What is ‘How Normal Am I?’?
‘How Normal Am I?’ is a great digital art project that comes in front with advanced face detection algorithms at work to scan real-time features of your face. Through an interactive experience, scanning your face through a web camera gives insights associated with beauty, age, BMI, gender, and life expectancy. Noticeably, all calculations are done locally on the user’s device alone; therefore, no personal information is gathered or sent to any server.
This project is funded by the European Union and is part of the Sherpa research program that analyzes the societal impact of Artificial Intelligence.
‘How Normal Am I?’ Key Features & Benefits
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Privacy-Friendly Verification:
Ensures user privacy by running the face detection algorithms locally in your browser, thus not sending any data to external servers. -
Artificial Intelligence Analysis:
This is a personal account of how AI algorithms assess and interpret facial features to define ‘normal’. -
Browser-Based Accessibility:
The interface can be used upon any web browser. It only fully works with iPhone and iPad devices on the Safari browser because of the limited access to cameras. -
European Union Supported:
This project was developed with the support of the European Union in the context of the Sherpa research program. -
Interactive Engagement:
From beauty scores and BMI assessment to life expectancy predictions, various analyses could be conducted in an engaging manner.
Use Cases and Applications: ‘How Normal Am I?’
While the ‘How Normal Am I?’ project will be of particular interest to those who wonder how AI is capable of judging human facial features to produce statistical insights, it is also a nice educational tool for users to understand the power and limitations of AI in judging human features. Other than for personal use, it would also work well in an academic setting when broaching ideas related to AI ethics and privacy.
How to Use ‘How Normal Am I?’
- Open your favorite browser. Note that for iPhone and iPad, one has to access it on a Safari browser.
- Access the website of ‘How Normal Am I?’
- When prompted, grant access to your webcam.
- Focus on the screen and follow instructions to start analysis.
- Observe results including beauty, age, BMI, gender, and life expectancy assessment.
Tips and Best Practice
Always ensure that you are in a well-lit area for an accurate analysis. Also, always maintain a neutral expression on your face for better results.
How ‘How Normal Am I?’ Works
The underlying technology of ‘How Normal Am I?’ involves advanced face detection algorithms, running locally on your device. It uses the following machine learning models for analyzing various facial features and returning statistical insights. This workflow isn’t that complex: upon granting permission to access the camera, the algorithm pipelines a live video stream to extract and value your face attributes. All the computations are done in real time right inside your browser—thus, ensuring complete privacy.
‘How Normal Am I?’ Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Ensures total privacy, as all data computations are done at your device.
- Interactivity enhances user experience.
- It is funded by the European Union, giving some credibility to the project.
- Analyses produced are quite intuitive, considering beauty, age, and BMI.
Possible Cons:
- Apple users encounter some glitches on non-Safari browsers.
- Statistical results should not be considered a final judgment.
User Feedback
Users enjoyed the privacy-driven solution and that the project is highly engaging. Some have requested that this application should support additional browsers.
Conclusion of ‘How Normal Am I?’
Conclusively, ‘How Normal Am I?’ is that digital artwork that brings human facial features into the eyes of AI in a most interesting manner. Sponsored by the European Union, all computations are run locally on a user’s device, ensuring the protection of personal data.
Though it has a number of limitations, it’s still worth its educational and engaging feature. Advanced improvements, such as increasing its compatibility with different browsers, would get more people to interact with it and thus enhance overall user experience.
‘How Normal Am I?’ Frequently Asked Questions
What is ‘How Normal Am I?’?
A piece of art that was created to show and emphasize the capacity of artificial intelligence to assess and make a judgment of a face based on some standards like beauty, age, and other standards.
Does the ‘How Normal Am I?’ test need access to the camera?
Yes, it does, to be able to analyze your face, but none of your personal data is collected or sent to any servers.
Can I take the ‘How Normal Am I?’ test in any kind of browser on my Apple devices?
On an iPhone or iPad it will only work using the Safari browser since Apple doesn’t allow other browsers on these devices access to the camera.
Is my personal data secure when using the ‘How Normal Am I?’ experience?
The face detection algorithms will be running on your computer in the browser. Your privacy is protected during the whole process.
Who made ‘How Normal Am I?’ and why?
The effort was put together by Tijmen Schep and was created as part of the Sherpa research program of the European Union.
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