Pros and Cons of Facial Recognition

Facial recognition is a feature that is gaining more ground in the technology field. We see it mainly in our devices, in marketing campaigns, and in security.

In this slogging thread, the technology channel discussed the pros and cons of facial recognition and where we liked to see this applied.

This Slogging thread by Sara Pinto, Jack Boreham, Mónica Freitas, Khamisi Hamisi, Favour Amadi, and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #technology channel, and has been edited for readability.

Considering that facial recognition is an upcoming feature in our devices, what do you think are the pros and cons?

Deep fake could probably break this feature. Deep Fake tech is simulating real people with surprising accuracy. I think it could risk security having these features on our phones.

Pros well, I can get into my phone faster. 😂

Sara Pinto, When you talked about facial recognition, I immediately thought of security technology. I'm probably being influenced by what I see in action movies 😂

Facial recognition can be an extra layer of security if combined with more traditional methods (security codes, biometrics, etc.). However, as facial recognition tech develops, so will ways to break it and overcome it.
Do you know of other current uses for this tech besides security?

Jack Boreham, Oh wow, I was not aware of Deep Fake tech, I'll take a look into that. It's quite scary if put into the wrong hands. Haha, it is much quicker, as long as it's safe. How far do you think we are willing to go without putting our privacy at risk?

Mónica Freitas, I've read that it has been an upcoming feature in advertising. It's used to identify the age and gender of the person and present adequate ads. It's impressive. Do you think it's a good strategy?

Khamisi Hamisi, Daniel Guzman, Abeer What do you think?

Pros: It will be easier for people to add an extra layer of security to their stuff. Moreover, facial recognition gives fast access compared to typing in passwords. 

Cons: The biggest issue with facial recognition is identity theft. Scammers and thieves, in general, may use your data to scam other people or gain unwanted access. In addition, there is a new trend where companies are willingly selling user information to the highest bidders. You end up being a target of ads or other promotional materials that you did not sign up for.

Sara Pinto, Really? Through our phones? I find that a bit invasive, to be honest. I hate seeing ads on my socials already, so for them to be customized for my liking doesn't really change my opinion. I can see how profitable it can be for brands, though. Though, they already have access to data like age and nationality and so on. So I'm not sure how this might change the game.

Khamisi Hamisi, In a way, it all comes down to our privacy and safety. It's becoming easier to access our information, it's concerning. In what other ways would you like to see this feature?

Mónica Freitas, As far as I understood, it's not through our phones. Not so personal, and more general, I found an old article about this, I'll add the link in the end. It says that this feature can be found in the Walgreens store through the cooler doors that would identify their customers. Then, the screens would pass ads about their products depending on the individual. I can see this happening through surveillance cameras. Would you think this would be beneficial for you? Would you welcome this feature in spaces like supermarkets? https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15213-walgreens-facial-recognition.html

Sara Pinto, oh, I see. As someone who likes to make shopping as quickly as possible, I don't see myself stopping in the middle of an alley looking at advertising. I can see how it can lead some people to spend more though. Especially if you enter the shop not knowing exactly what you'll need to buy. On which side do you fall in? Would you find this new trend useful?

Mónica Freitas, Even if you are not willing to waste more time, you might change your mind about the products. I actually like this idea, it doesn't feel invasive, and it's an innovative way of advertising

Allyson Blinkhorn, Favour Amadi, Would you like to see this technology used in advertising?

Sara Pinto, It's innovative, no doubt. Their sales are going to increase, for sure.

Could you give more context, Sara Pinto?

Favour Amadi As the article above mentions, supermarkets have been using facial recognition so they can identify age and gender, and then, provide ads that may interest the client, based on those pieces of information. Do you think this is invasive? Do you think it's a good strategy?

Mónica Freitas, I think very far, tech is evolving so fast I don't think privacy can keep up. We've already had data leaks and huge privacy scandals due to tech wizards hacking our stuff.

Jack Boreham, true, we're going to need to go off-grid to keep our privacy. Why couldn't the internet/tech be perfect? 😭

Abeer, What's your take on this?

Mónica Freitas, in the METAVERSE it will be.😱

Jack Boreham, false advertising!

Sara Pinto, Just a few months ago I had my first encounter with a store in the Javits Center that used Computer Vision to automatically charge you for whatever you leave with. It was a trippy experience especially since I didn’t realize they were doing that. I was waiting for the “cashier” to charge my card and he told me it was already taken care of and I was good to go. Based on that, I have to admit, it was very convenient. No wait, no lines. Just go in, grab what you need, and go.

What does worry me about this type of technology is the Surveillance and Privacy aspects of it especially as the Facial Recognition and AI technologies improve over time. Feels like 1984 is just around the corner. 😨

Abeer, Very similar to the Amazon Go concept! It's very advantageous and easy. It does feel weird but seems like the future. But it begs the question: how far are willing to go to make life easier? In terms of safety of course. I guess we have to keep our guard and see how all this develops