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posted by janrinok on Friday July 11 2014, @05:47PM   Printer-friendly
from the my-paper-bag-will-also-work dept.

In 2011, taken by the emergence of mass protest movements around the world, artist Zach Blas began making, "Facial Weaponization Suite, (2011 - present)."[Video]

Facial Weaponization Suite is a series of community workshops which discuss and resist biometric facial recognition technologies and the larger political ethos which supports and enforces them. The workshop participants then have their own faces scanned and compiled into a collective mask, a mask which resists any biometric quantification. Vice got Blas on the phone to learn a little more about the project.

The mask does appear to defeat the many algorithms that are currently employed by tracking cameras that are used in many countries. Of course, some countries have already brought in or at least proposed legislation to ban the wearing of any kind of mask in public (unless a masquerade party is being held) but, in the case of a mass demonstration, it might be enough to protect an individual from being recognised or having their movements tracked unless (s)he was physically detained. How long will it be before legislation is brought in to outlaw the manufacture or sale of such masks?

 
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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 11 2014, @07:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 11 2014, @07:06PM (#67766)

    An important part of this story is that the guy is an artist. His goals aren't just to stymie the face trackers but also to call attention to how this technology is focused on the disenfranchised in both obvious and non-obvious ways.

    We've already seen how much simpler masks [huffingtonpost.com] are used without (intentionally) making an artistic statement.

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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Friday July 11 2014, @11:03PM

    by Jeremiah Cornelius (2785) on Friday July 11 2014, @11:03PM (#67888) Journal

    Oh. You said "Faces".

    Nevermind...

    --
    You're betting on the pantomime horse...