Why Covid may mean more facial recognition tech:
Like many people who began to wear a face mask during the pandemic, Hassan Ugail quickly noticed one or two technical niggles.
His iPhone started having trouble recognising his face, which is how he preferred to unlock the device when out and about.
"I kind of have to take my mask off," says Prof Ugail, an expert in facial recognition at the University of Bradford. "I would rather it let me in by just looking at my eyes."
Coincidentally, research he conducted with one of his PhD students that was published last year had shown that half a face was enough for a specially trained facial recognition algorithm to work.
But out in the wild, some commercial systems that authenticate people via their faces were now stuttering thanks to the rise of masks.
The problem was highlighted in a July report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US. Researchers found the error rates of 89 different facial recognition systems they tested increased when the mouth and nose or bottom half of an individual's face was obscured - in some cases from less than 1% to as much as 50%.
[...] An updated report from NIST has now found that several algorithms, reconfigured since the pandemic began, make far fewer mistakes when analysing masked faces. In some cases, error rates were ten times better than before.
"Developers are indeed adapting their algorithms to handle face masks." says Mei Ngan, a computer scientist at NIST.
[...] The progress means facial recognition could now become even more widespread than before with companies marketing it as a contactless, potentially more hygienic, means of verifying identities in public places.
(Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday December 08 2020, @06:25PM
I guess it's a good think my future's so bright then.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 08 2020, @06:36PM
If this pandemic doesn't pan out, there's always the next one.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 08 2020, @06:47PM (1 child)
Kill it off. Facial unlocking has been broken for too long, let along in Casinos or Airports. I do not even use finger print readers & can't First again insecure also just falt do not work. Second your finger prints and face are legal "facts" so the police (or anyone) just have hold up your phone and they are in.
Office had to rip out the finger print readers from doors and get us back to badges. Why, they do not work period. I can only open a door 1 out 15 tries. This is old tech that should just work. It is limited area, so AI sould be able to fix it simpler and they can't
IF they cannnot ge the simple things to work, how good is on HARD things.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday December 08 2020, @07:52PM
I thought I had it bad with 1 in 4 or 5. In all the time I used a finger print reader, it was NEVER more than 79% sure that I was who I said I was. Generally, it would show 60 - 65% certainty. Any less, it just wouldn't open the door or clock me in or out. Badges almost never fail. I just kept mine in my wallet, and waved the wallet in front of the scanner, maybe 1 or 2 in a hundred, I would have to wave the wallet again.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 3, Funny) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday December 08 2020, @06:49PM (2 children)
Of course if you want to be identified, you can put a QR code on your mask.
🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 08 2020, @09:02PM (1 child)
Or you could tattoo a number on your arm.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday December 09 2020, @01:38AM
Easier to remove a mask.
🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 08 2020, @07:07PM
Works if you are an Iranian Nuclear Scientist!
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday December 08 2020, @07:25PM (6 children)
Facial recognition is being used everywhere. It's too trivial not to be. Doesn't your camera have it?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday December 08 2020, @07:31PM (2 children)
My phone's front-facing camera isn't functional anymore. It got black nail polish over the lens somehow.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday December 09 2020, @12:26AM (1 child)
I always figured you'd wear either bright red or neon purple, for some reason...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday December 09 2020, @02:33AM
I'm partial to periwinkle blue. But black was what was handy in TR's crafts toolbox.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Troll) by SomeGuy on Tuesday December 08 2020, @08:57PM (1 child)
It is trivial as long as you don't mind some percentage of errors. Marketing loves it because they can track people across multiple stores anywhere. Marketing does not need it to be 100%, just good enough to increase sales figures.
But as means of security, it is rock-fucking-STUPID! If anything changes, and that may beyond your control, then you are locked out. Same with any biometrics.
But it ALWAYS works in the mooovies! So it must work in reality, right?!
(Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Tuesday December 08 2020, @10:24PM
It doesn't matter if it "works". It will be used to harass people, and win or lose, they will lose time and money defending themselves. Like so many things of this nature, this is the intent.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by leon_the_cat on Wednesday December 09 2020, @07:38PM
Camera? On a phone? Are you crazy?
