Slashdot Mirror
Face Recognition (Cool or Privacy Threat?)
Hapster writes "A company called Neurodynamics based in Cambridge, England is testing face recognition technology in shopping malls and at least one British airport. Another company taunts that their technology "cannot be fooled" by disguises and hats and they're testing it on the streets. " There are 'Big Brother' aspects to this story and 'Wow, thats cool' aspects to this story. I still want a head mounted camera/monitor that can recognize people and remind me who they are: it'd be great for conferences when you see 1000 faces that you only know as email addresses...
http://newslibrary.krmediast ream.com/cgi-bin/search/sj
14 digits of Pi are all we need.
CCTV coverage has exploded in the UK in recent years, with mixed results -- crime has fallen in some areas, and the recent bomber was caught partly through the extensive coverage of the area where I live, Brixton. OTOH (a) muggers, drug users & other anti-social types just move away -- eg to the (CCTV free) council estate where I live. The Civil Liberty aspect hasn't really got much attention over here AFAIK -- the police and govt. have their marketing down perfectly ...
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
Try this one:
/biometrics/new_facial.htm
http://www.neurodynamics.com
Note: Statements below are not neccessarily my opinions-- they're just illustrations.
The Internet has allowed us to communicate more and more with other people, through forums like Slashdot.
Questions are now raised over privacy, censorship, sexually explicit or violent material, and the social impacts that the Internet has on geeks (are we all hermits?)
Guns allowed people a method to protect their homes against criminals.
Guns have also allowed criminals the ability to use deadly force while committing crimes.
Radio brought into existence an entirely new area of journalism, allowing information to be spread nearly instantaneously through the airwaves.
The same journalists also brought close-ups of grieving families in the post-Columbine hysteria, inciting a nation towards a series of knee-jerk reactions.
I can see face recognition as a cool area of study. It has some cool applications-- sitting down in front of a computer and having it "recognize" you would be cool.
But, as with guns, radio, and the Internet, there's a downside. The technology can be used for things that people don't like-- including the invasion of privacy.
Anyway, just my $0.02
Brin and some others are arguing that privacy is a lost cause and that we should work on making sure governments and corporations lose as much privacy as individuals do.
In this context, that would amount to giving citizens free access to the camera outputs and technology, just like the cops. I don't think this is a great idea. Spouses tracking their errant partners to an assignation. Employers checking to see if employees calling in sick actually remain at home. Stalkers being able to build up detailed pictures of their victim's movements. Burglars having a great casing tool, and knowing the camera locations ahead of time.
On the other hand, I'm all for making the government live in a fishbowl if we do, maybe even if we don't. If they want to watch us, they can return the favor by opening up those smoke filled back rooms and going on the public record with their sweetheart deals, plus full financial disclosure. Oh, and they should have to pee in a bottle before taking their seat in congress or the white house, with random checks thereafter. Maybe then there would be more privacy advocates in congress.