As both a photographer and a crime drama junkie, I’m often more annoyed than impressed at fictionalized detectives trying to pull information from a photo. Too often, the TV gets it wrong and does impossible things like adding pixels where there are none; but sometimes the sleuth uses clues like buildings and vegetation to pinpoint where a photo is taken. But now an AI program called GeoSpy can use photo-sleuthing to pinpoint the likely spot where a photo was taken.
GeoSpy is a software that pinpoints the location of a photo without using metadata. While GPS-equipped cameras can embed location information in an image’s metadata, the company behind the AI, Graylark, explains that many online platforms strip that information.
Instead, GeoSpy uses visible data from the image itself to try to pinpoint where the snapshot came from. The company explains that the AI looks for clues like landmarks, vegetation, architecture and signage. While some clues may make identifying the location easier, like spotting an iconic building like the Empire State Building, the AI can also use subtler clues, like the paint colors a city uses on its fire hydrants.
While the tool could prove helpful for tasks from actual detective work to scouting new photo locations to flagging fake news, the AI could potentially raise some privacy concerns. After all, metadata is often stripped intentionally so that the photographer doesn’t give away things like their home coordinates. After initial privacy concerns over the software, the AI is now not widely available to the general public.
GeoSpy Pro is now restricted to use by law enforcement, journalists, government and enterprise. Currently, GeoSpy has a demo of the software available using one of six pre-selected images. Qualified users such as law enforcement need to request access to the full software.
The startup trained the AI using millions of images and is capable of narrowing down a location within a few square miles within seconds, depending on the image.
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