Tech

AI can Track Unsafe Food by Surveying Customer Reviews

Published

5 years ago

August 20, 2019

The researchers from Boston University developed a new AI, called BERT, that detects unsafe food. This AI uses Amazon customer reviews to tell which food is safe and which isn’t. Its accuracy is about 74% which isn’t too bad to begin with.

It detects any food that’s contaminated with chemicals, toxins, pathogens. After eating unsafe food, many of the people become ill, this AI prevents that from happening. Taking into consideration the global health program, the researchers arrived at this AI Program that uses world’s largest online retailer to help detect unsafe food items.

It follows an elaborate process. The developers of the AI linked the Amazon.com food reviews with the AI BERT(Bidirectional Encode Representation from Transformations). The 1,297,156 reviews from Amazon.com linked with the food products made it easy for the users.

Dr. Elaine Nsoesie, the assistant professor of global health at BUSPH informed that- “Health departments in the US are already using data from twitter, yelp and Google for monitoring foodborne diseases.”

The unsafe food products are a global food threat. And BERT is an intelligent way to deal with it. The WHO reports that about 600 million people suffered from illness because of contaminated food. BERT helps to track the unsafe food products and help generate food recalls.

Now the developers want to take the AI up a notch by adding not just reviews from Amazon, but product reviews from other websites and social media as well, like Twitter, Facebook. This way any product labelled foul or rotten , or anything bad gets the unsafe tag.

It isn’t the first time researchers used social media platforms for reviews. Many health organisations monitor food products by referring to the social media as well. Surveillance of food products is important and BERT is in the game to do play its role. The researchers said that BERT will stop any foodborne disease outbreaks and prevent illness and deaths.

Tech

Resist Temptation and Get More Productive With Website and App Blockers

Published

3 weeks ago

July 4, 2024

Jonathan Grilli

From reading the latest news to looking for your next big vacation (or being captivated by social media), the Internet has become a massive landscape of diverse content. With the digital world filled with countless distractions, resisting temptation and being able to focus has become more and more difficult. The development of website and app blockers provides a simple solution to avoid scooting down portal pathways that hinder productivity and, sometimes, lead to negative consequences.

As a worldwide societal phenomenon, the Internet is rapidly evolving, with entire economies and personal relationships relying on the web. A website and app blocker intentionally restricts access to specific internet sites and apps through software programs. Website and app blocker software can be downloaded as add-ons or extensions for browsers, like website blocking on Chrome. Such blocking can include programs that assist in URL-based blocking, Platform-based blocking—specifically when using search engines, and Domain Name Systems blocking, which all make it difficult to access specified domains and websites on the Internet.

Many website and app blockers allow you to enter websites and apps that you want to restrict access to for a certain time period throughout the day or a certain length of time. This can be helpful to those who need to focus on studying but keep falling into temptation’s trap, straying away from what needs to be done to engage in unnecessary Google searches or scrolling through Instagram posts.

However, there are website and app blockers that can permanently restrict access to specified sites and apps. With potentially crucial reasons to restrict access to Internet content, blocking software could improve daily lives. Those struggling with shopping addiction or facing negative consequences at work for an inability to remain focused may find website and app blockers incredibly beneficial.

Website and app blocking isn’t confined to personal, individual use. It has become a rising trend for many governments to utilize this software when blocking illegal content. Yet, the software can also help parents, guardians, and other family and friends block access to harmful content and inappropriate material for children.

By restricting access to certain websites or apps, you allow yourself to build new and more productive habits, or keep yourself and your kids safe. Through establishing “forced focus” times for yourself, concentrating solely on your work or tasks at hand becomes easier. Protectivity has many proven benefits. Committing to what needs to be done can help build your self-worth, creating a feeling of accomplishment that is good for your mood. Even if the things you need to focus on and get done are smaller tasks in nature, accomplishing your daily tasks can help ward off excessive stress and anxiety, as well as depression.

NetNanny, BlockSite, and Surfblocker as some of the most effective website and app blocking software. BlockSite is a blocking software used globally by millions of people, and it provides relief from temptation by temporarily blocking websites and apps, so you can focus, be productive, and build self-control habits.

Whether you are trying to keep yourself in check or your family safe, website and app-blocking software limits screen time while providing customization to users that help tailor usage to individual needs.