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kottke.org posts about Raphael Fabre

Man uses a 3D model of his face to get a national ID card

Raphael Fabre

Frenchman Raphael Fabre recently requested a French national ID card, but instead of sending in a headshot, he sent in a 3D model of his face created on a computer. The French government issued the card to him.

The photo I submitted for this request is actually a 3D model created on a computer, by means of several different software and techniques used for special effects in movies and in the video game industry. It is a digital image, where the body is absent, the result of an artificial process.

The image corresponds to the official demands for an ID: it is resembling, is recent, and answers all the criteria of framing, light, bottom and contrasts to be observed.

The document validating my french identity in the most official way thus presents today an image of me which is practically virtual, a version of video game, fiction.

If you look long and close enough at the high-res 3D image, there are little tells that it’s fake (the hairline, for example) but you could glance at it 1000 times without suspecting a thing. Even if it’s fake it’s real, eh Sippey? (via @zachklein)