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0 pointskstrauser3y ago0 comments

I’m wholeheartedly against facial recognition in legal systems. The fact is that they don’t work well, and they specifically have a bad tendency to identify the wrong black person much more often than they misidentify white people. From [3] below:

> Asian and African American people were up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified than white men, depending on the particular algorithm and type of search. Native Americans had the highest false-positive rate of all ethnicities, according to the study, which found that systems varied widely in their accuracy.

One. Hundred. Times. The camera may say it recorded John Smith breaking into a house, but it’s incredibly likely that it was actually Ron Jones. Who’s the jury going to believe, though: John Smith who was at home with his girlfriend at the time, or the hugely expensive video system that the city just bought?

Facial recognition doesn’t work. It’s bullshit tech, and we should stop using it until we make it deliver on its promises AND decide how to deal with its ramifications.

[1] https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2020/racial-discriminatio...

[2] https://www.wired.com/story/best-algorithms-struggle-recogni...

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/12/19/federal...

0 comments

superbatfish3y ago

I'm afraid you have it exactly backwards. The problem isn't that it doesn't work -- the problem is that it does work. And to the extent that it isn't perfect, well, it's still improving all the time. You cited a 3-year-old article reporting on data from up to eleven(!) years ago -- an eternity in this field. Not even worth reading at this point.

The racial bias issue is still important for now, but it's fast becoming irrelevant. We should be asking ourselves where our priorities lie even if bias weren't a concern.

LarryMullins3y ago

I think it's possible that multispectral imaging may solve the difficulties these systems have with dark skin. However even if this were resolved, I would still oppose these systems because I don't want to live in a panopticon prison society, even if all the technology works correctly and never makes a false accusation. I think such a society is aesthetically disgusting.

Furthermore, an accurate system is not the same as a morally just system. A ubiquitous system which recognizes people with 100% accuracy could be used for evil if it ever fell into the wrong hands. Such powerful systems should never be created in the first place, the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

test65543y ago

I agree that It's good when used to fight property crimes and bad when used to stifle political dissent. But does anyone really believe we can avoid it at this point?

LarryMullins3y ago

Butlarian Jihad is inevitable.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointskstrauser3y ago0 comments

Facial recognition doesn’t work. It’s bullshit tech, and we should stop using it until we make it deliver on its promises AND decide how to deal with its ramifications.

[1] https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2020/racial-discriminatio...

[2] https://www.wired.com/story/best-algorithms-struggle-recogni...

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/12/19/federal...

0 comments

superbatfish3y ago

The racial bias issue is still important for now, but it's fast becoming irrelevant. We should be asking ourselves where our priorities lie even if bias weren't a concern.

LarryMullins3y ago

test65543y ago

I agree that It's good when used to fight property crimes and bad when used to stifle political dissent. But does anyone really believe we can avoid it at this point?

LarryMullins3y ago

Butlarian Jihad is inevitable.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse