Give your face to Google for five years and get a $5 gift card
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “ Almost Human ” (ID: almosthuman2017), of: Li Zenan, Li Asia.
How does Google look for data when facial recognition is controversial and gradually limited by regulations? Recently, the results of the New York Daily News explosion surprised people: Google’s paid “sweeping face” plan includes many homeless people, and some college students unwittingly provided their facial features to Google. .
On the other hand, the terms of the agreement to provide face data for compensation are also harsh. Once agreed, Google can use your photos and face recognition data for five years or even longer.
In July of this year, Google acknowledged plans for its employees to find facial data in multiple US cities: In order to upgrade the face unlocking system of the new generation of mobile phones Pixel 4, Google offers a $5 gift card to anyone who is willing to sell facial data. . But the New York Daily News reported that the technology company is using some suspicious methods for facial scanning.
According to several sources involved in the project, a contracting company called Randstad did collect targets for tramps and blacks in Atlanta, and usually did not say that they were working for Google, nor did they say they actually The above is the face information of the recorded person.
A source told The Daily News that Google does not necessarily know that Randsrad is targeting the homeless, but it is reported that a Google manager did instruct the team to target people with darker skin.
In an interview, Google’s staff admitted that they were using some suspicious and misleading methods because of Google’s pursuit of data. Among them are sent teams to collect facial data from the tramp, as well as unsuspecting students on campuses across the United States, and even to the BET Awards.
Of course, the news also contains a lot of information. As the former staff said: “The reason why they are facing the homeless is because they are the least likely to say anything to the media. The tramp does not know what happened.”
They said that someone told them to use this behavior of collecting facial data as a “self-timer game” for Snapchat. Someone said that the staff was told what to say, such as “a gift card can be obtained in a few minutes.”And “We have a new app that you can try and get $5.”
The staff member who asked not to be named said that if the person sees the prompt on the screen after the task is completed, then asks, “Is the machine shooting a video?” We will be asked to say, “No, actually it didn’t really shoot. .”
Another former TVC member said that the California team was specifically told that they could pass a state law to lure people with cash shortages. The law states that gift cards less than $10 can be exchanged for cash.
The report also includes photographs of devices suspected of being used to capture facial data, a mobile phone housed in a large metal frame that is sealed with test stickers and security screws.
People who are unknowingly involved in Google’s facial recognition project
Google’s spokesperson acknowledged the purpose of data collection: “We regularly conduct volunteer research and collect data for machine learning training.” Google’s research targets two main goals, maximizing Pixel 4’s collection of facial recognition unlocking features. The fairness between users of different races, and on this basis, enhance the security of face unlocking.
In the agreement signed by volunteers, Google has retained the use of face data for up to five years, and this time may even be extended due to the continuation of the project. In addition, it grants Google the right to aggregate and share research data without any restrictions. This may mean that the use of data is not limited to Google’s individual business, and the scope of application is not limited to the United States.
It’s important to note that Google has a valid reason to ensure that its new face unlocking feature is extensively tested for people of color: it cannot be biased by lack of data. Prior to this, the media also reported that Apple also collected facial recognition data before the launch of FaceID for the same reason.
However, it seems that Google and its contractors may have taken some extreme and unwise shortcuts to achieve. Inquiries about the reporter, ValleySong and Randstad failed to respond in time.
Behind the face recognition data collection, the face recognition regulations that the United States is tightening. In May of this year, officials of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco passed a decree of 8 votes to 1 to prohibit government agencies from purchasing and using face recognition technology. The move aims to strengthen the regulation of new technologies and eliminate the hidden dangers of personal privacy leaks. San Francisco has thus become the world’s first city to disable face recognition.
Afterwards, similar laws prohibiting face recognition were passed in several cities in the United States.
Although the regulations are becoming more stringent, there is clearly no change in the demand for technology development by technology companies. How to properly collect data and develop facial recognition technology has become a difficult problem for every company.
Reference:
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https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/2/20896181/google-contractor-reportedly-targeted-homeless-people-for-pixel-4-facial-recognition
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https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-google-darker-skin-tones-facial-recognition-pixel-20191002-5vxpgowknffnvbmy5eg7epsf34- Story.html