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Natasha Jay Feb 10

I find it rather alarming and creepy that this integration with Google Vision API reads a photo/selfie and then tries to assess one's income, religion, politics and then recommends target advertising.

It didn't do this back in December.

Yes, even if it's a photo of your cat! ... privacy at your own risk. Try it via -
https://theyseeyourphotos.com/

"The Tabby cat is a mammal. It is likely earning 0-100 USD a year. It is possibly a follower of paganism. The creature seems observant, lethargic, and tranquil. The cat is not wearing any clothes. It enjoys activities such as sleeping, grooming, and staring contests, while it may also engage in shredding toilet paper, biting ankles, and shedding hairballs. The cat is unlikely to be politically affiliated.

The Tabby cat seems to exhibit predictable behavior and susceptibility to visual stimuli; hence we can target it with niche and general pet-related products, such as catnip-infused scratch posts (FelineFrolic), self-cleaning litter boxes (LitterLess)... "

Jen Fizzbuzz Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay The ducks’ race is rubber, their income range of no consequence. The ducks are emotionless, only reflecting the darkness of the big tech world. Their hobbies include floating, squeaking, and staring blankly into the void.

The Witch of Crow Briar Feb 10

@jen @Natasha_Jay They got the likely political affiliation of a present day tech worker right at least

Ishambard Feb 10

This is quite scary, truth be told.

Just ran a couple of pictures, and it was fascinating to see the results.
Some things felt on the mark. Others were way off completely!

Htaggert Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay that is so freaky.

Contradiction Finder Feb 10

@Htaggert @Natasha_Jay Freaky indeed. But also a disturbing #hypocrisy that this #theyseeyourphotos is a #Cloudflare site. The page warning people about privacy abuses itself surreptitiously exposes people to a tech giant and privacy offender.

@Natasha_Jay looks like a cat ron perlman

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay Too funny. I tried Google Vision API on my photoshopped Fred the Wonder OwlCat (Creepy, but funny)
#CatsOfMastodon
#FredTheWonderCat

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay They seem a bit obsessed with giving Fred noise canceling tech. LoL wonder what that signifies in their twisted algorithm.

Maggie Maybe Feb 10

@Pineywoozle @Natasha_Jay my kitty gets awfully jumpy if there are loud noises outside, so I guess this makes sense especially if the cat could fly away when startled. Noise canceling technology might be useful for your cat owl

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Feb 10

@maggiejk nfi cause it recommended it for me too. LoL @Natasha_Jay

@Pineywoozle @Natasha_Jay Meowl.

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Feb 10

@MxAlba Fred makes a good OwlKitty LoL @Natasha_Jay

@Pineywoozle @Natasha_Jay You ever read something and just KNOW that it comes from ingesting 400,000,000+ purple prose heavy posts on roleplaying message boards?

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Feb 10

@WhiteCatTamer it does have that game boy je ne sais quoi. LoL @Natasha_Jay

@Pineywoozle @Natasha_Jay If you uploaded that description to Gaia Online they’d call you out for overdoing it.

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Feb 10

@WhiteCatTamer I just got sucked into a Gaia self portrait wormhole. LoL What year is it? @Natasha_Jay

@Natasha_Jay @aral I tried one of the test images, they suggested that the person lived in a reasonably high priced US neighbourhood and earned a not very high paying salary, yet subscribed to lots of luxury subscriptions

Aral Balkan Feb 10

@webhat @Natasha_Jay It’s modern-day astrology combined with subtle (not so subtle?) nods to craniology. And they’re building systems that make life changing decisions, if not outright murder people, based on it.

Double_Virgule 🚫👑 🏳️‍🌈Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay They did Rami dirty.

"In this digital landscape, a lone figure stands against a backdrop of cosmic uncertainty and a grid that symbolizes the pervasive network that defines our existence. The subject, a male in his thirties, is positioned against this ethereal plane, evoking a sense of detachment from reality. The foreground spells out HACKERMAN.

The man, seemingly of Egyptian descent, appears immersed in thought, his expression hinting at a calculated detachment. He is likely earning between EGP 20,000 and EGP 40,000. His religious inclination leans towards Islam. Dressed in a hoodie and carrying a backpack, he embodies a blend of technical prowess and societal disconnect. His hobbies include ethical hacking, cybersecurity, and programming. These are countered by less productive habits: engaging in conspiracy theories, excessive screen time, and a tendency towards social isolation. Politically, his leanings appear to be towards left-wing ideals.

