Party season is here again! With Christmas and New Year’s just around the corner, it’s time to cut loose, relax and enjoy yourself. But it’s all too easy for a good time to go too far. And one drunk selfie can turn festive fun into a Christmas cringe faster than you can say “mince pie”.
But never fear, collegiettes! Facebook is working on new software to stop you from posting embarrassing pics. Yann LeCun, head of Facebook’s artificial intelligence research lab, has your back. The lab is working on a way to save you from yourself.
The system will combine AI and image recognition to distinguish between drunk and sober snaps. And if you try to post something shameful, it will even ask if you’re sure if the image is something you’d want your boss and your mother to see.
But that’s not all. Speaking to Wire magazine, LeCun said that he wants to develop a digital assistant who will help you curate your account.
And in the future, it could even be used to identify when someone has uploaded pictures of you without your permission. So no more worrying about your ex uploading that unflattering photo of you and tagging you in it.
But not everybody likes the idea of an AI working to “mediate” interactions with their friends. Some feel that it comes too close to Facebook censoring their self-expression. And other would prefer such services to be opt-in rather than default.
What do our Campus Correspondents think?
Penny: I don’t think that adding an extra intelligent layer to ask “Are you sure?” when posting pictures can’t hurt. After all, when you’re a little worse for wear, your judgement sometimes needs that extra prompting. But I think it should be something you choose rather than something forced on you.
Melissa: I personally think they should ban [drunk selfies]. Everyone knows that employers check Facebook these days – and the last thing you want a potential boss to see is you wasted. It’s unprofessional and it also shows a very immature side to most people.
Shelby: I think maybe a filter would be good because of things like employers looking at accounts and having families on Facebook, but banning them is too extreme. They’re funny and show a different side to people – not all drunk photos are necessarily bad.
Mason: We all take drunken pictures. I feel that Facebook should allow all photos, but when you accept someone as a friend they should have an option of the connection to you which filters the content they see. So if you add your boss as a friend they should only be allowed to see certain posts that you tag with the boss filter.
Ashleigh: People have the right to post the pictures they want but I do believe that there should be an age restriction so young children can’t see them.
But what do you think? Would you use an anti-drunk selfie AI? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter (@HerCampusCCCU) or in the comments!