B.C. researchers using A.I. to change the face of anonymous interviews

Artificial intelligence technology developed by researchers from Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbiacould change the way anonymous sources look when their faces are hidden on camera, researchers say.

The team has been working on a way to better expresstheemotions of anonymous interview subjects whose faces are usually covered or obscured by pixelation while still protecting their identity.

"It would look, pretty much, like a painting," professor Steve DiPaola toldStephen Quinn, host of CBC'sThe Early Edition.

"We're using artificial intelligence to take the hundreds of years of knowledge that portrait painters use; that they get your outerand, in some ways, your inner resemblance."

DiPaola says the technology brings expressive parts of the face like the eyes and eyebrows to life but also abstracts the face enough to prevent identification.

While artificial intelligence does much of the work, a producer can adjust facial features manually, he said. For instance, if the anonymous source is known for having large eyes, the producer can shrink them.

"At every level, there is control," DiPaolo said.

DiPaolo says the look of the A.I. technology is very different from what news outlets traditionally use and might take some getting used to.

He argues, however, once audience see it, they might actually be more engaged by it.

Listen to the full story:

With files from CBCRadio One's On The Coast

Read more from CBC British Columbia