[German]Facial recognition technologies are currently under discussion. As a Sunday reading tip I have a background article with some insights on face recognition technology.
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In China, facial recognition is widely used to monitor citizen, and in 2019 we could hear many voices of the kind 'we have to relax the regulations to avoid being left behind'. I've been waiting for a dam to burst – but now it seems to be falling apart since the Clearview case came to public attention.
The Clearview case
The background: The previously unknown US start-up Clearview has created a gigantic face database from freely accessible photos. When they started to sell the data to customers, the whole thing was blown up by The New York Time. The event has brought the topic of face recognition into the media focus the last few days. There is a word 'enough is enough', and that seems to be the case – surprisingly also at Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.
- Twitter demands the deletion of the photos and takes action against the startup, as New York Times reported here.
- Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, also proposes a temporary ban on face recognition, as it offers too many opportunities for abuse. Only Microsoft's Chief Justice Brad Smith warns against such an intervention. The Verge has an article about this here.
Also the European Union is considering a five-year ban on face recognition – as it has been mentioned within (the above) articles.
A look behind the scenes of face recognition
If you are interested in the technology of facial recognition and its fields of application, I would have a Sunday read. Yesterday I found an article on Twitter in English that deals with this topic.
An in-depth look at facial recognition software, the controversial and nearly ever-present technology that could replace the fingerprint https://t.co/ZdZVehz3zm
— California Sunday (@CalSunday) January 24, 2020
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Although facial recognition is currently the subject of controversial debate, it is ubiquitous through smartphones and technical devices and could replace the fingerprint sensor.
