Shutterstock uses machine learning to let you search images based on composition

Plenty of companies are taking advantage of machine learning to tag and search visual content. Pinterest lets you find visually-similar images in order to track down that recipe or jacket you're looking for, and Pornhub is using machine learning to automatically identify porn stars in videos. Stock image company Shutterstock, though, has developed one of the more novel implementations of this sort of technology: using machine learning to identify the layout of images. The new tool, launched today, is currently available on the company's test site, Shutterstock Labs. You can search for various elements (in the case of the link above, wine and cheese) and then move icons about to specify where you want them to appear in the image.