Face Swapping 2.0 - Now Mostly Prettier

In July, I made a post regarding new technology from Columbia University that swapped faces in photos and videos with generic amalgems drived from a photo database. The technique, which had potential privacy benefits...and even certain Hollywood applications...suffered from one major drawback. The modified faces were really really really ugly.

See below (From Columbia University Research Paper):



Tough to stomach, I know, but these results were bound to be approved someday, and thankfully that day is here. The New York Times is reporting that computer scientists in Israel have taken a more beauty-centric approach to face swapping that simply replaces faces in images and video with more idealized representations of the same faces. Their software applies an algorithm covering over 200 different facial measurements that brings a target face closer to the ideal. In most cases, this approach goes well beyond simple airbrushing, dramatically altering a person's appearance and perceived identity.

See below (From Lars Klove for the NYT):



I am not sure either technology is perfectly suitable for privacy protection in video surveillance just yet, but given the choice between the two approaches above, for aesthetic reasons, I'd go with the latter.