At this point it is already evident that artificial intelligence has come to stay. All large companies have focused 100% on this technology to offer functions that were previously impossible. From generating images from a text, to conversations with a virtual assistant such as those that already allow Gemini and Chatgpt, the possibilities to improve our lives are enormous.
At the same time, the possibilities to worsen our lives do not seem to be. The first malicious uses of the generative AI came from the hand of this technology, and even when the objective is not to harm others for their own benefit, the new tools make it very easy. The amount of false news and images generated by AI who have filled social networks demonstrate it, but that is not the only example.
Geospy It is another of those tools that is presented as a tool that can be extremely useful, both for the conventional user and especially for security forces; but that also has the potential to become the favorite app of stalkers, rapists and spies.
Geospy is presented as an app capable of Obtain the location of any photograph Let us have. Actually, that is a relatively simple fact to obtain; All modern mobiles are already able to insert exact geolocation in photography metadata, and apps such as Google Photos use that information for curious functions such as grouping photos taken in the same place. However, these data can be easily eliminated, and in fact, many apps and systems already ‘clean’ the images of metadata before sharing them on social networks and messaging apps, precisely to prevent anyone from knowing where we were or worse, where we are.
This is where Geospy enters, what Use AI to analyze the content of the image and determine the location in which it was taken. For this, the system is based on the details that appear in the photo, from some easily recognizable as buildings or monuments, to other smaller details such as vegetation, the distance between buildings or even the color of the asphalt.
One of the examples that appear in Geospy’s public demonstration shows a photo of a city; The AI is able to recognize that the architecture of the buildings and its density is characteristic of New York, and can recognize a famous building like the One World Trade Center. Based on that, it marks the exact location on a Google Maps style map but is based on OpenSTREETMAP, In addition to presenting latitude and length in which photography was taken, data that can be exported for use.
According to sources of 404 averageGeospy has become the favorite police tool, since it allows officers with very little training to obtain the location of suspects from the photographs they publish. The founder of Geospy confirmed last year that the company is working directly with security forces, but could not give more details.
Of course, there are already techniques to determine the location of a photo without the need for its metadata; But only professionals and enthusiasts are able to run them reliability. Geospy offers that capacity to anyone, and the potential is dangerous, as the stalkers who have asked for access to the tool to find the woman they are chasing. In the official Discord server of Geospy, some users have even presumed to obtain private investigator jobs so that They pay them “for harassing people”. In response to the publication of these problems, Geospy has closed the public test of its application, and at the time of writing these words, he affirms that he only allows the purchase of his service for “governments and security forces.”