(Score: 3, Funny) by looorg on Tuesday December 08 2020, @07:32PM (2 children)
OK so some systems have issues when they can't see the entire face. Get it. But don't they expect this to blow over or pass sometime in the future or are we a mask wearing species forever now? I would assume this thing will resolve itself, eventually, as we (or people in general) stop wearing masks again. Isn't this like blaming facial id failures on people wearing sunglasses during the summer? Or people wearing cover on their face when it's cold outside etc etc
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday December 08 2020, @11:21PM
It's an interesting question. See, it was actually illegal in the US to wear face coverings. Don't go after me for this statement, please. Many people were harassed for using masks, for example motorcycle riders.
I wonder if a disease danger would always work as an excuse for wearing a mask. I definitely plan to keep my face covering for as long as I can, along with glasses and baseball caps. Any request to remove them I plan to confront with a true statement that I am a high risk of a respiratory infection complications and my attorneys will sue them if and when I get sick and die.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Wednesday December 09 2020, @06:27AM
Why should I?
I'm all happy for defending the heath of others, just in case I got infected with a respiratory virus over night and I don't know it yet.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Tuesday December 08 2020, @07:34PM (9 children)
it's how it utterly fucked the Orwellian plans of the sumbitches who want to foist ubiquitous surveillance upon the population.
You might say that it's temporary, and - as the article explains - said sumbitches are busy supercharging their facial recognition algorithms to work on eyes only. But consider this: there's a really easy way to fool any facial recognition algorithm if you have to wear a mask: wear sunglasses also.
Then two things happen: either nobody can't track you anymore (not easily anyway), or the state starts prohibiting sunglasses, thereby revealing itself as a bona fide tyranny.
In short, COVID-19 will force the state to show its true colors eventually.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 08 2020, @07:43PM (3 children)
You also have to do a random funny walk to defeat gait recognition, and skip random meals to fluctuate your weight and figure.
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday December 08 2020, @11:01PM
Daily litter of vodka intake does wonders in this regard.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday December 09 2020, @12:58AM
There's a ministry for that.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday December 09 2020, @06:33AM
A cherry pit in one of your shoes may suffice.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday December 08 2020, @07:50PM (1 child)
Paint a bunch of eyes on your mask
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday December 08 2020, @11:03PM
I only wear face coverings with either faces or camo on them.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday December 09 2020, @06:31AM
Just paint some eyes on your mask. There, take these [influenceonline.co.uk]
And maybe wear a strong makeup on your nose bridge.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 09 2020, @10:59AM
I agree that COVID masks are throwing a monkey wrench into the works of facial recognition. However what I'm really worried about is the introduction of some variant of an internal passport system. This could EASILY be snuck past the people as a vaccination verification system. They can institute this electronically, or otherwise. They can setup all kinds of "temporary" restrictions on freedom of movement and travel due to COVID, and only allow one to move freely after one has been vaccinated, and can prove it with papers. Naturally they'll have to have lots of police checking everyone's papers everywhere. Then they'll have all this verification and enforcement infrastructure in place. Do you think they'll want to just dismantle all this "progress" and just give up that power? Nope. Some possible methods to keep it are first to "extend" the crisis, and the "need" for these internal passports / vaccine health paperwork. Then, instead of getting rid of it all when the COVID threat has finally passed, they can add new criteria to the papers. Do something the powers don't like? All of a sudden your movements are restricted -- can't go to the grocery store, can't go to work, etc -- See the Chinese Social Credit Score system. The Chinese are implementing this type of system RIGHT NOW.
I also submit for consideration, the USA Patriot Act. It was initially supposed to be "temporary". 19 years later, STILL in effect. (Yes, I will admit that they watered it down a little bit with the USA Freedom Act, but its not really that much of a change.)
Remember the old adage -- Never let a good crisis go to waste.
(Score: 2) by leon_the_cat on Wednesday December 09 2020, @07:41PM
No state has already shown its true color, has done for a long time.