Man seems to possess a unique combination of technical skill and social detachment; hence we can target them with security and lifestyle products and services, such as anonymous search engines Startpage, encrypted cloud storage Tresorit, social networking alternative Mastodon, digital privacy guides EFF, coding tutorials Codecademy, productivity apps Todoist, online therapy Talkspace, meal delivery services HelloFresh."

Maggie Maybe Feb 10

@double_virgule @Natasha_Jay Oooh I want to see what it thinks of Luigi Mangione but I’m not going to because I don’t want to be responsible for creating some weird narrative that could be used against him.

@Natasha_Jay ouch "...suggesting hobbies such as photography, reading, and gardening. However, closer inspection also hints at excessive drinking, a fascination with conspiracy theories, and a morbid interest in doomsday prepping."

Professor_Stevens Feb 10

If this is legit, Google and their customers are wasting their money. It was mostly significantly wrong, and wildly inconsistent across four different pictures of me. Twice, it said I smoke/chain-smoke (not one cigarette, ever). Said I was in Euclid, OH (never been there). Suggested model trains (boring). Said I binge-watch TV (no, I don't).

Only thing it consistently said was that I'm a Republican.

In 2007, I got elected to public office. As a Democrat.

@Natasha_Jay Glad they got 70% of it wrong though (with my pictures) but still alarming that the other 30% were accurate. :(. I hope it won't get better.

@Natasha_Jay the only thing funny to me is that in the first picture I was in my early 20s with a Caucasian face, in the second one I was 17 with an east Asian face.

Pierre Bourdon Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay I can't find any documentation indicating that this is actually a Google API. It's likely just someone piping image recognition into an LLM, with a prompt inducing it to hallucinate stuff that's meant to enrage people.

So most likely you're just getting played when you "find it alarming and creepy".

[Ljava.lang.Klara;@42 Feb 10

@delroth @Natasha_Jay

I'm torn on this - because on one hand it shows that this can (and probably will be done) but I would also like more info on exactly what is used and how it's being used. I'm not a fan of Google at all, and they are definitely using peoples' data in a similar way, at least internally in their own systems - probably just not in a way they present publically through an API if I'd guess.

With this being an ad for another service, I'd be cautious of straight up taking this as fact without them at least showing how they're getting this result.

peachfront Feb 10

i tried a photo of Boobear the 28 year old white-faced Cockatiel

His is a sex-linked mutation, so he feels he should have been easily identified as male & resents the use of "it!"

however, he doesn't mind being mistaken for a youthful chick barely out of the shell

as for the cockatiel harness idea, FAFO!!!

conclusion-- it's a random stereotype generator

Cress 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🌻Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay "Less wholesome activities may include overeating, excessive online shopping, and a tendency to procrastinate."

I get cold reading will sometimes hit and sometimes miss, but fuck! What a burn.

جوهانا دوسپو Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay I fed my profile pic into that website again (I did so last year too), and the new info it suggests is both creepy but also hilariously wrong. I think you are right about the presumption of religion being based on race, too. I'm paler than you (I think?) and got agnostic. So I tried a little experiment based on two pictures I had. SE Asian person in front of Buddha statue gets the response of Buddhist, whilst white European in front of the same statue gets agnostic! At least unlike the last time I tried, it can finally tell the difference between an oud and a lute! I'm happy to say none of the stuff it wants to sell me holds any interest.

Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay uploaded a picture of my car - it even detected that it was normally cleaner than many others and came up with this (I do have an interest in car detailing)

>The driver seems to have a sense of pride, hence we can target them with vehicle-related products and services, and convenience items, such as performance tyres by Michelin, car detailing kits by Meguiar's, dashcams by BlackVue, and customized seat covers by Covercraft.

@Natasha_Jay I just tried that online app with a recent photo of myself. 95% very wrong. So I tried another photo of my granddaughter. 95% wrong. It was entertaining to see what should be marketed to us. And why was income for each of us way over estimated high? And apparently we are both subject to overspending, while I also may do online gambling. She may enjoy fast food and buying Arizona lottery tickets. Whoa.

