FACEBOOK CAN OPEN YOUR EYES
New technology from Facebook can replace closed eyes with convincing open ones, ringing in the end of untimely blinks ruining your group shots.
It’s called ‘in-painting’, and it’s not new: software like Photoshop has the ability to fill in space with what the program thinks should be there – imagine removing a tree and filling the gap with the same blue sky that surrounded that tree.
But eyes are a big leap forward. Facebook points out that we’re extremely sensitive to small errors in facial structure, especially on our own faces, or those of the people we know well. Then there’s the ‘uncanny valley’ effect: the feeling of eeriness or revulsion we get when we see a humanoid object that isn’t quite right.
Eye ‘in-painting’ could already recognise and reconstruct convincing eyes, but it didn’t always maintain consistency with the rest of the image. Facebook improved the process by including other photos of the target person with their eyes open, so as well as learning which eyes should go on that person, they learn about the ways the eyes are shaped and coloured.
The results are impressive. In testing, people mistook the fake eyes for the real ones or couldn’t tell the difference more than half the time. It’s hard to imagine users being able to spot the fakes if they scrolled past them in their newsfeed. Like a lot of new tech, it’s a tad creepy; but if it ends the constant re-taking of group shots, we’ll make our peace with it.