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IT之家 科技新闻· · Original publication time AI score47

CCTV test finds AI can restore some obscured QR codesMachine translation

央视实测:AI 可复原部分被遮挡的二维码

Automatically verified and published · Generated and evidence-checked automatically; not reviewed by a human.

AI-assisted summary

In CCTV's test, an AI image tool restored scannable information when scribbles covered only the outer area of a QR code or were too thin to fully hide the underlying image. It could not restore a usable code when the entire code was thickly covered and its original details were hard to discern. Experts advised pixelating as much as 90% of a QR code when obscuring it.

Article · AI translation

IT Home reported on October 28 that, according to a CCTV News report today, an internet user found that a screenshot of a redemption voucher with its QR code pixelated could, after being restored with an AI image tool, be scanned to read the information. The discovery has prompted concern among many internet users about AI's ability to restore QR codes.

In response, CCTV found in its tests:

AI could successfully restore the code when the scribbling covered only the outer area of the QR code, or when it was not thick enough and did not completely obscure the underlying image;

When the scribbled area was enlarged to cover the entire QR code and applied thickly enough that details of the original code were hard to make out, AI could not restore usable QR code information.

Experts said that what AI calls “restoration” depends on the obscured area not covering the core data area. Once the core data area is completely covered, AI cannot restore it. Reminder: When handling a QR code, pixelate as much as possible of 90% of its area.

IT Home note: A QR code is a barcode that extends a one-dimensional barcode with another readable dimension. It uses black-and-white rectangular patterns to represent binary data, and a device can scan it to obtain the information it contains. The width of a one-dimensional barcode encodes data, while its length does not. Both the length and width of a QR code encode data. QR codes have “positioning markers” and an “error-correction mechanism” that one-dimensional barcodes lack. The error-correction mechanism allows the information in the code to be recovered correctly even if the entire barcode is not recognized or the barcode is damaged.

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