The focus of US policing is shifting from enforcement to prevention as mass incarceration falls out of favor. ‘Pre-crime’ detection is the hot new thing, accomplished through analysis of behavior and…facial features? Researchers at the University of Harrisburg announced earlier this week that they had developed AI software capable of predicting – with 80 percent…
Advertised as the latest tool to give shoppers more convenience, facial recognition comes with deep costs to privacy and security. But can anyone remember Silicon Valley asking for permission to use your face? Mankind has long feared that some totalitarian state, as vividly described by visionary writers like George Orwell (1984), Aldous Huxley (Brave New…
Last week, Evan Spiegel of Snap Inc. unveiled his first hardware product Spectacles to a few journalists. Wall Street Journal author Seth Stevenson recalls how Spiegel invited him into “a small conference room” where he “draped a towel over a mysterious object sitting on a table” calling Spiegel “eager to the point of jitters”. Perhaps…
Getting into the Witness Protection Program is one relatively sure way to hide your true identity, but the price of admission is pretty high and often dangerous. Hiding your identity is even tougher now that facial recognition software is becoming common (thanks, Facebook!), surveillance is becoming universal and the FBI and other organizations are building…
I love technology. I can’t imagine life without modern conveniences like telephones, email, and the Internet. Not to mention running water, air conditioning, and automobiles. But sometimes, technology gets… well, creepy. And the creepier the technology, the more likely your friendly Big Brother will use it to keep tabs on you. A case in point…
