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A college is removing its vending machines after a student discovered they were using facial recognition technology
(www.businessinsider.com)
this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2024
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On the one hand, I can totally understand that there is a difference between recognizing a face and recognizing your face. Algorithms that recognize a face are really easy to implement now.
On the other hand, though, why should a vending machine need to recognize a face? So it shuts off it's lighting when no one is looking at it? I'm not sure if there is any practical benefit besides some project manager justifying a new feature with buzzword-compliant tech.
I believe the company when they say there is nothing problematic here, but they deserve the bad press for thinking it would be a good idea in the first place.
They need to recognize a face because they explicitly state in their FAQ they are estimating purchasers’ age and sex. This isn’t just adjusting lighting. I would not be so quick to say there is nothing problematic here. I’m highly skeptical.
And yet, you're quick to jump to the conclusion that there is something problematic? I don't really see anything wrong with this. It's not personal information. It's demographics.