Facebook and Instagram improve AI-generated image descriptions
Facebook improves the automatically generated image descriptions on the platform. (Photo: AlexandraPopova / Shutterstock)
No time right now?
Photos shared on social networks are a problem for people with impaired vision. Automatically generated image descriptions should help.
Since 2016, Facebook has been using artificial intelligence that automatically generates descriptions of uploaded photos. The sister network Instagram has also had this feature since 2018. As the social media group has now announced, the AI system now recognizes more than 1,200 different objects. In addition, the number of object sub-categories has been significantly expanded, making the image descriptions even more precise. In addition, there will be an update that will make it possible for the first time for the AI to recognize the position of individual objects in a photo and to record it in the image description.
A Facebook AI describes the content of photos for people with impaired vision. (Graphic: Facebook)
Instead of specifying in the image description, for example, that there are five people in a photo, as before, the Facebook software could now describe exactly how the people in the photo are distributed in the photo. The software can now also specify the relative size of individual objects. The AI writes the actual image description in the simplest possible language. In this way, the descriptions should not only be easy to understand, but also easier to translate. According to Facebook, the image descriptions are currently being translated into 45 different languages.
Contents
While Facebook and Instagram generate image descriptions automatically, Twitter users have to deposit yourself. At least that’s what humans do. At least a detour via the Chrome browser can help on the desktop: Is the appropriate one function activated, the browser tries to generate image descriptions with the help of a Google AI.
Tiktok is also looking rather bad when it comes to accessibility. In order not to exclude at least people with impaired hearing, experts recommend describing the video content as precisely as possible and adding subtitles to the clip.
Also interesting: 4 simple tricks to more accessibility for your own website
