Facebook Weighing Up Legality of Facial Recognition in Upcoming Smart Glasses

[svanstrom]

Look-up Prosopagnosia and let me know what you think

I wonder if a device like that could give enough of a positive reinforcement for people with various forms of delusional misidentification syndrome that it could make them more functional. 🤔

It'd be real interesting to see what Apple could do with such a plattform; especially if they open it up for research similar to what they've done with AW/healthkit.

 

[Alan Wynn]

Have a button in the address book that brings up a list of calls to/from any given contact to solve 2). Many address books can link related contacts to solve 3) (even Apple Contacts has a "related name" field). This is all information that would be required anyway for pulling up the info in AR glasses. Just that -- the horror -- you'd have to look at your phone.

You totally miss the point. Having it surfaced in a display on a pair of AR glasses, provides me with information that I can use in an organic way. Your approach misses two things: First, I may recognize you but not remember your name (common issue at conferences and parties) and second, I do not have interrupt the flow of the conversation to pull out my phone to try to find this information. This would be a total game changer for those who suffer from Prosopagnosia, as one example.

 

[Rigby]

No. All of these would the notifications in response to recognizing a face. This could either be the person to whom you are talking or someone in your immediate vicinity.

I think it would be super annoying to have this kind of text pop up automatically whether you want it or not.

Should not be two hard to remember the one or two that are made by Apple and are clearly identifiable.

Apple will not be the only ones making AR glasses.

You can decide that you do not want to talk to anyone who wears one from any other manufacturer. However, I am still unclear what your specific concern is. You are already talking to this person. If they know who you are, what does this do that they could not do without this? If they do not know who you are, you would not be in their local database, so again not clear what your concern is.

My main concern is that the glasses would likely do more than just remind people who already know me, for example record the conversation, link me to a location, or identify me to strangers (a la Clearview AI). I don't know about you, but I don't want to be recorded all the time. Judging from how quickly Google abandoned their glasses after the whole "glasshole" thing, I don't think I'm the only one.

 

[cmaier]

Have a button in the address book that brings up a list of calls to/from any given contact to solve 2). Many address books can link related contacts to solve 3) (even Apple Contacts has a "related name" field). This is all information that would be required anyway for pulling up the info in AR glasses. Just that -- the horror -- you'd have to look at your phone.

You can’t honestly say you don’t see the advantage of that info just appearing in front of your eyes vs having to pull out a phone. If you don’t, you’ve obviously never been to social events with coworkers and their families.

 

[cmaier]

I think it would be super annoying to have this kind of text pop up automatically whether you want it or not.


Apple will not be the only ones making AR glasses.

My main concern is that the glasses would likely do more than just remind people who already know me, for example record the conversation, link me to a location, or identify me to strangers (a la Clearview AI). I don't know about you, but I don't want to be recorded all the time. Judging from how quickly Google abandoned their glasses after the whole "glasshole" thing, I don't think I'm the only one.

The very definition of straw man. Nobody is suggesting it should pop up “whether you want it or not.”

 

[Rigby]

You can’t honestly say you don’t see the advantage of that info just appearing in front of your eyes vs having to pull out a phone. If you don’t, you’ve obviously never been to social events with coworkers and their families.

Shoving a camera in everyone's face and then staring in the distance while you read your AR text is far more awkward in social situations than looking something up on your phone. I went though that many times when the Google Glass "explorers" were running around everywhere in the Bay Area.

AR glasses have their uses, but I don't think social events are a good one.

 

[breather]

Facial recognition algorithms are not the problem. The Photos application on your Mac does facial recognition. It's that big central database with everybody's face that is the problem.

Sure, but I trust Apple more then Facebook. A algorithm is never inherently bad, it's how its used.

 

[Pakaku]

Facebook has used facial recognition on its social network to identify people in pictures and power photo tag suggestions, but using the technology in an outward-facing, real-world capacity is a particularly sensitive issue.

It's definitely not ethical, so whether it's legal or not is completely moot.

 

[msp3]

Imagine being a loser who would buy a pair of these and getting beat up for it in public. Oh wait, that already happened with Google Glass...

 

[JosephAW]

As long as it’s not recording audio. In my state the wiretapping laws require two person consent to record audio. If you say I do not consent they must cease.

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

Only Mark Zuckerberg could regress society to the point where you punch nerdy kids with glasses again breaking them and taunt them calling them four-eyes.
Only him.

 

[mazz0]

The legality. Not the morality, just the legality.

It’s a difficult issue though; I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. On the one hand as someone with a terrible memory who’s always forgetting peoples names this could be extremely useful. On the other hand, well actually I don’t know what harm this does. I mean, who you are is public information isn’t it?

 

[jjudson]

As evil as Facebook is, they didn't steal our privacy.

We gave it up...

Willingly.

And that's why Facebook is able to be so evil.

 

[jefhai]

Write your congressman and senators! This is egregious. This should be prohibited... Imagine going to NYC and automatically Facebook is tracking you because people are wearing these face recognition glasses..

 

[jefhai]

Apple will release a new anti Facebook glasses. Once detected it will send a beam to jam it.

This would actually be illegal.. FTC and FCC say you can’t make a device that emits and interferes with the operation of other devices.

 

[nouvejetzt]

Please somebody stop Facebook legally to stop developing any new technologies ever.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

That's fine, I'll just place extra eye stickers on my face when i go out, or wear a mask and hat covered in mouths and noses.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

This would actually be illegal.. FTC and FCC say you can’t make a device that emits and interferes with the operation of other devices.

Well that sounds like a worthy challenge!
Good thing the law trails behind innovators instead of leads us.

 

[hortod1]

Was looking forward to ditching the Covid masks. Thank you (F-you) FB for possibly making me think twice. You’re your own special kind of virus.

 

[quietstormSD]

Facial recognition would be a game changer. Look at a person, see their name, occupation, where they live etc. But too creepy. I'd actually delete my Facebook account if they had this.

 

[Dark_Omen]

I was hoping iOS 14.5 would kill of Facebook before they even get a chance to make these.

 

[GermanSuplex]

Great. Now your privacy will be impacted by those around you more than it already is. You can go off the grid, but those around you wearing these can scan you and then who the hell knows what is done with the data.

Oh well. Damn, I miss the 90’s.

 

[JippaLippa]

This is exactly the same product Apple is developing.

If I had to choose what company to give my info to (if forced to) I'd take Apple 1000 times over Facebook.

 

[Taipan]

Rule of thumb: If you need to weigh up legality, don’t do it. But it’s Facebook...

 

[Taipan]

I just wonder who would trust FB to use one of their glasses?

The fact that it would only be worn by idiots makes it even worse.