Google Glass could help children with autism socialize with others
Google Glass may have failed as a high-tech fashion trend, but it's showing promise as a tool to help children with autism better navigate social situations.
A new smartphone app that pairs with a Google Glass headset uses facial recognition software to give the wearer real-time updates on which emotions people are expressing. In a pilot trial, described online August 2 in npj Digital Medicine, 14 children with autism spectrum disorder used this program at home for an average of just over 10 weeks. After treatment, the kids showed improved social skills [open, DOI: 10.1038/s41746-018-0035-3], including increased eye contact and ability to decode facial expressions.
After her 9-year-old son, Alex, participated in the study, Donji Cullenbine described the Google Glass therapy as "remarkable." She noticed within a few weeks that Alex was meeting her eyes more often — a behavior change that's stuck since treatment ended, she says. And Alex enjoyed using the Google Glass app. Cullenbine recalls her son telling her excitedly, "Mommy, I can read minds."
Q: What does the scouter say about his emotional state? A: He is confused... Now he has recognized this device as Google Glass and has become enraged.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday August 04 2018, @02:03PM (1 child)
Fight winning battles, not losing ones. Buy different hardware, and keep "compromised" hardware for non-sensitive usage. Run Tor or other schemes only when you need to. If you need physical privacy, you can find that in your own home, or perhaps in the middle of a nearby forest/desert/tundra.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 04 2018, @07:38PM
What if the battles we're losing are winnable if only people start to care? What if the battles we're currently losing are, in fact, important to a healthy, free society? If privacy doesn't exist, then society itself may as well cease to exist. We need prohibitions on mass surveillance, not just privacy in our own homes or out in the middle of nowhere.