Andrew MillerJun 22, 2023
J. Nathan Matias 🦣

Next time you read a paper about the allegedly-magical capabilities of machine learning, it’s helpful to remember that pigeons can diagnose mammograms with 85% accuracy with sufficient training

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4651348/

Pigeons (Columba livia) as Trainable Observers of Pathology and Radiology Breast Cancer Images

Pathologists and radiologists spend years acquiring and refining their medically essential visual skills, so it is of considerable interest to understand how this process actually unfolds and what image features and properties are critical for accurate ...

PubMed Central (PMC)
Jun 22, 2023 at 4:00pmWeb
Show threadT. T. PerryJun 22, 2023
@natematias This is so savory and delicious, thank you!
Show threadmhoyeJun 22, 2023

@natematias I’m reminded of the “hamburger test” for social interventions that @grimalkina introduced to me - that if your plan to help somebody is not demonstrably more cost-effective than giving them a hamburger and a safe place to have a nap, you should do that instead.

This idea of a “trained pigeon diagnostic threshold” is great.

Show threadDr. Cat HicksJun 22, 2023
@mhoye @natematias love that you remember this and also love the pigeon index, no shade to pigeons, as all the vision neuroscientists in my life would remind me, they are the product of a lot more complex evolution than our silly little models :)
Show threadTrey RoadyJun 23, 2023
@grimalkina @mhoye @natematias We're just going full-circle back to the pigeon torpedoes, aren't we?
Show threadadingbatponderJun 22, 2023
@natematias Is this fake ?
Show threadLocksmithJun 22, 2023
@adingbatponder @natematias No, pigeons are real.
Show threadJeff MoeJun 22, 2023

@natematias

Why not both?

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04223-6.pdf

Connect pidgeons to NN. ;)

Show threadBot4SaleJun 22, 2023

@jebba @natematias The rats are waaaay ahead of the pidgeons. It can only devolve into a AI pest arms race from hereon in!

https://www.theregister.com/2004/12/07/rat_brain_flies_jet/

Show threadFinal Round Player 😷🇪🇺🍸Jun 22, 2023
@natematias Stochastic Parrots nearly as good as stochastic pigeons.
Show threadLarry O'BrienJun 22, 2023
@natematias @dmikeando Re-submitting my proposal to rename the field “Artificial Pigeons.”
Show thread_by_meJun 22, 2023
@natematias cool
Show threadJonas TrostleJun 22, 2023

@natematias https://xkcd.com/2173/

Pigeon neural net is best neural net

Trained a Neural Net

xkcd
Show thread𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿Jun 23, 2023
@natematias
Pigeon, heal thyself.
Show threadHein RagasJun 23, 2023
@natematias And for only a fraction of the energy expenditure!
Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeJun 23, 2023
@natematias Rats and even bees can be trained to detect mines
Show threadJ$Jun 23, 2023
@natematias A mere guess: the pigeons don’t need to burn half an acre of tropical forest to diagnose one mammogram (as the AI does).
Show threadJim Hughes ☢️Jun 23, 2023
@natematias assuming we could also train them to carry USB sticks full of DICOM data between clinical sites for image transfer as well?
Show threadRiley S. FaelanJun 23, 2023
@natematias: So, in light of the ancient tradition of Expensive Calculator and Expensive Typewriter, machine learning systems should be called Expensive Pigeons.
Show threadjoel bJun 23, 2023
@natematias tell me there is a calculation for how many kilograms of CO2 is emitted by training pigeons.