Assigning textual tags to an image is an important task because tags are needed for things like image search. When you search for an image of a “cat,” modern search engines can only identify an image as containing a cat if the tag “cat” is associated with it.
Having people tag images by hand is an onerous task. Shenoy and Tan of Microsoft Research developed a way to tag images automatically by reading people’s brain scans while they look at images. The people did not even have to specifically think about trying to tag the image; they merely had to passively observe it.
Reading Minds
The technique requires using an electroencephalograph (EEG), a cap with electrodes placed on the scalp in regular locations that can each measure brain activity in their local area.
