News

How Forgettable Is Your Latest Selfie? Leave It To A New Algorithm To Determine

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Dec 18, 2015 11:32 AM EST

It would be amazing to learn that there could be a computer algorithm that can "predict the memorability of an image almost as accurately as a human." The algorithm has been created by the researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The study will be used in an app that would subtly change pictures so that they are remembered better.

"Understanding memorability can help us make systems to capture the most important information, or, conversely, to store information that humans will most likely forget," Aditya Khosla, lead author of the paper, said in a press release. "It's like having an instant focus group that tells you how likely it is that someone will remember a visual message."

Moreover, they want the algorithm to also help in improving "ad content, social media posts and teaching resources".

"This sort of research gives us a better understanding of the visual information that people pay attention to," said Alexei Efros, an associate professor of computer science at the University of California at Berkeley, according to Phys.org."For marketers, movie-makers and other content creators, being able to model your mental state as you look at something is an exciting new direction to explore."

The new discovery gives an insight into the nature of human memory and offers the potential for improvement too.

"You might expect that people will acclimate and forget as many things as they did before, but our research suggests otherwise," Efros said. "This means that we could potentially improve people's memory if we present them with memorable images."

© 2023 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics