Face recognition: A big mistake of the modern tech world?


Criticisms once centred on the Google Pixel 4/4XL’s face unlock feature. Whether Google copied what Apple had done with the iPhone X remains unclear, but the famous FaceID on iPhone is admittedly far from impeccable. Face recognition has been more than widely recognized by the public. Setting up and using this biometric security feature is so easy and straightforward that even elders are now used to it, and every technophile can give a complete lecture on FaceID’s operational principles. It has provided us with fresh ways to wake up our phones, but security concerns persist.



FaceID is yet to be better and more secure than traditional passwords (which are created and used with thinking and memory), but its convenience is undisputed. Most face recognition systems are smart enough to deny access to our device when someone tries to wake it up when we sleep, securing our privacy and minimizing the risk of data theft. 


That was not the first time Apple and Google had promised to protect our biometric data at any cost and with all their available resources. They did probably tell the truth. Under these giants’ protection, our information is safe from theft and external use. So what do we worry about? 


An alarming concern is HOW COMFORTABLE WE GET WITH LETTING MACHINES READ OUR FACE. According to behavioural psychology, when we are used to unlocking our everyday devices with our faces, we tend to accept face scanning, and habits that ensure our safety (such as covering the front-facing camera on laptops or webcams) would one day flow into obscurity. Our prudence towards face-scanning devices or apps is probably lesser, given a part of the population has tolerated that their images and other personal information are everywhere now. 


Remember when Facebook admitted to having developed a face-scanning app that allows users to recognize somebody just by pointing their phone at them? The app will base its recognition on previously taken images and videos, signifying the existence of a mass storage of our face data. While using face data would be helpful in aviation as it facilitates the identity verification process, it implies that face scanning may no longer be a choice but an obligation.



According to research conducted in America in 2020, there have been automatic face recognition systems in Chicago and Detroit, and the technology has been applied to solving crime problems. Colorado Springs Independent accused the Colorado University of taking their students’ photos to provide data for the government to conduct studies on face recognition technology, and this practice is not by mutual consent. Dutch research shows that 42/110 old devices from LG, Nokia, Samsung, Lenovo and Motorola unlock with the owners’ pictures rather than their real faces. Every technology has pros and cons. Face recognition is a state-of-the-art and useful development, but coming with risks. We are more prone to privacy infringement than ever, yet what should we do but accept the situation the way it is?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How exactly Xiaomi derived benefits from the new $7b logo

Image
The round, delicate brand-new logo of Xiaomi is a simple retouch from its predecessor. What Xiaomi has done for a successful branding campaign It just took Xiaomi 4 years to make a move that had been expected to be revolutionary (the Chinese giant started their rebranding process in 2017). $7 billion was spent refining the logo, turning it from a square to a squircle, while retaining the original orange colour and the font of the letters 'Mi' inside the squircle. By and large, this is considered too much time and too much money for a minimal change.  Inside-the-box marketers would attach a style, a meaning, and a purpose to each of their brand identity elements. Or at least the brand overhaul should revolve around a visible and recognizable adjustment. What Xiaomi has done with its logo thus goes against conventional branding rules, but the benefits reaped from such a move are unquestionably great. Without any new products or services, Xiaomi has urged almost everyone to talk a
Read more

iPad Pro with M1 Chip: Apple doesn’t want the iPad to replace the MacBook

Image
The iPad will hardly ever be a complete substitute for the MacBook. So what’s the point of pairing iPad Pro with such an industry-leading chip as M1 as the tablet doesn’t need to be any faster to handle signature “tablet tasks”? The experience of texting, tracking, storing – importing – and exporting files on a laptop has been optimized to a level that most alternative solutions tablets provide seem far-fetched. In 2021, while an iPad Pro resembles a high-end laptop in appearance, inherent divergences in their software and operating systems have made us hesitate to turn to the iPad for professional video editing, coding or content producing. Manufacturers have been very determined to make their tablets more versatile than ever, facilitating tablet use for work by introducing “productivity-boosting” gears and accessories. However, the similar general experience brought by iPad Pro M1, iPad Pro 2020 and iPad Pro 2018 signifies a fact: No matter how advanced the iPad can become or how f
Read more

Why Nvidia’s RTX 3070 Ti makes nearly-perfect sense

Image
Opinions have revolved around how baffling the RTX 3070 Ti is. Despite revitalizing the 3000-series lineup, Nvidia’s RTX 3070 Ti is far from differentiating itself from the RTX 3070. This article will provide an unusual viewpoint: this confusion actually makes perfect sense. Why do we knit our brows looking at the RTX 3070 Ti? At its release price ($599), Nvidia’s RTX 3070 Ti is precisely $100 above the RTX 3070 and $100 below the RTX 3080, prompting a common expectation: the RTX 3070 Ti would be much faster than the RTX 3070 and only trivially less than the RTX 3080. Actual benchmarks let potential buyers down. 10% improvement upon the RTX 3070 means Nvidia’s own RTX 3070 Ti is a far cry from the RTX 3080, pointing out that this 3070 Ti would easily be considered a “bait product” for the two others when those GPUs eventually reach stable prices. The RTX 3070 provides the best p/p, while the 3080 aims directly to those who yearn for the best performance at below $1,000. So, what soluti
Read more