Would you be concerned if someone, with only an image, could infer things about you with better-than-expected accuracy? I don’t mean snippets, either—we’re talking about entire paragraphs of context.
Probably, right?
How concerned would you be if I told you that’s precisely what Google Photos does?
Let’s examine the research experiment that a startup photo storage and sharing service—founded by a former Google software engineer, no less—is presenting as an interesting bit of marketing.
Vishnu Mohandas’ Role at Google Gave Him Concerning Insights
A self-taught programmer, Mohandas was alienated by the tech enterprise when he learned that Google used AI to help the United States military examine drone footage. As he left the company, he also left its services behind.
Mohandas had realized that Google could very easily draw on the data stored in its cloud services to help train its AI further. This would include Google Photos.
When he left, Mohandas created a service he dubbed Ente, which would function as a privacy-first photo storage and sharing subscription. While Ente does generate profits, it has been challenging to convince people to shift from a convenient, free option to a paid service.
However, one of the company’s interns (as so often seems to be the case in stories like these) had an idea: why not show people exactly what Google’s AI could glean from your photos?
Hence, theyseeyourphotos.com was born.
Theyseeyourphotos.com Demonstrates What Google Can Do
By replicating the process that Google undergoes as it examines an image, Ente created Theyseeyourphotos.com to allow users to securely upload their own images to see what Google’s AI instantly interprets.
So, let’s say we were to upload the following image…
…They See Your Photos produces this result:
“The photograph shows a group of men standing in what appears to be a 1970s-era computer room. In the foreground is a large piece of computer hardware, possibly a mainframe console, with various knobs, buttons, and displays. The background features several large cabinets, likely containing tape drives, characteristic of computer systems from that era. The walls are a muted yellowish color, and there's a sign visible on the wall, indicating safety procedures or warnings. The floor is a light-colored tile, typical of institutional settings.
The men appear to be of Caucasian descent, likely colleagues in a professional setting given their attire. They are all dressed in business-casual clothing, with ties and suits. Their expressions are serious and somewhat formal, suggesting a professional portrait. They appear to be in their 20s and 30s. Based on the clothing and technology, their economic status is likely middle-to-upper-middle class. They seem to be involved in the operation or maintenance of the large computer system. The photograph was likely taken with a professional-grade camera considering its sharpness and composition. The picture appears to be from the mid to late 1970s.
The photo is subtly composed to emphasize the technology, positioning the men slightly in front of the equipment. There is a small speaker on the floor near the main computer console. The men are not all equally spaced; some subtle variations in stance and positioning can be seen on closer inspection. The overall image quality suggests an older photograph, perhaps printed from a film negative.”
All that, from one image. Imagine how much information could be gleaned from an entire collection.
We encourage you to give Theyseeyourphotos a try. However, despite their promises and philosophies, do not use anything you wouldn’t be comfortable having on the Internet.
What Does This Mean?
First of all, this is not an advertisement for this particular storage service. We simply wanted to share a very practical reason we all need to be careful about what we put online, as this shows how easy it can be to gain insights into someone from the simplest things. It is also important to keep in mind that, while this data currently isn’t being used for advertising purposes, it is being collected, processed, and stored by the company… meaning it could be used later to help create psychological profiles and similar collections of personal information.
Hopefully, this mindset is excessively cautious, but it never hurts to consider where your data is stored and how it may be used.
