Nottingham student designs outfit which disguises wearer from AI cameras
The clothes feature reflective patterns and distorted images of human faces to confuse AI recognition technology
Last updated 31st May 2024
A student from Nottingham Trent University has designed clothes which camouflages the wearer from AI facial recognition technology.
Final-year knitwear student, Kirsty Love, created a prototype skirt, jumper and hat which are designed to confuse cameras so that people can’t be recognised by artificial intelligence (AI).
Kirsty came up with the idea after becoming alarmed by existing websites which can identify people with a photograph of their face, and find online details about who they are.
Using a special reflective pattern, the material features layered images of blurry and distorted human faces, to make it difficult for AI tech to distinguish the wearer.
The 23-year-old NTU student said: “The fact that someone can now take your photo in the street and track you down in seconds to get your social media accounts and other personal information is absolutely terrifying...
...millions of people take great care to protect their privacy online, but with the development of AI, lots of people will now want to consider their offline anonymity as well."
She added: “Facial recognition software is out there and freely available for anyone to use, so I wanted to create clothes that are anti-detection which could provide a greater degree of privacy for people.”
Helen Hill, senior lecturer in fashion knitwear and knitted textiles at the Nottingham School of Art & Design, said: “The potential for people to have their photo taken in the street and be identified within seconds is a frightening prospect which raises serious questions about privacy.
“Kirsty has shown how clothing can be designed to help protect a person’s anonymity while in a public place so that they can feel more secure in themselves and have better peace of mind.”