Cross posted

06Oct09

So I just posted this in my class blog, but I think it is interesting and thought I would share it here as well . . .

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage

So this has been floating around the tubes this past week and showed up in one of the feeds I read and finally took the time to watch the video that explains the program. Basically you tell PhotoSketch what you want in a picture and it makes it. (Just watch the video!)

Anyway, so the creators have come up with an algorithm that can stitch the photos together to create an image. That’s pretty sweet, right? Of course, but then the photojournalist in me goes waaaaait a minute. (My undergrad was in journalism, with a focus on photojournalism.) Ethics has been drilled into my head and seeing this makes part of me cringe. Yes, this is awesome and it’s rad that they developed the algorithm and yadda yadda yadda, but what are these photos being used for? Are people just going to be making funny images with genitalia and celebrities and random stuff and share it with their friends? Or are students, journalists, professionals going to use this in unethical ways?

Maybe I am thinking too hard about this, but it was honestly one of the first things that popped into my head when I watched it.

What do you all think about innovation and ethics? Hopefully this will be something we address more throughout the program.

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