Supper Club: Mixed veg dhal with cauliflower & spinach pakora
Supper Club: Mixed veg dhal with cauliflower & spinach pakora

Meg Walker

‘Such big smile for such a little man’: A story of remarkable support during a difficult time
‘Such big smile for such a little man’: A story of remarkable support during a...

Amanda Cassidy

This cosy seaside home in Wicklow is on the market for €675,000
This cosy seaside home in Wicklow is on the market for €675,000

Sarah Finnan

A modest extension has created a feeling of light and spaciousness in this Balbriggan semi-d
A modest extension has created a feeling of light and spaciousness in this Balbriggan semi-d

Megan Burns

Childcare strike: ‘As a mother, I fully support the childcare workers strike’
Childcare strike: ‘As a mother, I fully support the childcare workers strike’

Dominique McMullan

Industry Insiders: ‘Our work as early childhood educators is not truly recognised’
Industry Insiders: ‘Our work as early childhood educators is not truly recognised’

IMAGE

Clair Dowling of Tiller + Grain on her life in food
Clair Dowling of Tiller + Grain on her life in food

Sarah Gill

Here’s what your star sign says about your personality
Here’s what your star sign says about your personality

Grace McGettigan

September 26: Today’s top stories in 60 seconds
September 26: Today’s top stories in 60 seconds

Sarah Finnan

Women in Sport: Irish Rugby player Maeve Óg O’Leary
Women in Sport: Irish Rugby player Maeve Óg O’Leary

Sarah Gill

Image / Editorial

Google App To Count Calories On Instagram Posts


By Jeanne Sutton
05th Jun 2015
Google App To Count Calories On Instagram Posts

Primrose Bakery

We all love scientific breakthroughs. A few weeks ago we learned about how 3D printing was helping make luxury leather without killing animals. That’s really cool, isn’t it?

However, Google’s latest innovation has us a bit purse-lipped about this thing called progress. The tech giant is allegedly working on a product that will count calories in photographs of food. Brunch just got sad.

At an industry summit in Boston earlier this week, Google researcher Kevin Power talked about calorie counting via artificial intelligence is becoming a possibility. An app called Im2Calories will be able to, theoretically, analyse photographs of food and look at individual elements and discern an approximate calorie count. Reports say that the app is very advanced already. Im2Calories will be able to tell you exactly how you like your eggs – fried or poached, smugly – through sophisticated pixel technology.

And if the app isn’t too sure what it is looking at you will be able to use a menu to lay the guilt on thick. The app will also amass information as it goes on. Whether this will see the rise of robot army rising bent on the end of humanity whose only weakness is Sarah Connor, remains to be seen. In fact, the app has yet to get its patent approved, and mass market access is still a little bit away.

Google maintains that the purpose of the app is to help people make better decisions for their health and to make calorie counting apps that require a lot of manual input redundant. Either way, all those Instagram posts of cupcakes and French toast just got very grim.

Follow Jeanne Sutton on Twitter @jeannedesutun

LOVE this? Why not have IMAGE delivered directly to your door each month? Check out this month’s offer here.