Sunday, November 27, 2022

Whole Lotta Facial Recognition

The Electronic Freedom Foundation is a mixed blessing, in my opinion. 

For alien romance writers, or any published writer, their views on "sharing" copyrighted works without payment or permission might be unsettling to some.

On the other hand, their work on internet privacy is fascinating. Take, for instance, their Atlas Of Surveillance (AOS), which is a very cool tool. Anyone can type in any city in the USA and discover what sorts of government/law enforcement surveillance is in place, such as drones, face recognition, cell-site simulators, and license plate readers.

https://atlasofsurveillance.org/


This atlas could be fairly useful for a fiction writer wanting to plot out a "Bourne" type saga, or a modern day 1984, and include some verisimilitude and mischief.
 
The EFF website has a web page devoted to biometrics. Apparently, one benefit of biometrics is that it helps everyday people all the better to identify their friends. It sounds like something that Little Red Riding Hood's wolf would say!

Joking aside, there are some very serious problems with the use of biometrics.
 
Legal bloggers Jason C. Gavejian, Joseph J. Lazzarotti, and Jody Kahn Mason of the law firm Jackson Lewis PC pose the question, what happens if biometrics are used to replace passwords?
 
 
It is an interesting and comprehensive legal perspective, and well worth reading. They also discuss the use of voice recognition. Personally, I decline the convenience with banks and brokerage houses. I would not want to be locked out of my account if I caught a cold and lost my voice! 

Obviously, one should never, never use the word "Yes" on a telephone call with a stranger. Apparently, one should also avoid being filmed or photographed by strangers!
 
Absolutely nothing to do with facial recognition, but a whole lot of kudos for Angela Hoy of WritersWeekly for sharing lucrative remote writing job opportunities.


All the best,

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