Artist uses AI to train open-access CCTV to spot influencers posing for photos

Ever wondered what the ‘behind the scenes’ looked like on Instagram influencer photos? Well, a Belgium-based artist has used open access CCTV to train software to spot photos being taken at famous landmarks, highlighting how those ‘casual’ shots aren’t quite as spontaneous as they look.

Image: Maridav/AlamyStock

Dries Depoorter, a Belgium-based public speaker and artist, launched his latest project in September 2022. Using open-access video surveillance cameras and AI, he set out to find how an Instagram photo is taken, while matching it up to the influencer in the shoot.

Depoorter recorded weeks of footage from open access cameras, and then scraped all Instagram photos tagged with the locations of those cameras. Finally, he trained software to compare the images posted on the social media platform with the recorded footage to match the ‘influencer’ up on Instagram and provide insight into the amount of work that goes into the process.

The video, which he posted on 12 September to Youtube, has since been removed, though Depoorter says he is trying to find a solution. Cameras used were in public spaces trained on famous landmarks, such as Temple Bar in Dublin, Times Square in New York and Wrigley Field in Chicago.

The project provides yet another example of how video surveillance and AI are working together for a range of scenarios.

Depoorter is no stranger to utilising CCTV technology in his projects. In 2021 he created an interactive installation that made it possible to watch and control cameras that were unsecured and connected to the internet.

Demonstrating the ease of which hackers can gain access to unprotected devices – the cameras either didn’t have a password or used a standard, default password – the installation displayed over 1500 real time unsecured cameras. Visitors to ‘the Lookout’ exhibition were then able to use Playstation controllers to move the motor of a series of PTZ cameras.

Such cyber security issues have been well covered in the security industry, with the plethora of IoT-based physical security devices now connected to the internet. Experts continually underline the importance of ensuring sufficient protections are in place to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks from hackers looking to gain access to a network remotely via an unsecured camera or access control system.

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