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Comment by zitterbewegung | Hacker News Reader

I am making an app that takes pictures and tries to tell you if the food in the picture has allergens. I didn't know if I should feel humble or just laugh. (I decided it was hilarious in the end) But it made me aim higher in a hackathon last weekend. I also use your app in my elevator pitch for people to understand.

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Great idea that I would be terrified to pursue from a legal perspective.

I am going to chime in and really suggest they hire a qualified legal professional - if they intend to share this application. A simple disclaimer may not be adequate.

Edit: Typo.

Yea I'm not going to release the app. I was already on the fence on it. I could have finished it months ago but I was worried about legal implications . Thank you .

No problem. I wouldn't even give it away, with any disclaimer, without consulting a qualified legal professional. That sort of thing is just begging for a lawsuit.

I am kind of curious how well you do. If you ever do get it going, there may be a use for it - but, again, liability is a huge factor in something like this.

I am not a lawyer but I have spent a whole lot of time with lawyers and in court rooms. It was part of my business, indirectly. Thankfully, I sold and retired years ago.

I could send you a dev build if you really want .

Oh, no thank you. I'll just watch from afar. Also, I have a Windows phone. Yup. I know my shame. It's the only Microsoft OS I have. I figure nobody is writing malware for it. ;-)

Yes. I'm not going to release the app. The show already discouraged me and made me do another app that won't have legal implications .

While it seems great to be able to take a picture, that’s going to be very hard to know what’s in a sauce, stuffed inside of something, complex presentation, etc.

Why not be able to search over a list, and once on an item, show frequently related (e.g. garlic if you search onion). It may not involve any “AI,” but it’ll be far more accurate and easier to implement.

Is this possible? It doesn't seem like the necessary information is captured in a picture.

I don't think there's a person that could tell you whether food in a picture has allergens, let alone an app.

Yes you are right. The app works by identifying the dish and then searching in an ingredient database. If the dish looks visually the same to one with peanuts then the app would have a false negative .

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