Facebook Releases First Examples of AI That Can Digitally Open Eyes if You Blinked

Facebook Releases First Examples of AI That Can Digitally Open Eyes if You Blinked

Researchers for Facebook have released images of their latest AI at work, showing that the technology can substitute your eyelids for open eyes in images where users may have blinked.

On Monday, researchers Brian Dolhansky and Cristian Canton Ferrer released a paper with details of the new technology.

The machine learning technique is called “generative adversarial network,” or GAN. It operates by reviewing a photo of a person who has either blinked or had their eyes closed, then uses what the company are calling “in-painting” in order to sample a non-blinking photo to digitally reconstruct open eyes in place of the closed eyelids.

Credit: Dolhansky and Ferrer

Developing the technology involved teaching it to realistically match a users iris color, skin tone, eye contours, and of course the shade of lighting in the picture.

Participants trialing the technology were asked to pick which eyes they thought were the originals, with stats showing 54 percent of the time they were either unable to tell the difference, or picked the digitally-created eyes.

Dolhansky and Ferrer are still improving the AI in order to cater to users who wear glasses, or had strands of hair covering their eyes.

No word yet on whether this feature is scheduled to be rolled out across Facebook or Instagram.

Jack Alexander's picture

A 28-year-old self-taught photographer, Jack Alexander specialises in intimate portraits with musicians, actors, and models.

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4 Comments

Goodness, they look horrid! No thanks. Just take another photo.

Far too much facial recognition going on with these "social media" companies. The AI photos may look horrid now but they will get much better, it's only a matter of time.

Should I be uploading my photos to Facebook for my photo editing?

It doesn't look natural at all. Plus, isn't easier to just take another picture? It's not like we are still in the days of film.