Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become part of QMulus?

Easy! Just click here and begin your adventure!.

Is there any danger to my computer from hackers or viruses by using QMulus?

The short answer is no. For details see the QMulus Technology page.

Can I make QMulus use less than 100% of my CPU(s) when running?

Yes - go to the Advanced Configuration Area in QMulus. However, QMulus will almost never sustain 100% usage for long periods of time as if often waits on data or instructions from the server.

Does Qualia make financial profits from QMulus?

QMulus is an investigation and research platform that aims to discover innovations in artificial intelligence. At Qualia we believe that this lofty goal is within our reach but also that it will be difficult to achieve and any commercial benefits will take some time to achieve.

Our commitment to QMulus participants is that any benefits to Qualia from the use of the QMulus infrastructure will also result in benefits to the participant community. The structure of the rewards has not yet been determined but it will be communicated when it becomes relevant. Until then and as always, participation in the QMulus program is voluntary and may be ended by the participant at any time with no further obligation on either part.

What should I expect when I install QMulus?

QMulus will run as a screen-saver when your computer is not busy if you have enabled that option on the installation package. Otherwise, you will see no direct result from the operation of QMulus.

Is QMulus safe?

Yes, QMulus is safe to download and install on your computer. QMulus takes many precautions to ensure that you cannot be adversely impacted by its operation.

What problems is QMulus solving?

While the screen display of QMulus activities may seem minor or trivial, the work that QMulus is doing is important. The goal of QMulus is to search for a general artificial intelligence which is capable of performing tasks not currently possible with known computer technology.

What is the algorithm behind QMulus

QMulus is a general purpose computing platform in the sense that it does not specify the algorithm of the research that it is being used to conduct. QMulus supports any algorithm that our scientists implement for distribution.

What platform is QMulus running on?

Please refer to the QMulus Technology page.

Will QMulus run on my Mac?

QMulus will not currently run on any Apple platforms.

Who else is on QMulus?

During its operation, QMulus will show you a map including highlights of all the other participants. You can also choose to join a QMulus Team and track the progress of your team by visiting this website.

Is this patented?

Qualia Labs protects the intellectual property of its research and marketing efforts with appropriate measures.

Is this the same as SETI@Home or other research programs that I have read about?

In concept, the QMulus platform resembles the approach taken by other computationally intensive processes.

How do I Join a Team (includes leaving an existing team to join another)

Just log in to QMulus from the QMulus Members Only page and select QMULUS TEAMS. Then choose a team from the list and click the button to change your affiliation.

Note that when you join a team, you are automatically leaving any team with which you were previously affiliated.

Please also note that the team manager for any team that you join may use Brainstorms that you have earned. When this occurs, all members of the team are impacted equally (as a percentage). You can always check your brainstorm balance by logging-in to QMulus. Any unused Brainstorms remain with you when you change from team to team or when you leave all teams.

How do I leave a Team (without joining any other team)?

Just log in to QMulus from the QMulus Members Only page and select QMULUS TEAMS. You will see an option to do exactly what you want.

How do I Create a new Team

Just log in to QMulus from the QMulus Members Only page and select "Create A New Team". Please note that you automatically join any team that you create though you can create several and move your affiliation to manage them each separately.

ExplAIning A.I.

Suppose I ask you to think of a cup. You envision a cup that you own, or a cup you have seen, or some mixture of all the cups you have experienced in the past. You know how it feels, what it does, where to find it, how much it weighs and so on. In Artificial Intelligence research, we would say that you have a model of a cup. When you encounter a cup in reality, you know that it is a cup precisely because it is like that model cup you imagined. In fact, you notice the features of the cup when they are different from your model (size, color, shape, content, etc.).

Next I will ask you to look around where you are now. The objects you see most likely fit one of the many models you have in your brain. The computer screen, the mouse, your desk or table, your hands, other people, and so on. The fact that you have learned what these objects are, meaning that your brain has a model for each of them, allows you to easily separate them from each other. There is no question that the screen is not part of the wall behind it or that the keys on the keyboard will move when pressed. Your model predicts it.

Finally, think of the last time you saw a car engine or a circuit board or some other complex environment that was full of unfamiliar things. Lacking models for the component parts, you probably could not draw it or even make a list of the parts.

Through this exercise, we have stumbled on to the Artificial Intelligence technique of model deformation. An A.I. can be taught models of certain objects and then told to search for those objects in cluttered images. Perfect model objects never appear in reality so the A.I. has to modify or deform the model in order to search for realistic variations. In this sense, it has to fit a deformed model over an image and hope that it matches part of the image like a puzzle piece. This approach takes a lot of computing power but holds great promise for computer vision applications.