In many ways, technology is an amazing thing. Artificial intelligence is making major advancements in science, medicine, and even in little ways that make our lives easier and more convenient to live. Of course, there are also some downsides to AI’s lightning-speed progression. Take, for instance, the website that uses this technology to find every single picture of you that exists.
- It’s been referred to as “the most disturbing AI website on the internet.” It’s called PimEyes, and the way it works is simple: You give it an image of you and it goes to every corner of the internet to find every instance of your likeness.
- Some people think it’s pretty cool. After all, by finding the places your photo has been used, you can see where your information has been spread and stay in control of your privacy, in theory.
- However, there’s an obvious flaw. Critics of PimEyes say that it’s basically “a stalker’s dream.” That’s because even without knowing much about you, with a single image, that person can track you down in every possible place on the internet quickly.
- But wait, is PimEyes actually legit? Shockingly, yes. I used the site’s built-in webcam pic to take a quick photo of myself, and it brought up a ton of results (not surprising since I’m a writer). Every single one of the photos was actually of me, too, so it’s surprisingly accurate. Of course, I have no way of knowing if this is ALL the photos of me on the internet, but some of the sites it found my picture on were pretty random, so it gets my vote of confidence.
- If you don’t like what you find, you can take action. Some people pointed out on social media that PimEyes is great for finding sites that are using your image without your consent. If you see a place hosting a photo of you that you didn’t allow it to use, you can send them a takedown notice so that they have to remove it. That’s a good thing, right?
- This will be controversial, no doubt. There are positive things about PimEyes and some great uses for the site, but it’s not without its flaws (and potential security risks). What side you fall on depends on your feelings about AI, I suppose. It doesn’t particularly bother me — the only things on the internet about me are the ones I’ve posted myself — but others may feel differently.
