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Arts & Culture

NOVA scienceNOW: Luis von Ahn

Luis von Ahn, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, creates his own “Games with a Purpose” by uniting the best skills of both humans and computers, capitalizing on the countless hours that humans waste at computers, furthering the intelligence of computers and possibly benefiting mankind.
Joshua Franzos
Luis von Ahn, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, creates his own “Games with a Purpose” by uniting the best skills of both humans and computers, capitalizing on the countless hours that humans waste at computers, furthering the intelligence of computers and possibly benefiting mankind.

Airs Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV

Breakthroughs in the engineering of artificial diamonds; the science that went into solving the deadly post - 9/11 anthrax attacks and the ingenious technique researchers developed to pinpoint the source; "AutoTune," the controversial computer pitch-correction software that turns sour notes into sweet ones; and a profile of computer scientist Luis von Ahn.

Watch a preview of this episode by clicking on an investigation above.