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Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by gcr on Sunday August 04, 2013 @01:46PM (#6156344)
That's quite possible. http://www.cs.columbia.edu/CAVE/projects/face_replace/

I can imagine someone turning the technique into a novel form of image compression, maybe for surveillance databases or something.

Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by lostlogin on Sunday August 04, 2013 @02:14PM (#6156477)
A very tech savvy friend bought a camera in Japan and after about a week or started delving into settings. He thought all the faces looked wrong. He found a setting that made the eyes bigger and rounder. It was subtle, but quite funny at the same time.
Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by hrktb on Sunday August 04, 2013 @08:04PM (#6157639)
Most of the consumer compact cameras have a "purikura" setting or a "beauty" setting with special treatment for the skin, whiter eyes and whiter teeths, and eventually bigger eyes and smaller mouth (yes, that's a thing).

It may be on by default for the cameras targeted at a female audience (in a rapidly shrinking market, female bloggers for instance are a big target), otherwise it won't even be available in more specialized or "hardcore" markets, like DSLR or mirrorless (4/3rds, Nikon 1, EOS M etc) for instance. For the anecdote, I bought a shockproof/waterproof compact camera last year and there's nothing so fancy on it.

Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by acchow on Sunday August 04, 2013 @08:18PM (#6157689)
Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by Gravityloss on Sunday August 04, 2013 @01:53PM (#6156380)
Think how someone could falsify your entire life...
Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by thwest on Sunday August 04, 2013 @02:58PM (#6156660)
Then realize you shouldn't define your life based on some digital records.
Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by delinka on Sunday August 04, 2013 @03:24PM (#6156746)
I don't define my life based on some digital records. But law enforcement (or the executive branch of the US Federal Government, including the NSA) does. And therein lies the problem.

Someone will be convicted (perhaps even without the intervention of a court) based on unimpeachable but falsified digital records.

Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by gridspy on Sunday August 04, 2013 @10:04PM (#6158018)
That sounds like the fly in the printer at the start of (the movie) Brazil.

Which of course leads to the conviction and torture of an innocent....

Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by Gormo on Tuesday August 06, 2013 @04:06PM (#6168824)
The fact that this conversation is taking place makes it unlikely for those records to be regarded as "unimpeachable".
Re:Xerox scanners and photocopiers randomly alter numbers in... by MoreConsiderate on Sunday August 04, 2013 @02:08PM (#6156440)
Accept it as an inevitability and develop skills that enable you to adapt, react & procreate in a multitude of diverse situations.