'Pay With Your Face' Technology Tested in a KFC Store In China (qz.com)
An anonymous reader quotes Quartz:
Ant Financial, the financial services spinoff of e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced Friday it has rolled out a service with a KFC branch in Hangzhou, in eastern China, that lets customer pay for orders with their faces. It works just as one might expect -- diners approach a virtual menu, select the item they want to purchase, and then choose "facial scan" as a payment option. Users must input their phone numbers as an extra layer of verification, but the technology still works even if one's phone is turned off, an Ant Financial spokesperson tells Quartz.
A promotional video shows a young female customer scanning her face while donning a wig and appearing with friends, to tout that the technology can recognize an individual even if they are disguised or in a group... [T]he KFC partnership marks the first time it has been rolled out for commerce. An Ant Financial spokesperson tells Quartz that it intends to roll out the scanning at more locations later.
There's rumors of a similar service coming from Jd.com, according to the article, which also provides several examples of facial recognition technology being used by the Chinese government. "The Communist Party, facing no political opposition or democratic checks, can implement controversial technology with little pushback. This all means that facial recognition in China looks set to steadily move beyond a few novelty cases toward near ubiquity."
A promotional video shows a young female customer scanning her face while donning a wig and appearing with friends, to tout that the technology can recognize an individual even if they are disguised or in a group... [T]he KFC partnership marks the first time it has been rolled out for commerce. An Ant Financial spokesperson tells Quartz that it intends to roll out the scanning at more locations later.
There's rumors of a similar service coming from Jd.com, according to the article, which also provides several examples of facial recognition technology being used by the Chinese government. "The Communist Party, facing no political opposition or democratic checks, can implement controversial technology with little pushback. This all means that facial recognition in China looks set to steadily move beyond a few novelty cases toward near ubiquity."
I don't get how this is better. It doesn't seem faster, more reliable, or more secure than using a mobile phone for payment. Add the creepiness of a company taking pictures of you and I can't see a good reason for this when we already have other technologies that make payments quick and painless.
Don't you mean Naraka?
for the plastic surgery needed to make me look like Bill Gates?
Want to bet Taco Bell tries a drone delivery in Mongolia next?
I would bet against it. Chinese (and presumably Mongolians) don't care much for Mexican food, There were a few Taco Bells in China, but they closed a decade ago.
That's what happened after I kicked my brother!
What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
They all look alike to me.
Asian faces have just as much variance as European faces. If you spend time around Asians, your facial recognition neural network will reprogram itself, and you will have little difficulty recognizing individuals.
Btw, Asians think white people all look alike.
I know china's the mecca of organ harvesting, but paying for some chicken with your face is a bit over the top. Still, I wonder what a face transplant costs over there.
Now Nicolas cage and John Travolta will start fighting again, this time over burgers.
Nullius in verba
Would that be saving face? ;)
...Their face won't be recognizable after a few visits.
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
Convenience instead of security. Yup, that's always a better approach.
Worse, they want you to eat KFC. Monsters.
Mine won't, I have a rather measurable level of face blindness. For me, recognizing Asian faces is just as hard as recognizing ANY face.
"First it was Burger King, then Pizza Hut, and now KFC."
These being US companies, let's hope not every Chinese looks the same to their computers..
Phone numbers are really easy to get! Heck, with a phone book and facebook you could probably get all the info you needed to scam most people.
That is just typically a silly little joke and minor harmless ribbing.
In fact, I have a little twist on that one that I use myself.
"Eh, Chinese, Japanese, Korean... Those Asian gals look the same... Hot." :D
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If you spend time around Asians, your facial recognition neural network will reprogram itself, and you will have little difficulty recognizing individuals.
I have actually seen this effect: after several years in Asia, I came home and at first everybody looked alike.
Will they be required to get (1) distinguishing tattoos, or (2) a joint set of bank accounts and credit cards?
so an arm and a leg no longer enough in China?
4wdloop
Please remind me, was facial scan already hacked by some Chaos Computer Club member, or is it the next news?
Biometric authentication is always wrong because authentication credentials are public and cannot be changed. Once someone finds a way to fool the system, there is no password chage, the only fix is to replace it entirely.
Totally discriminates against identical twins. Lawsuit pending I'm sure.
Tacos at MexiKhan are great. As are the other items. Popular with the locals, too. Salsa lessons every Saturday. Run by a charming Cubano gentleman named Ernesto. Mongolians are quite different from the Chinese. Just ask them.
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
by Clearasil.
Your ex will have your photo and your phone number. Now your ex has ""free"" KFC