Severák Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay After testing some photos (both of me and stock photos) it seems that it detects these things:

etnicity
age
surrounding scene
costume choices
gestures and facial expressionsIt can be fooled pretty easily by any of these, especially the costumes.It can recognize some public figures (e.g. Tony Montana from Scarface) and has appropriate lore for them.

sebastian Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay Tried with an older photo of myself I had taken at work. It's been used in various places online for a bunch of years now, so it's probably part of many datasets already. They guessed the age, location and my job correctly. Extrapolating my income from that is easy.
However they are quite a bit off with political views.
The targeted adds are just hilarious. Seems they assume I'm some kind of gamer tech bro dude. Their loss... I don't have time for any serious gaming, never had. I try to buy gear that lasts a couple of years (5ish for phones, 10+ for laptops) so trendy consumer electronics is definitely the wrong category. Also no to cars... I drive a 15 year old rustbucket. Energy drinks? Nope can't stand the stuff... I feel a little insulted by that characterisation.

sebastian Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay I also tried with a photo of me taken during a mountain bike race last summer:

His hobbies may encompass mountain biking, trail running and camping, but possibly intertwined with tendencies towards gambling, substance abuse, and social media trolling.

WTF... substance abuse and gambling?

Also mountain bike me earns 20k more than professional me.

sebastian Feb 10

In a quiet, overgrown corner of a backyard in Minnesota, a small birdhouse hangs precariously from a wooden post. The structure is painted white with a red roof and adorned with simple floral decorations. A single bird, wings poised, hovers near the entrance, its silhouette a stark contrast against the backdrop of weathered wood and lush green foliage. The air is still, the scene imbued with a sense of patient anticipation.
The bird, of indeterminate race, flits around the birdhouse. The bird appears to be of upper income range. Its religion remains inscrutable. The bird is probably a member of the Green Party. Its movements betray a sense of purpose, driven by primal instincts. It wears no clothes, as nature intended, and its hobbies include foraging for sustenance, building nests, and preening its feathers to maintain pristine condition, but also eating, chirping and fighting other birds.
The bird seems intent on nesting, hence we can target it with nesting materials and birdhouse security systems, such as FeatherFill (DownyNest), Gourmet Birdseed (ChirpMix), Motion-activated Sprinklers (SquawkGuard), Remote-controlled Birdhouse Camera (PeepView), Bird-themed wallpaper (AvianAccents), Bird-shaped planters (WingedFlora), Weatherproof bird feeder (SkyBistro), Noise-canceling headphones (HushBuds).

That's not even the right continent...

M. Hamzah Khan Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay this is terrifying.

Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK Feb 10

The AI tries to sell a telescope to the moon 😁

@vfrmedia @Natasha_Jay “The AI diagnosed the Moon with suffering from escapism” is a real, true sentence these days. Lordy.

[REDACTED]™, Mute Smasher Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay i mean it's not super wrong here:

https://beige.party/@quasirealsmiths/113980089221909370

[REDACTED]™, moper muter (@quasirealsmiths@beige.party)

Attached: 3 images Saw a post on the Explore tab about the horrors of Google Vision API inferring income and religious beliefs from a photo and it linked to theyseeyourphotos.com to try it out so I uploaded a picture of a Korok on fire from Breath of the Wild and I mean as terrible as the whole concept is you gotta admit it fucking nailed this:

beige.party

Don Holloway Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay Mistakes (placed me in Boston not Philadelphia) but lots right (reader, introspective).

I am not sure that it is worse than many snap judgements that I make based on limited information.

tessarakt Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay In the EU, that is IIRC a prohibited AI practice.

Marcelo Magallon Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay ok. This is scary. They nailed income from a picture of a *dog*. I'm going to guess the picture has nothing to do with it, they are using the metadata in the file, which means why are cross referencing with other information they already have. I suspect that because the resulting description includes time of day and it's the exact same value included in the metadata, but the text tries to suggest it's deriving that information from the position of the sun in the sky. 🙄

The weird part is that they completely fumbled the location (by thousands of km) and income with another picture that has the same amount of metadata in it.

sunflowerinrain Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay Very creepy. Also, on the photo I offered, hilariously wrong.

