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Facebook wants to use AI to help open your eyes in blinking photos
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New technology from Facebook engineers might help you stop regretting those photos where your eyes are closed. - photo by Herb Scribner
New technology from Facebook engineers might help you stop regretting those photos where your eyes are closed.

Two Facebook engineers published a new paper detailing a new method that uses machine learning to fix your eyes when theyre closed in photos.

The researchers said the technology could open your eyes using a similar method as removing red-eye or smoothing out blemishes.

According to The Verge, the technology uses the generative adversarial network, which has previously been used to create fake celeb photos, change how weather appears in videos and design clothes.

Blinking is no challenge at all, The Verge reported.

The system would start by learning what your face and eyes look like on a normal day when you're not blinking.

Then, when you take a photo in which you are blinking, the tech can rework the picture to show your eyes wide open.

Its not a perfect solution, and the AI struggles to edit glasses, long fringes, and faces at extreme angles. But when it works, it works; creating incredibly realistic fakes, according to The Verge.

However, according to The Sun, Facebook didnt succeed in its first attempts. Many of the initial photos attempting to correct blinks werent convincing enough.

Thats when the researchers realized the tech needed to use example photos of users so technology would understand what the person looks like on a normal day.

The company hasnt unveiled how it plans to use the technology.

Last December, Facebook announced it would add more facial recognition software to help notify you when someone adds a photo of you on Facebook, even if youre not tagged, according to Wired.

"They wont identify you using face recognition to people who couldnt identity you in real life, and that to me seems like the right line," Chris Calabrese, vice president of policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, told Wired. "I personally am comfortable with face tagging in this very circumscribed context, but only in that context where its to someone who would already recognize you. If we cross that line, face recognition could rapidly spin out of control, and that could be really problematic."
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.