Computer Scientists Have Created the Most Accurate Digital Model of a Human Face (sciencemag.org)

sciencehabit quotes a report from Science Magazine: If you've used the smartphone application Snapchat, you may have turned a photo of yourself into a disco bear or melded your face with someone else's. Now, a group of researchers has created the most advanced technique yet for building 3D facial models on the computer. The system could improve personalized avatars in video games, facial recognition for security, and -- of course -- Snapchat filters. The team also trained its program to turn casual 2D snapshots into accurate 3D models. The method could be used to view what a criminal suspect caught on camera would look like from a different angle, or 20 years older. One could also flesh out and animate historical figures from portraits. The "large scale facial model," or LSFM, may soon have medical applications, too. If someone has lost a nose, the technology could help plastic surgeons determine how a new one should look, given the rest of the face.

Comments

And they're already coming up of ways its misuse

[Foxhoundz]

From the article:

The method could be used to view what a criminal suspect caught on camera would look like from a different angle

I am leery of technologies that rely heavily on probability in the legal system. The digital output of this program could make very erroneous assumptions on facial features simply based on historical data that is fed to it. What if the criminal being sought is a very dangerous individual and this system ends up marking an unsuspecting bystander as a target and gets shot and killed amid confusion?

Re:And they're already coming up of ways its misus

[Foxhoundz]

You're right. Forgive me. What was I thinking considering the ethical implications of implementing an algorithm based system that arbitrarily tags individuals as criminals.