A striking 18-foot sculpture in Auckland has become an unexpected casualty of automated privacy protection systems used by major technology companies. "The Boy Walking," one of New Zealand's most distinctive pieces of public art, has had its face blurred by Google Maps and pixelated on Apple Maps, raising questions about the intersection of artificial intelligence and artistic expression.
The 5.6-meter aluminum sculpture, created by New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout, stands prominently in Potters Park near the busy intersection of Dominion Road and Balmoral Road in Auckland's Mt Eden neighborhood. Since its unveiling in 2019, the artwork has been a subject of considerable public debate and discussion.
Both Google and Apple employ automatic facial recognition technology to blur human faces captured by their street-view cameras, citing privacy concerns as the primary reason for this practice. The process, which also targets car license plates, is largely automated but includes human oversight to catch faces that might be missed by the initial algorithmic screening.
The sculpture depicts a young boy captured mid-stride, with its oversized scale creating what van Hout describes as "a slightly surreal presence, as if a child from the nearby playground had suddenly been enlarged and frozen in motion." The artist commissioned through Auckland Council's public art program at a cost of $550,000, explained his vision at the statue's unveiling.
"This is a confident young person in a liminal moment; a moment of transition and movement," van Hout said. "In literal terms, this is an 11 or 12-year-old child, but it could be anyone. We're all constantly becoming. We're always learning. Always moving forward."
The statue gained additional attention last month when children's charity KidsCan used it as the centerpiece of a national awareness campaign about child hardship. The organization dressed the sculpture in a giant jacket and shoes to draw attention to children in New Zealand living without life's basic necessities.
When contacted for comment, Google provided general background information about its privacy processes but declined to comment specifically on the statue's blurring. Apple did not respond to requests for comment. Both companies offer processes for individuals to request blurring of their own properties, though Google warns that such changes are permanent and irreversible.
Tech commentator and futurist Paul Spain from Gorilla Technology suggests the facial blurring was implemented automatically rather than through human intervention. "They didn't do that in the earliest days, but it looks like that happens automatically now," Spain explained. "I guess it's not designed to be a perfectly life-like sculpture, but in a way, it highlights the shortcomings of technology like AI."
Spain noted that while the blurring of the statue's face causes no real harm, the incident illustrates broader concerns about automated systems and their unintended consequences. "We apply these things and we don't necessarily understand as a society sometimes what the consequences might be," he observed. "For something like this, it doesn't necessarily matter, but sometimes the unintended consequences can be more inappropriate."
The incident reflects what Spain describes as a "blanket approach" to privacy protection that tech companies have adopted. "I think they've just applied this blanket approach from a privacy perspective. Doing that blurring is probably considered helpful by most people that get picked up by the cameras," he said. However, the case of "The Boy Walking" demonstrates how these well-intentioned privacy measures can inadvertently affect public art and cultural landmarks, potentially limiting how such works are experienced and shared in the digital age.
