Since online technology has taken the world by storm in the late 90s, the existing global infrastructure has also been vamped. Today’s tech giants seem to be eagerly interested in competing not just by monetary means but also in bringing innovations and introducing proprietary products and services for their consumers. In all this evolution, facial recognition has caused tumult in the digital world.
What is Facial Recognition?
Facial recognition is defined as reading and translating the features of the human face digitally through the use of technology. The digital algorithm involved in the process uses biometrics to map the physical features from a visual. The results are then compared with the database of the known faces. The concluded information from the search is used by the private businesses and also for the public consent by the state organizations. With the introduction of something new come the pros and cons of the feature.
Facial recognition isn’t generally considered to be a dangerous technology as in many ways; computer recognition is helping millions. With appropriate usage, marketers can target their products and services to the target audience more effectively. Bad things can be prevented, wanted lists criminals can get caught through this, and tracking the activities of suspicious people have made facial recognition quite useful for law enforcement agencies to apprehend the criminal activities.
Uses of Facial Recognition
Many of the first world countries use facial recognition functions for security purposes. The UK has begun facial recognition tests; a man was fined for covering its face intentionally in public under threat area. Ireland uses facial recognition for US citizen preclearance at the airport. Estonia used it to identify stressed-out citizens. The government of the state used facial recognition technology to identify who needs to de-stress the most as Estonia Stress Buster campaign’s video featured that 43 percent of all adults in this new globalized world suffer some kind of negative health effects from stress. The experiment was conducted by determining the facial expressions of the pedestrians on how angry, happy, sad, and surprised they are. As a result, the philanthropic organization, Estonia Stress Busters, offered these citizens free trips around the country that offers a relaxed environment. Not to be missed, the authorities in India were able to trace 3,000 missing children by analyzing CCTV footage with facial recognition technology.
Role of Facial Recognition in the Digital World
In the digital world, facial recognition is said to be one of the fastest-growing areas in the field of artificial intelligence, and its uses in online marketing have shown massive expansion. Many of the big social networks use this feature heavily such as Facebook automatically tagging your friends in photos for years and the biggest retailers on the planet use it for improved web customization and conversion. The smartphone industry is also seen to be using reverse image search for Facial Recognition profoundly. Apple and other leading phone manufacturers have been using this feature for unlocking the phone and even for the authentication of payments.
Although, there has been strong criticism from the general public over privacy concerns regarding the facial recognition information being shared with third parties, apparently, web giants are unlikely to be affected by the backlash. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said at a tech conference in San Francisco “We are going to continue to support the Department of Defense, and I think we should win”. He further insisted that “One of the jobs of senior leadership is to make the right decision, even when it’s unpopular.”
Concluding the argument, the most controversial debate now is whether facial recognition should be used to automate the decision. The critics and experts are in favor of using it unless it is violating the code of conduct. The need for human supervision should be implemented as distributing personal information without the user’s consent itself falls against the law. The thin line between ethics, privacy, and moral standards should not be overlooked for the sake of settling deals.