AI companions: addiction and privacy concerns

“The design of these AI characters makes lawmakers’ concern well warranted. The problem: Companions are upending the paradigm that has thus far defined the way social media companies have cultivated our attention and replacing it with something poised to be far more addictive.  In the social media we’re used to, as the researchers point out, technologies are mostly the mediators and facilitators of human connection….

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Facial recognition: technology and privacy

“Facial recognition technology is increasingly used for identity verification and identification, from aiding law enforcement investigations to identifying potential security threats at large venues. However, advances in this technology have outpaced laws and regulations, raising significant concerns related to equity, privacy, and civil liberties. Facial recognition connects an image of a face to an identity or connects an image of a face to a database…

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Facial recognition technology: privacy and political orientation

There is growing concern that the widespread use of facial recognition technology has led and will lead to the decline of privacy and civil liberties. CCTV cameras and huge databases of facial images–taken from sources such as social media and ID card registers–make it easy to identify individuals as well as track their movements and social interactions. Plus, “facial recognition can be used without subjects’…

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Facial recognition: technology and privacy

Quick bibliography: Reviews/recent articles on facial recognition–the technology and privacy concerns. Classic reviews: Bowyer, K. W. (2004). Face recognition technology: security versus privacy. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, 23(1), 9-19. [Cited by] “Video surveillance and face recognition systems have become the subject of increased interest and controversy after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. In favor of face recognition technology, there is…

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Most-read Science topics (quick post)

Over the last year (since September 2018), the top 5 posts searched and read on Science Connections have been: The impact of sea level rise on Florida–and the world Consumer DNA testing–no oversight, no peer review, only estimates Looking to the past for an alternative to cement Facial recognition and privacy Now that China will no longer take it, the U.S. and other countries will…

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A new world disorder?

News: It may seem that absolutely everyone today is glued to their phones and uses social media, but that’s not true. Facebook, the largest social media network globally, claims “2.41 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2019.” Billions do use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.), but billions also do not. Further, there are many people counted as “active users”…

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