts #kink education

[trashworldblog]

"we're professional ghost hunters now"

"best in the business"

#and theyre RIGHT #listen this is all a part of the strategy #ghost files #watcher #ryan bergara #shane madej #watcher entertainment #debrief

[tolerateit]

this is how y'all talk about your blorbos here

#meg talks #Watcher #mystery files #Mystery files debrief #Shane Madej

[bergoozter]

he gets it

#watcher #ryan bergara #mystery files #mf debrief

[spacy-snail]

Glad to see Shane living out his dream job of being Ryan’s friend

#watcher #mystery files #debrief #ryan bergara #shane madej #snail scribbles

[murasaki-cha]

Honestly both of them look more like they're having an existential crisis than a dead body

#watcher #ghost files #ghost files debrief #shane madej #ryan bergara #watcher entertainment #ghoul boys

[toomanywatchers]

#watcher #watcher entertainment #ryan bergara #we are watcher #shane madej #ryan beef boy bergara #wearewatcher #ghost files #buzzfeed unsolved #ghost files debrief #lizzie lockard #we stan lizzie lockard in this household #carter lau #sam young #mark celestino

[reddstardust]

Btw I thought this was sweet

#their friendship means everything to me #🤧❤ #watcher #mystery files #mystery files debrief #🌠

[rainfallbird]

Stopped in the middle of watching the debrief to make this.

#watcher entertainment #watcher #steven lim #ryan bergara #shane madej #mystery files #mystery files debrief

[ferociouslycreativemystery]

Something I love about merlin fanfiction are the 24/7 always on call ol reliable bands of bandits and mercenaries constantly roaming every inch of albion forest, at your service should you need a sudden contrivance for some bamf, whump or angst. Why do they keep risking their lives by attacking strangers with no prospects of personal gain you ask? I say who are you to judge a ragtag team of no-names for their utter devotion to serving up dramatic plot points and developing the main characters' relationships purely out of the goodness of their hearts. True allies will fight you to the death so that you will get the chance to prove the true depths of your devotion. Braver than the troops if ever I saw it

#bbc merlin #maddie debrief #you rarely catch me reading fanfic but when you do it's gonna be merlin

[introspectivememories]

it's always distinguished lesbian momo with disaster gay todoroki. we need to flip the script. disaster lesbian momo with distinguished gay todoroki. tddk are practically living together in shouto's japanese style dorm meanwhile momo flies in every morning, hair a mess, slamming that shoji door open, talkin bout "todoroki-kun! kyouka touched my knee this morning! do you think she likes me????"

#momo 2 seconds later: oh good morning midoriya-san. i hope i didnt disturb your sleep. anyway todoroki-kun pleaaase tell me what to do #i like this idea of prim and proper momo becoming a disaster over her gay little crush on jirou #tddk got their shit together 3 months into being friends. tdrk just confessed in that blunt way of his and now they're practically married #izuku's dorm room is his extra closet space for all might merch #they share a futon ffs #on the other hand momo's internal dialogue is just: hnnnng kyouka prettyyyy kyouka strong kyouka kissable #momo having debriefing sessions with tdrk every morning is so funny to me #izk thinks its ridiculous bc c'mon kyouka's crush on momo is visible from the moon #just tell her you like her yaoyorozu-san!! #yaoyorozu momo #jirou kyouka #todoroki shouto #midoriya izuku #tododeku #momojirou #tddk #bnha

[tolerateit]

they just don't make content like this anywhere else

#meg talks #Watcher #Watcher subtitle crew ily #Ghost files #ghost files debrief

[bergoozter]

#watcher #shane madej #ghost files #gf debrief

[partlyironic]

hey guys. remember this.

#the thing with being a fan of these guys #is that sometimes certain moments will slam back into your consciousness #and you suddenly have to seek it out again to rewatch to make sure it was real. or that you weren't exaggerating. #or just to try and work out what any of it was about #and unfortunately a lot of the time you will find a rewatch will give you ZERO further clarification tbh. #anyway. needed this on my blog. #two men one braincell #sceptic believer #shyan #watcher #ghost files #ghost files debrief #(this is the magnolia hotel ep. btw.)