Facebook has unveiled a cutting-edge computer vision algorithm that can identify individuals in pictures even if some of those individuals are facing away from the camera, New Scientist reports.
Computer vision algorithms currently suggest tags for photos uploaded to the social network, but the latest exhibition of Facebook’s technology at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition conference in Boston managed to identify people in 40,000 public Flickr photos with 83% accuracy. Even more uncanny, the algorithm was able to seize on unique identifying traits, such as hairstyles and recurring outfits.
“People have characteristic aspects, even if you look at them from the back,” Facebook’s head of artificial intelligence told New Scientist. “For example, you can recognize Mark Zuckerberg very easily because he always wears a gray T-shirt.”
It isn’t yet clear if the new algorithm will be incorporated into any of Facebook’s products.
Facebook’s Gorgeous New Campus Has a ‘Green Roof’ the Size of 7 Football Fields
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown
- Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
Contact us at letters@time.com