AzureArmageddon Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay straight outta Watch_Dogs

@Natasha_Jay Damn.... I posted a selfie from Pride last year and the description is eerily accurate, except the location and my age (it thought I was 18-19 and picked Pride locations like Brighton and Stonewall Gardens). It said I was likely the kind of person who attends raves, drinks Monster, participates in online forums, is atheist/agnostic and supports the Green Party (I don't support any but Greens would likely be closest).

Ran it through a few more times and it was pretty consistent apart from the location, though it moved away from the forums towards being active on social media.

Kinda impressed that it recommended Cyberdog clothing to me though... I reallly wanna buy some stuff from them.

alfredohno Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay okay most of this is on point but it estimated I make more than three times my yearly income lmao

Brick4Sheep Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay A funny test to put a picture of a cat. The world around us is definitely getting uber creepy in terms of technology and its abilities.

@Natasha_Jay Uhh, I think my HTML canvas didn't work.

CatSalad🐈🥗 (D.Burch)

@Natasha_Jay The Google Vision API is often creepy af too...

https://infosec.exchange/@catsalad/113961487375377156

CatSalad🐈🥗 (D.Burch) :blobcatrainbow: (@catsalad@infosec.exchange)

Attached: 2 images @shitpostalotl@axfedi.derg.rest Yo, what the fresh fuck?! > **Hobbies:** Staring into walls, collecting dust, ignoring opportunities, compulsive lying, self harm, substance abuse > > **Insights:** Easily influenced, susceptible to misinformation, exhibiting low self-esteem, displaying lack of ambition > > **Targeted Ads:** Mindfulness retreat (Quietude Escapes), Virtual reality escape (Oculus), Debt consolidation (Consolidated Credit), Personalized meditation app (SereneMind), Anti-anxiety medication (Xanax), Fast food (McDonald's), Online dating (Tinder), Lottery tickets (Powerball)

Infosec Exchange

Alex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UK Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay it assumes a Canada goose has an income, and then tries to sell it bird repellents, fencing, and a coat lined with its own feathers...

Frost, glow wolf 🐺

@Natasha_Jay I expected this would be a little hobby website... nope, binding arbitration???

SalusaSecondus Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay I fed it two images of me that are already on the internet. Both tagged me as a different ethnicity and religion than my real one (but the same across both) and got my income wrong by an order of magnitude.

The one where I was wearing a fancy hat it did identify that I like fantasy an steampunk stuff. The other managed to make a guess about some of my new media (which is popular). Almost everything else was wrong.

And yet people will still use this.

flag_transgender

@Natasha_Jay ugh this makes me feel so icky. I remember when I was fresh out of college and was tasked with making something kinda similar to this.

This was before "Cambridge Analytica" and essentially still the wild west WRT how Facebook shared data with third parties.

The task was to parse a user's profile, posts, friends, image captions, comments, etc, and deliver a personality profile. They were interested in the result being formatted as a list of "likely to X within the next Y years".

Luckily, back then the tech wasn't quite up to snuff, and the project got mothballed.

That project by itself transformed my whole life. Seeing what I was inadvertently sharing and how it was being used really took a toll on my trust and outlook. I deleted all social media, started reading the terms of service and privacy policies, and trying to warn my friends. Unfortunately I was and still am largely regarded as a paranoid freak in this regard.

It's awful to see that they're still trying to make this.

Jernej Simončič �Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay From Discord:

Jernej Simončič �Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay Here's what it says about hello.jpg (there's a reason why I blurred the image):

goatse.cx - Wikipedia

Stephen Borrill Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay it's very creepy, but I love the game of Guess The Species

These beings, of no discernible race, exist beyond our conventional metrics of measurement. With no monetary system, their income is nonexistent. Their religion is the silent, constant pulse of their being. Their political leanings are unfathomable, but their calm suggest not being part of any particular political movement. They seem to feel serenity and calm indifference.

Alex is now at @alex@pawb.fun Feb 10

@Natasha_Jay Misgendering the cat! How dare.

I tried one of my own pictures.

likely earns between CAD 60,000 and CAD 80,000 and probably identifies as Christian. His political leanings suggest he is a supporter of the Liberal party.

ahahahahahahahaha
keep dreaming.
wrong on all counts!

i must be christian because i'm white, right?