AI & Digital Life · 45 sec
Optical character recognition
A useful mental model for the technology shaping daily life.
The useful idea
- The useful idea
Optical character recognition (OCR) or optical character reader is the electronic or mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned
- How it works
document, a photo of a document, a scene photo (for example the text on signs and billboards in a landscape photo) or from subtitle text superimposed on an image (for example: from a television broadcast).
- Why it matters
Widely used as a form of data entry from printed paper data records – whether passport documents, invoices, bank statements, computerized receipts, business cards, mail, printed data, or any suitable
Why this matters
Use Optical character recognition as a lens when judging what a digital tool can — and cannot — do.
Try this
Use Optical character recognition as a lens when judging what a digital tool can — and cannot — do.
Test your recall
Which idea belongs to the explanation of Optical character recognition?
- The useful idea — correct
- How it works
- Why it matters
Optical character recognition (OCR) or optical character reader is the electronic or mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned