New software lets computers identify pixelated faces

Pixelation is used heavily across the media to obscure faces, vehicle license plates and restricted pieces of text. The technique generally works well, preventing people from identifying what's beneath the blur without completely destroying the image with overlays or cut-outs. However, we may soon need to find an alternative to pixelation, according to researchers at the University of Texas. WIRED reports that a team has developed software that is able to see through a pixelated mask to determine the identity of a person beneath it. The technology is able to process images as if the pixelation simply didn't exist.