This Facial Recognition System Can Detect Your Mood

There are many facial expressions we make that expresses our emotions. For example, we generally smile when we’re happy, we frown when we’re upset, we furrow our brows when we’re confused or when we’re angry. However, sometimes we make micro expressions that might not be particularly obvious, but still expresses our emotions anyway.

Over in the UK, it seems that the British police force are interested in testing out a facial recognition system that apparently has the ability to detect the moods of people by scanning their faces. It is unclear yet how this system will work, but it should be noted that there are some who claim that such technology actually works.

Back in 2019, research institute AI Now had called on regulators to ban the technology as it is apparently built on “markedly shaky foundations”. Speaking to the BBC back then, AI Now’s co-founder Prof Kate Crawford said, “At the same time as these technologies are being rolled out, large numbers of studies are showing that there is… no substantial evidence that people have this consistent relationship between the emotion that you are feeling and the way that your face looks.”

While we’re seeing an increase in the use of facial recognition, especially for security purposes, it seems that there is a lot about the technology that we have yet to work out. There have been instances in the past where such systems have actually led to wrongful arrests. Some cities in the US have also banned the use of it in public spaces. More recently, the NYPD have announced that they will be reassessing the use of it as well.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Privacy