Almost everywhere we visit today there is a camera in place recording our moves. Whether it is in the store, on the street, in our homes, office, or school, most of us have come to accept the fact that cameras are all around us and carry on with our daily lives as normal. Many of us will agree that the use of cameras in public places are a good idea, especially to be used in criminal cases, but how much further are we willing to accept in terms of surveillance?
New facial recognition technology has been designed and released in Russia that can determine someone’s identity simply by taking their picture. The app called FindFace was launched earlier this year to the general public and already has over 500,000 users. With a success rate of 70%, it currently works by comparing photographs and data linked to social network site Vkontakte, but developers are hopeful to improve this efficiency and soon enable the app to capture data of innocent people walking down the street.
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Allowing personal data to be visible to complete strangers is not going to help regarding our own security and privacy, and we would have no control as to how this information would be used. Shops may adapt the system to send offers and advertisements based on your looks; complete strangers could gain access to your information to send a dating requests, and a whole host of other possible security breaching measures could take place right under your nose. Although there may be some benefits to the software, such as making it easier to identify criminals, it is a tremendous invasion of privacy and currently no way in which to opt out.
FindFace is not the only company coming out with this type of software either. Microsoft has recently patented technology that allows a billboard ability to recognize who it is looking at and show advertisements personalized to them. Meanwhile in the UK, the authorities are using facial recognition at festivals to keep and eye on those known to cause trouble. Other systems worldwide are being used in schools, churches and shops, and soon there will be no escaping this intrusive technology.
This technology could be good if used in the right hands, but for it to be readily available to everyone, with no real form of control, is a terrifying thought indeed. It may not be the best-developed technology released so far and is affected by poor lighting, low video quality, and currently relies on individuals being on some kind of social network or database already. However, it has now been introduced, so the innovation of it is only natural, and with very little measures in place to stop it, we should best prepare ourselves for it now.
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