James Delahunty
2 Nov 2013 20:49
A U.S. start-up claims it has developed software that can accurately answer Captcha prompts 90 percent of the time.
Captchas are a security measure that almost every Internet user has encountered: a graphic or sound that give a human a word to enter in order to fight spam bots. The software is modelled on how the human brain functions to recognise patterns according to its developer, Vicarious.
The Recursive Cortical Network software can operate and even "learn" to a degree by mimicking processes in the brain. The goal of the start-up is to develop the technology for robotics, medical image analysis and world domination - OK I made that last part up.
"The Vicarious algorithms achieve a level of effectiveness and efficiency much closer to actual human brains," Vicarious co-founder D Scott Phoenix said in a statement.
Luis von Ahn, a computer scientist who was part of the team that developed the Captcha system at Carnegie Mellon University, said it was difficult to verify the claims made by Vicarious, but said if necessary Captchas can always be make stronger by increasing distortion.
Vicarious - Turing Test 1: Captcha from Vicarious Inc on Vimeo.
Numeric Recaptcha 10x Consecutive from Vicarious Inc on Vimeo.