Facebook working on AI to save users from embarrassing themselves
Facebook Inc. knows you can’t help yourself sometimes, so they are working on a new AI that will look at post content and warn users when a picture might not be the best thing to put on the internet for all to see.
Over one billion people are using Facebook’s services now, and with millions of photos uploaded every day, it is not surprising that more than a few might be embarrassing in hindsight.
Yann LeCun, a New York University researcher, runs the Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research Lab, which develops innovative AI to handle the enormous amount of data that passes through Facebook.
LeCun and his colleagues are working on an AI image recognition program, which is designed to intelligently parse images to determine their content.
He envisions an AI that performs tasks as complicated as picking out embarrassing drunken photos, prompting users: “Uh, this is being posted publicly. Are you sure you want your boss and your mother to see this?”
Facebook already uses a type of AI called “deep learning,” which is able to recognize faces to assist in intelligently tagging photos. According to LeCun, smarter image recognition is coming.
“Imagine that you had an intelligent digital assistant which would mediate your interaction with your friends,” LeCun told Wired magazine. “And also with content on Facebook.”
A growing field
With today’s media-rich environment, more and more companies are developing their own image recognition software for a variety of uses.
Google Inc. uses AI in its “Search by Image” feature, which allows users to search for photos similar to an image using either a URL or an uploaded file. Google also allows users to search for photos by content, with filters that pick out photographs, line drawings, or images containing faces.
There are also new apps like Aurasma, which uses image recognition AI to create augmented reality animations that enhance ads or artwork.
According to LeCun, Facebook’s AI is getting smarter every day, and with the social network also branching out into the drone industry, one might start to wonder if Mark Zuckerberg is becoming the Bond villain we all knew he could be.
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