Will a company from Herzliya help fight terror in social media?

Israeli news portal Nana10 in a very positive article about PicScout!

Is a picture worth a thousand words? If you ask PicScout’s General Manager, Uri Lavi, it’s probably worth much more. A look at an Israeli company that has developed advanced image recognition technology and also helps security forces.

In past years much has been said about the role of social media in the incitement of Terror due to the ability to disseminate content and messages much quicker than ever. PicScout’s technology can automatically identify details within an image, such as the number of people, their mood, the location and even items held by the people in the photo. It is possible, for example, to “teach” the computer what a knife is, and this could lead to identifying images that could incite terror attacks using knives. The technology is available but social networks are reluctant to invest the necessary funds of their own accord, unless they will be legally bound to do so.

PicScout was also recently involved in a global project aimed at eradicating pedophilia across the web. PicScout was approached by the UK government to assist in controlling the distribution of images with inappropriate content.

As to the shortage of hi-tech workers, Lavi would like to employ more graduates from Israel but there is a real shortage, which is why the company recently activated a new training program aimed at bringing over 50s back to the market and bridging their knowledge gap. “We are proud of our dedicated workers who invest time in this project. We think bringing these people back to the work force is of high importance, as bringing this high quality work force back to the market will promote all hi-tech companies in Israel”, says Lavi.

(Abstract, full article in Hebrew)