Smile for the camera
Guess what, you're being watched - by government agencies and criminals alike
SMILE, you are probably being viewed on camera right now. In states and countries across the world, facial recognition has unavoidably taken control of our lives. Whether it is to unlock our smartphones, seek authentication for buildings, offices, and airport security check-ins, or even detect criminals on camera footage, people interact with this technology every day.
“I think there’s something really visceral about the idea of having your face scanned, and having a cold, emotionless piece of software make decisions that have a profound impact on people’s lives” - Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future
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But, What really is facial recognition?
Facial recognition is a method of recognizing or verifying the identity of a person. Face recognition systems can be used to identify people in photos, video, or in real-time. In the future, facial recognition technology may be used to track people all around the world, all in real-time. It is already used in many countries such as China and the United States.
In the US alone, the table highlights the popularity of Facial Recognition technology:
How does it work?
The image is captured
Eye locations are determined
The image is converted to grayscale and then cropped
The image is converted to a template
The template is searched and matched to other templates on the file
With pretty reasonable accuracy, the person is found
Face recognition systems use computer algorithms to pick out specific, distinctive details about a person’s face. These details, such as distance between the eyes or shape of the chin, are then converted into a mathematical representation and compared to data on other faces collected in a face recognition database. The data about a particular face is often called a face template and is distinct from a photograph because it’s designed to only include certain details that can be used to distinguish one face from another.
Top Technologies and Providers
Let's take a look at the major players:
Academia
Academic experts across the globe have made astonishing progress in achieving facial identification. The GaussianFace algorithm developed in 2014 by Chinese University of Hong Kong researchers scored an impressive accuracy of 98.52% viz-a-viz 97.53% achieved by humans.
Facebook and Google
Facebook’s DeepFace algorithm in 2014 set accuracy of 97.25%, Google beating it in 2015 with its FaceNet algorithm, setting a phenomenal record of 99.63%.
Amazon, among others
Can Facial Recognition be Fooled?
Interestingly, Grigory Bakunov had invented a solution to confuse all face detection devices. He had developed an algorithm that creates makeup to fool the software. However, he chose not to bring his product to market after realizing the dangers of criminals implementing it. This demonstrates the dangers of such a product.
Researchers have demonstrated that they can fool a modern face recognition system into seeing someone who isn’t there. They used a tool called CycleGAN. This is a technique that excels at morphing photographs from one form to another. One example is a photo in summer to a photo in winter.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Helps find missing people
Law Enforcement can use cameras fitted with this tool to find people who have been lost or kidnapped.
Protects businesses against theft
Business owners use facial recognition software in conjunction with security cameras to identify people who’ve been caught stealing or were suspected of shoplifting as they enter the stores.
Strengthens security measures
Reduces the Number of Touchpoints
Makes shopping more efficient
Improves photo organization
Cons
Threatens individual and societal privacy
Imposes on personal freedom
Creates data vulnerabilities
Innocent people could be charged
Technology could be fooled
Appendix
An interesting article on the surveillance concerns of facial recognition - Here
To see your country’s status on facial recognition: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/facial-recognition-world-map/