MENLO
PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook is training its computers to become
seeing-eye guides for blind and visually impaired people as they scroll
through the pictures posted on the world’s largest online social
network.
The
feature rolling out Tuesday on Facebook’s iPhone and iPad apps
interprets what’s in a picture using a form of artificial intelligence
that recognizes faces and objects. VoiceOver, a screen reader built into
the software powering the iPhone and iPad, must be turned on for
Facebook’s photo descriptions to be read. For now, the feature will only
be available in English.
Until
now, people relying on screen readers on Facebook would only hear that a
person had shared a photo without any elaboration.
The
photo descriptions initially will be confined to a vocabulary of 100
words in a restriction that will prevent the computer from providing a
lot of details. For instance, the automated voice may only tell a user
that a photo features three people smiling outdoors without adding that
the trio also has drinks in their hands. Or it may say the photo is of
pizza without adding that there’s pepperoni and olives on top of it.
Facebook
is being careful with the technology, called “automatic alternative
text,” in an attempt to avoid making a mistake that offends its
audience. Google learned the risks of automation last year when an image
recognition feature in its Photos app labeled a black couple as
gorillas, prompting the company to issue an apology.
Eventually,
though, Facebook hopes to refine the technology so it provides more
precise descriptions and even answers questions that a user might pose
about a picture.
The
vocabulary of Facebook’s photo-recognition program includes “car,”
”sky,” ”dessert,” ”baby,” ”shoes,” and, of course, “selfie.”
Facebook also plans to turn on the technology for its Android app and make it available through Web browsers visiting its site.
The
Menlo Park, California, company is trying to ensure the world’s nearly
300 million blind and visually impaired people remain interested in its
social network as a steadily increasing number of photos appear on its
service. On an average day, Facebook says more than 2 billion photos are
posted on its social network and other apps that it owns, a list that
includes Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.
In
a Tuesday post, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hailed the photo
description tool as “an important step towards making sure everyone has
equal access to information and is included in the conversation.”
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