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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Sharpened Hooks: CAPTCHA Diviners

There's a group trolling the internet, looking for CAPTCHAs.

Why?

Well, this group tries to hit as many CAPTCHAs as they can.  I don't know what algorithms they use, but they somehow sort through this data as a form of divination.

I've also heard of a variant, using StumbleUpon or similar services, wherein the diviner "stumbles" until finding a site with a CAPTCHA, and then interpreting this information.  Supposedly, the context of the CAPTCHA is just as important as the CAPTCHA itself.

Note: The Wikipedia link refers to CAPTCHAs as a sort of reverse Turing test, which I bring to your attention because that could be another story hook — simply, our computers are testing us.  CAPTCHAs aren't actually man-made, instead being a primitive test proctored by the internet's limited awareness.

2 comments:

  1. I love the idea that CAPTCHAs are a way for AI to test us. I may have to do a fishhook for that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's a cool idea, and who knows how far from the truth..?

    ReplyDelete

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