While many fear Google’s seemingly omnipresent cameras capturing them in a vulnerable moment on the street, others have faith that the company’s blurring software will protect them. This cow’s story shows that even if Google blurs your image, you might be thrust into the limelight.
Guardian opinion editor David Shariatmadari happened to be casually scrolling through the verdant greenery of Coe Fen in Cambridge when he noticed that Google Street View was carefully obscuring the identity of a certain black and white cow:
What good, clean fun. The BBC got a statement from Google that they were obviously giggling over their keyboards about:
We thought you were pulling the udder one when we herd the moos, but it’s clear that our automatic face-blurring technology has been a little overzealous. Of course, we don’t begrudge this cow milking its five minutes of fame.
Well, I’m here to reveal the cow behind the curtain. Got you, mootherfucker!
Google has been experimenting with face-blurring technology since 2008, according to Slate, who also pointed out that researchers from University of Texas at Austin and Cornell Tech have developed software that can essentially see through or identify pixelated faces. This cow could be any of us. Don’t sit back and take this encroachment on your privacy like a cud-chewing bovine. This lady knows what’s up.
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Still here. Still without airbrushing. Still with teeth.
