Friday, February 04, 2005

So much for video evidence

The camera does lie. Photographs are no longer proof of anything, since they can be Photoshopped.

With enough post processing, video footage is no longer trustworthy. There's enough video footage of many famous people out there that any of them can be shown doing anything desired.

Here's word of a computer system that can add stuff to video footage in real time, at 30 frames per second.

One use for this technology is to allow robots to build 3-D models of spaces "on the fly" without special markers or human training.

With this technology, by the time I'm too old to safely drive a car, my car may have the brainpower to be able to drive itself. Indeed, given how technology advances over time, it may not be too long before it's illegal to drive your own car – the autopilot is required to do it for you.

Of course, in that case, what use is a drivers' license, except as a form of ID? If the car can drive itself more safely than you can drive it, what need is there for evidence that you know how to drive?

Welcome to the future.

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