Facial recognition surges in retail stores

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Dan Price
@DanPriceSeattle
Apple, Albertsons, Macy's and others scan your face when you enter to sell ads and catch shoplifters.

Facial recognition is up to 100x more likely to misidentify non-white people.

Apple repeatedly misidentified a Black teen honors student as a shoplifter
Illustration of a facial recognition grid with dollar signs at the points.

Facial recognition surges in retail stores
As more stores adopt the technology, opposition grows, along with legislation limiting its use.
axios.com
10:42 AM · Jul 20, 2021

https://www.axios.com/facial-recognition-retail-surge-c13fff8d-72c6-400f-b680-6ae2679955d4.html

Face-recognition tech is coming to a store near you, if it's not there already, and that's sparking a new wave of opposition.

Why it matters: The systems can scan or store facial images of both shoppers and workers. Their use accelerated during the pandemic as retailers looked for ways to prevent fraud, track foot traffic with fewer employees, and offer contactless payments at a time when consumers were wary of interacting with others.

Driving the news: More than three dozen advocacy groups launched a campaign late last week to pressure retailers to stop using facial recognition technologies, or to pledge not to use them.

* "Facial recognition vendors are taking advantage of the pandemic to promote the technology to offer hands-free payments or monitor the distance between people, and stores are promoting them as features for safety and convenience," said Caitlin Seeley George, campaign director for Fight for the Future, which spearheaded the campaign.

* "But the truth is, you're giving up so much more than that," she said.

*snip*

[Klaralven]

1. Cheers

Sometimes you wanna go
Where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came

[sarisataka]

2. I wonder what will it be this week

Is facial recognition technology a 1984-esque intrusion I to our privacy, prone to errors
OR
The greatest tool designed to identify criminals and right wing nut jobs

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Masks it is, then.

[brush]

4. Bingo. That takes care of that.

[Lovie777]

7. You win! . . .. .

[2naSalit]

5. Another reason to avoid them then.

I will continue to wear a mask and from now on, I'll be sure to leave my phone in the car when I do go into a store.

[brush]

6. Perhaps the innocense default shouldn't be the facial characteristics of...

whites. Maybe bother to program facial characteristics of all ethnic groups.

That might just avoid mis-identification over and over of innocent Black people and other POCs. Maybe more diversity in hiring practices could avoided such oversights.

My God, do we have to keep telling them this stuff at this late date in 2021?

[RKP5637]

8. Hmmm ... will this be required for gender idenity for a rest room ... n/t

[asiliveandbreathe]

9. What would prevent the retailers who do use facial recognition from

so many things, for example..a fugitive from the law..but then, how would they know who it is unless they make a comparison using some data bank?? Or, how do they know who I am??..Do they snap a picture of me..I'm not in any databank, except DMV..they don't share info??

Just my musing..or watch too many detective stories..

[Klaralven]

10. The problem is not limited to Artificial Intelligence

Own-Ethnicity Bias in the Recognition of Black, East Asian, Hispanic, and White Faces

Abstract
Black, East Asian, Hispanic, and White young adult Americans were asked to view and later recognize ethnic faces (Black, East Asian, Hispanic, and White) of children and young adults in a study of own-ethnicity and own-age bias. Own-ethnicity and own-age biases were found. Hispanics recognized Hispanic and White faces better than Asian and Black faces, Blacks recognized Black and White faces better than Asian and Hispanic faces, Asians recognized Asian faces better than Black faces and marginally better than White and Hispanic faces, and Whites recognized White faces better than those of other ethnicities. Results are discussed with respect to contact and facial encoding hypotheses.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233056544_Own-Ethnicity_Bias_in_the_Recognition_of_Black_East_Asian_Hispanic_and_White_Faces