Don’t have a Halloween costume? Let an AI pick one for you

BY KATHARINE SCHWAB

Halloween is upon us. But what should you be? You could try the age-old route of Googling the best ideas or attempt some actual–if last-minute–creativity. Or, you could ask a neural network.

The computer vision researcher Janelle Shane’s latest experiment, published in the New York Times, can help you come up with something that no one else would think of–unless you’re a neural net. How about a dragon ninja? A Ruth Bader hat guy? Donald McDonald? A vampire chick shark? A sexy banana, or sexy printer, or sexy beet, or sexy marijuana bee, or sexy Minecraft person?

To create these creative and bizarre costume ideas, Shane trained a machine-learning algorithm on a dataset of 7,182 costumes. Then, she worked with illustrator Jessia Ma, who created drawings for the results of each round of training. In the first round, the algorithm began by generating nonsense words like “Ghanedastein.” But eventually, after seven rounds, it began to come up with recognizable but still weird costumes, like “Cyborg baby man.”

Unsurprisingly, Shane noted that “sexy” was one of the first full words the algorithm learned. When the algorithm is least creative, that word shows up a lot. But when Shane programs it to be most creative, the AI comes up with ideas like “piglet crayon.”Want to see all the costumes the AI has on offer? The New York Times article includes an interactive where you can click through to see a ton of different ideas–many of which are pretty terrible. My first few clicks yielded “sexy cthulhu,” “princesseon,” and “the rcdonagall.” One of my favorites though? “Space lord.” All I’d need is a glittery jumpsuit, a crown, maybe throw in a lightsaber, and I’m done.

Along with providing Halloween costume fodder, Shane’s experiment highlights something else: how scary it is that we don’t understand how machine learning algorithms work. “Even when we can peer inside the neural network’s virtual brain and examine its virtual neurons, the rules it learns for its prediction-making are usually very hard to interpret,” Shane writes. That means that computer scientists can’t trace exactly how the algorithm arrived at “sexy cthulhu” as a Halloween costume. While this is an innocuous example, our lack of understanding of an algorithm’s guts gets a lot more terrifying in the real world, where neural nets are used to make often biased decisions about parole, hiring, and who gets a loan.

“It can be a scary thing to trust a decision that we don’t understand–and it should be scary,” Shane says–even when it comes to Halloween costumes.

Magical New Year’s Eve

Monday, December 31

Magical New Year’s Eve

A night of magical surprises awaits at our New Year’s Eve Party. Guys, get your wands out to show off. It’s time to strip off those robes and get down like the students in the Hufflepuff common room. Slytherin, why don’t you?

Hours: 8 p.m. – 3 a.m.

New Years Eve Night includes:
Surf and Turf Dinner
Balloon Drop at Midnight
Champagne Toast
Play Areas open all night

$200 – At the Door
$100 – After Midnight
$50 – Single Females

Call 954-730-8121 to reserve your tickets.

*Membership Required.

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Back to the Future

Sunday, December 30

Back to the Future

Continuing our weekend movie extravaganza, head back to the future with us.

Arrive early and receive a personal guided tour of the club.

Don’t miss:
4-course Dinner Buffet
Late-night Breakfast Buffet
Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages

Hours: 8 p.m. – 3 a.m.

Couples: $50 | Single Ladies: $15 | Single Men: $75

*Membership to Trapeze required.

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Roaring 20s

Saturday, December 29

Roaring 20s

A little party never hurt nobody. Celebrate the pre-holiday weekend by rolling it back all the way to the 20s. Gatsby parties like no other. Opulence and sexy appeal ooze from this get together.

Hours: 8 p.m. – 4 a.m.

Couples: $80 | Single Ladies: $15 | No Single Men

*Current membership to Trapeze required.

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Snow Jobs

Friday, December 28

Snow Jobs

Let’s get naked in the snow. The cold chill in the air makes it a perfect night to snuggle up to someone hot. Then find a way to get warmed up at Snow Jobs.

Time for a sexy meet & greet to kick off your weekend. Admit it, you are just a little curious what being inside the country’s most exclusive and awarded swingers club would be like.

Couples and singles welcome and enjoy complimentary valet parking.

Arrive early and receive a personal guided tour of the club.

Don’t miss:
4-course Dinner Buffet
Late-night Breakfast Buffet
Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages

Hours: 8 p.m. – 4 a.m.

Couples: $70 | Single Ladies: $15| Single Men: $75

*Membership to Trapeze required. Cannot by combined with other discounts or offers.

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Sweet & Sassy Ladies Night

Thursday, December 27

Sweet & Sassy Ladies Night

Alright ladies, tonight is your chance to let your hair down and get a little wild.

Bring your friends and leave your panties at home, you won’t be needing them. It’s a night full of fabulous femmes.

Long week? You’re fighting with your roommate? Your boss just told you that your work is sub-par? It’s all so frustrating and can dampen anyone’s spirits. A ladies night out with the gals can help relieve that stress as you get lost in chatter and banter that doesn’t involve all the BS of the real world. The real world is a bust, you guys.

Don’t miss:
4-course Dinner Buffet
Late-night Breakfast Buffet
Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages

Hours: 8 p.m. – 3 a.m.

Couples: $40 | Single Ladies: $15 | Single Men: $75

*Membership to Trapeze required. Free ladies limited to first 10. Cannot be combined with other discount, vouchers or passes.
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International Food Festival

Wednesday, December 26

International Food Festival

Tickle your tastebuds tonight as we present an International Food Festival.

Don’t miss:
4-course Dinner Buffet
Late-night Breakfast Buffet
Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages

Hours: 8 p.m. – 3 a.m.

Couples: $40 | Single Ladies: $15 | Single Men: $75

*Membership to Trapeze required. Cannot be combined with other discount, vouchers or passes. 

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Naughty or Nice Christmas Party

Sunday, December 23

Naughty or Nice Christmas Party



Santa’s getting ready for business. Now it’s time for you to get down to business. Come in for a cheap night ($50!) out on the town and most importantly away from the kids.

Don’t miss:
4-course Dinner Buffet
Late-night Breakfast Buffet
Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages

Hours: 8 p.m. – 3 a.m.

Couples: $50 | Single Ladies: $15 | Single Men: $75

*Membership to Trapeze required.

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SDC’s Horny Holiday Party

Saturday, December 22

SDC’s Horny Holiday Party



Come meet swingers at the only holiday party for getting down.

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas. Did you get coal this year? Good. Come join us for some naughty tricks at the SDC Horny Holiday Party.

Get on the SDC guest list to receive $10 off your nightly user fee. Dress in holiday attire for an additional $10 off.*

Hours: 8 p.m. – 4 a.m.

Couples: $80 | Single Ladies: $15 | No Single Men

*Current membership to Trapeze required. Sign up by 7:30 p.m. December 22 to receive discounts. May not be combined with other promotions or discounts. Must arrive before midnight and mention your SDC screen name to receive discounts.

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Get your Geek On

Friday, December 21

Get your Geek On



Bumblebee, Aquaman and Spiderman are hitting theaters. Give a nod to the geeks we love by dressing in geek chic. It’s fun to rip those tights off.

Arrive in theme and get $10 off of your nightly user fee.

Don’t miss:
4-course Dinner Buffet
Late-night Breakfast Buffet
Unlimited non-alcoholic beverages

Hours: 8 p.m. – 4 a.m.

Couples: $70 | Single Ladies: $15| Single Men: $75

*Membership to Trapeze required. Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

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