Face Recognition
By: Chen Pozazy
Do I Really want to pay for my groceries with my smile?
Last month I found myself watching a futuristic movie about outlaws fleeing from the authorities in a technological city overfilled with cameras and monitoring systems. The pursuit for the suspects was carried out with the help of a sophisticated network of cameras that used facial recognition software.
Facial recognition technologies are starting to become commonplace in security systems. They typically use software that compares facial features from a picture or a video to an existing database in determining the identity of an unknown individual. Recently we have seen far-reaching developments in this area with private companies using face recognition technologies for commercial uses.
For instance, Apple continues to develop biometric features in its products. In the latest iPhone, Apple included facial recognition technology that allows users to unlock their phone and to authorize purchases from the App-Store using pre-stored facial features.
Facebook has been a long-time user of facial recognition technologies for image tagging. However, it is now reportedly developing software that will allow users to make payments using facial recognition. Facebook is also supposedly developing a technology that will analyze facial expressions for commercial exploitation.
Although the technology is maturing, the software is not flawless and mistakes happen from time to time. For example, software can get confused in low -lighting or when accessories cover the person’s face. Even extreme facial expressions can mislead the software. In addition, facial recognition software egregiously has difficulty identifying the facial features of minorities, which can lead to embarrassment, unintended discrimination. or worse.
Facial recognition software often collects extensive image related information that is stored in databases and exploited for unknown uses. Also, unlike any other forms of identification such as password or identification numbers, a person's facial features are unique and cannot be easily changed. As such, identity theft becomes even more offensive.
With the continued use of facial recognition, we can imagine a world without privacy, where every step you make is monitored. These infringements of privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of movement could be devastating to our daily lives.
