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Research: Image Tagging and Categorization

Research as a Means of Collecting Information

The word research comes from the French word “rechercher” and means to “search for”. It involves searching for information on a particular topic. The development of the internet has made it easier for the general public to access a large amount of content. In turn, this makes research easier but also means that there are many instances where tagging and categorization are needed.

Image Tagging ©   Flikr by nggalai

The Internet: A Source of Information

Frequently, the wealth of information on the web must be organized into certain forms. This process essential because it enables the users to gain an overview of the research and evaluate the data found. It is accomplished with a categorization system in which individual objects are classified and compiled with the help of keywords. Additionally, image tagging, which involves linking and describing images, is an effective means of acquiring visual information.

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Reasons for Categorization

There are many reasons a business or organization may require data to be categorized. Technology that uses large amouonts of data may use computer programs to do this. However, this isn’t always possible when computers cannot define what data needs to go where. Companies like clickworker come in handy in these situations. Using a vast base of workers, a company can get their data categorized in an efficient and accurate manner.

Categorizing Data for AI

Very often, data needs to be analysed by people in order to know what it is and what category it fits into. The advancement of AI is a classic example of this. To teach AI systems to understand who or what they’re interacting with they need to be presented with data. Furthermore, this data needs to be explained to the AI so it knows how to identify it in the future. This can come in many formats such as:

  • Collecting data examples such as different accents or faces
  • Adding a description or keywords to an image
  • Stating whether an image is human, animal, or an object
  • Picking out relevant or key colors
  • Selecting if a voice sounds human or not

  • Once this data has been sorted and identified, the organization can then use that data to enchance, advance and train their AI systems. This includes things like voice recognition, automated ID verfication and more.

    The Importance of Image Tagging

    Image tagging involves labelling and identifying the contents of an image. Although computers can achieve this via machine learning, images often need to be scrutinized by humans. It is sometimes done alone or to check how well a computer program is identifying images correctly. In the past, only humans would be able to tag images but this has changed as algorithms have advanced. These days, most tagging is done by machines but as it’s not perfect, it’s best to get a human to at least review the results. If required, people can check the automated tags and verify them or change them as needed. Using auto-tagging alone can lead to poorer quality results.

    In some situations, the importance of correct tagging is vital and organizations will often use a company like clickworker to ensure high quality results. First an image is analyzed, it is then tagged with the relevant information. This could be to check if a document or ID is genuine or in date. Some images could even be stills from a security cameras. Knowing what these images contain can be vital for reasons of security, fraud, SEO, or simply to speed up other basic processes.

    Why Use Image Tagging?

    Image tagging can be used by many different companies and organisations and for various reasons. Some can be rather mundane but for others, it can be vital to the success of a product or service they’re trying to sell or develop.

  • Identification:
  • Helps to avoid the wrong images being shown such as explicit or illegal content.
  • Optimization:
  • Some companies and individuals need to be able to tag certain products for streamlining/organization.
  • SEO:
  • Alt image tagging and keywords help provide better results when a user is searching the internet.
  • Security:
  • Checking for the presence of people in a secure area or that ID is valid and in date.

    Pros and Cons of Auto Image Tagging

    Of course, many may wonder why bother with people when machines are learning so fast these days. In some cases, there may not be a need for human input. However, even in those situations the tagging will never be as accurate as when a human looks at it. Again, there is no need to hire a new team or make current workers take on extra hours just to perform these tasks. Using clickworker can bring fast and accurate results via a taskforce of over 4.5 million workers all over the world.

    The Benefits

    Auto tagging can save time and money due to not having to hire any workers. Also, if it’s a small and very basic project then a computer could complete it faster than a person. Information about a product or service doesn’t have to be shared out, a company owner may worry about people seeing new inventions or highly secure data.

    The Drawbacks

    There can be limitations with auto-tagging. Whilst it can be efficient, it isn’t always precise. Additionally, a machine may be fast but it isn’t immune to errors, a crash may cause it to stop working entirely and a whole day could be lost. The nuance that humans can provide simply isn’t there. Machines can detect a person but a human can add what their stance could mean or what their expression conveys. Higher accuracy by using people to tag or verify tags can be vital for a companies reputation. For example, the image hosting site Flickr saw complaints flood in when their auto-tagging tagged Black people as apes and animals. A human eye would have prevented this.