Back in 1903, the Wright brothers' first flying machine could only reach 20 mph. Just imagine that! Only two decades later, in World War II, fighter jets were racing across the skies at over 600 mph. And today, we've got hypersonic aircraft that can surpass 3,500 mph.
Crazy, right? This astonishing progress shows how quickly new technologies can transform.
To learn more, I had the privilege of talking with Vitali Zahharov, a leading visual designer with over a decade of experience creating innovative and visually stunning user interfaces trusted by industry giants such as Toshiba, Samsung, Huawei, Oracle, and Sotheby's. Born in Estonia, Vitali honed his skills in Singapore and Spain before bringing his visionary approach to Los Angeles. Having introduced Vitali, you may wonder why we brought in a visual designer to discuss computer vision and cybersecurity. The answer is simple: Vitali is one of the few designers with extensive experience working with companies with backgrounds as diverse as tourism, computing, AI, and cybersecurity, so who better to talk about the intersection between visual design and cybersecurity?
From Pixel-Perfect Design to Protection: Bridging Visual Design and Cybersecurity
Though we're seeing some cool uses for computer vision, like in video games, Vitali insists the best is yet to come. He predicts computer vision will soon have an iPhone-like breakthrough that will change everything. I'm inclined to trust him on this since he worked firsthand with a pioneering computer vision company called Clarifai. Clarifai is an undisputed leader in enterprise-level AI-powered software solutions. Although Clarifai supports the whole artificial intelligence development lifecycle, the company stands out in image classification and computer vision solutions, as demonstrated by its multiple recognitions from Forrester, Gartner, and others.
Vitali's contribution to Clarifai was decisive. Since computer vision is a field within artificial intelligence in great demand today, the experience of a leading designer like him is vital to guaranteeing a superior user interface.
As a visual design expert, Vitali emphasizes that we often overlook how critical good design really is. Just look at the iPhone—it didn't have the most advanced tech when it first launched. What made it revolutionary was its intuitive touchscreen interface. This made using apps incredibly easy in a way no phone had achieved before. It was a total game-changer!
Vitali stresses that the same applies to computer vision. No matter how advanced the technology, it needs great design to reach its full potential.
To demonstrate this, he points to his work with Clarifai. Their AI platform enables companies to develop top-notch surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) solutions, one area where current capabilities in computer vision technology are stretched to the limit. This is because ISR systems need to provide valuable real-time insights from multiple image and video downstream sources, which requires great precision to detect, classify, and understand the potential threat of certain objects and behavioral patterns. This represents a huge challenge for data scientists since they must develop super-advanced models capable of understanding video feeds. It also represents a challenge for the hardware since it has to process data at an incredible speed.
At that point, he shared with us that designing the UI that is used to manage such systems is also a great challenge. Focusing on UI is the number one thing and always should be a priority before actually handing off everything to other departments. Vitali spent a lot of time working mostly with developers, engineers, and managers to set up the perfect workplace and ideal workflow. His strong leadership and management skills allowed him to prove his opinion, and that's how all changed in the company. Starting from creating prototypes, creating user journeys, and interviewing stakeholders, these all-new things allowed Clarify to be bigger than ever, and he helped raise $60 million in Series C.
He added, Think about it this way: Iron Man had JARVIS, but that would have been useless if the interface of his augmented reality helmet hadn't been easy to understand. Something similar happens when we talk about computer vision, cybersecurity, and visual design. That's why Vitali focused on optimizing Clarifai's interfaces. More intuitive screens helped users capitalize on the tech's capabilities. So, in computer vision, design is just as essential as the technology itself!
How Computer Vision Is Transforming Cybersecurity
Now, let's get into Vitali's insights on how computer vision could revolutionize cybersecurity.
He's most excited about its potential for real-time monitoring. By continuously analyzing massive video feeds, computer vision AI can instantly detect threats and anomalies as they occur.
Imagine how this 24/7 vigilance could help:
Banks could be alerted to skimming devices placed on ATMs. Retailers would know if a customer is acting suspicious. Facility managers could identify safety issues or crimes in progress.
With computer vision on guard, risks could be mitigated in real-time before the damage is done. And instead of tedious monitoring duty, security teams could focus on more meaningful work. It's a huge upgrade!
Besides real-time monitoring, Vitali predicts computer vision will enable next-level facial recognition security. Basic facial recognition, like Face ID, can already unlock your phone, but computer vision takes it to the next level by rapidly matching faces against massive databases.
This could allow seamless, touchless identity verification anywhere. Imagine stepping up to an airport security checkpoint and getting instantly cleared just by looking into a camera!
Next-gen facial recognition would scan your face and confirm you're authorized in seconds, without needing to show documents or queue up. So cool, right?
This kind of ultra-convenient yet ultra-secure biometric ID will be a game changer. And computer vision is what makes it possible.
As our conversation neared the end, Vitali came back to that critical topic of design. He pointed out that no matter how advanced computer vision gets, human operators will still direct these cybersecurity systems. That's why the user experience remains vital.
With intuitive, user-focused interfaces, security teams can fully harness the power of computer vision. Clean data visualizations also help people make sense of complex threats.
So, user-centered design will be key to realizing the benefits of advanced AI tech, such as computer vision. By focusing on the human element, we ensure the tech actually improves people's lives!
After learning from Vitali's insider perspective, I'm convinced computer vision will have an iPhone-like breakthrough moment. Much like smartphones, it's going to reshape cybersecurity in amazing ways.
Just think—comprehensive threat detection, streamlined biometric ID, and, most importantly, interfaces focused on human needs. This potent combo will launch computer vision into the cybersecurity stratosphere! The companies that embrace this emerging technology will have a major advantage.
