Q: What is the main objective of MPAI? A: There are many languages in the world, but if we want to reach all interested people we have to use a universally recognised language. The same thing happens with data: the more people understand the format the more value they have. The definition of a universal language for music – the MP3 standard – led to a revolution that many – because they did not know the world before – cannot…
Processing and generation of natural language is an area where artificial Intelligence is expected to make a difference compared to traditional technologies. Version 1 of the MPAI Multimodal Conversation standard (MPAI-MMC V1), specifically the Conversation with Emotion use case, has addressed this and related challenges: processing and generation not only of speech but also of the corresponding human face when both convey emotion. The audio and video produced by a human conversing with the machine represented by the blue box…
Geneva, Switzerland – 23 August 2022. Today the international, non-profit, unaffiliated Moving Picture, Audio and Data Coding by Artificial Intelligence (MPAI) standards developing organisation has concluded its 23rd General Assembly (MPAI-23). Among the outcomes are three documents produced to facilitate the task of drafting a response to the currently open Calls for Technologies and one document that will facilitate the identification and positioning of the technologies defined in the Multimodal Conversation Use Cases and Functional Requirements V2. MPAI-23 has also…
A foundational element of the MPAI architecture is the fact that monolithic AI applications have some characteristics that make them undesirable. For instance, they are single-use, i.e., it is hard to reuse technologies used by the application in another application and they are obscure, i.e., it is hard to understand why a machine has produced a certain output when subjected to a certain input. The first characteristic means that it is hard to make complex applications because an implementer must…
In this article, I continue the tradition of reporting on major MPEG events when one of them comes to an anniversary. This time the anniversary concerns the word “profile”. In July 1990, when the MPEG-1 standard was far from done (it would only be approved in November 1992), a diverse group of individuals attended the first MPEG-2 session, brainstorming on requirements for the "second phase of MPEG work" as MPEG-2 was warily called at that time. The engine took time…
The 19th of July 2022 was the second anniversary of the launch of the MPAI idea. After two years of existence, it is useful to have a summary of MPAI’s vision, mission, processes, achievements, plans, and the sister organisation MPAI Store. Those in a hurry can have a look at a 2 min video about MPAI (YouTube – non-YouTube). Vision. The MPAI idea was driven by the impact digital media standards had on the media industry. While traditionally not very…
