What happens when your friend’s smartphone can tell that you’re lying
What happens when your friend’s smartphone can tell that
you’re lying
By Gary Shapiro October 31 at 7:00 AM
In just a few weeks, the next installment of “The Hunger
Games” will arrive in movie theaters. The latest in a long line of films to
depict a future all-knowing or controlling government — think “1984” or
“Minority Report” — the dystopian tale will likely be a runaway hit. But the
power to seem all-knowing – or at least know more than do now – may soon lie in
technology that’s already in the palm of your hand.
We are nearing a point where our smartphones will be able
to recognize a face or voice, in real life or on-screen. And identification is
only the most basic of the possibilities. Many app-makers are experimenting
with software that can also analyze – able to determine someone’s emotions or honesty
just by a few facial cues.
This interpersonal assessment technology promises to make
our lives easier. For instance, facial recognition technology can allow people
to get immediate and amazing customer service. If a restaurant or retailer can
identify me before I walk in the door, it would be able to identify me as a
returning customer, accessing my favorite dishes or products. I would be
greeted like an old friend (whether I were, or not).
Similarly, algorithms are now being developed that link
thousands of facial cues with human emotions. Our brains do this naturally – we
know without asking whether someone is happy or upset based only on their
expressions. Law enforcement and poker players take this a step further, using
facial cues to determine someone’s honesty. But with technology augmenting our
brain’s natural behavior – possibly providing direct, measurable and verifiable
input – we can produce measurable and verifiable data. As sensors move from our
smartphones to activity trackers to smartwatches from Apple and Samsung, we are
measuring more than ever and are not far off from continuously tracking our
emotions. And software is now in development to interpret people’s emotions,
then project the results via an app onto a screen such as Google Glass.
Technology can also analyze the human voice to determine
emotion – again, not just mimicking, but surpassing our brain’s abilities.
Moodies, an app developed by Beyond Verbal, is able to detect a speaker’s mood
based on nothing more than a voice. Worldwide call centers are testing the
technology to help operators determine whether callers are upset and likely to
switch their business to a competitor.
There are also some potentially negative consequences. If
you can simply run a person’s image and voice through an app to determine their
emotions and veracity, we will have to adjust as a society. Many of our daily
interactions are built on small lies: “So happy to see you”, “Of course I
remember you,” and “This is the best (food, activity or place).” In other
words, society’s function is smoothed by little white lies – do we really want
to eliminate that?
As we uncover our deceptions – implicit and explicit,
including those of which we have convinced even ourselves – a market for
technology that hides our emotions will arise. Entrepreneurs may create
“emotion-cloaking devices.” Facial coverings may become more popular. Perhaps
there’ll be sanctuaries where no devices are allowed, either by custom or law —
an atmosphere akin to how we now feel about taking pictures in public bathrooms
and kids’ classrooms.
One thing is for sure: politics is in for a major
overhaul. With every smartphone possessing a virtual lie-detector test, elected
officials will need to be creative in the ways they talk to us. In fact, my
fear is the most insecure and most powerful politicians will resist, and
quickly seek to regulate or restrict these technologies — ignoring their
obvious good — in a hidden but discoverable attempt to preserve their own power
and half-truths.
Ready or not, technologies are quickly arriving, which
allow us to assess other people to a degree of accuracy we never before
imagined. While by no means a cure for Alzheimer’s — at least in the disease’s
early stages — facial recognition software could supplement a sufferer’s slowly
deteriorating memory and help recall acquaintances, friends and loved ones.
Before we rush to decry these assessment technologies, we
must also consider their incredible array of benefits. If this “recognition
revolution” can indeed realize its potential, won’t it absolutely be worth a
little uncertainty today?
Gary Shapiro is president and chief executive of the
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the U.S. trade association representing
more than 2,000 consumer electronics companies, and author of the New York
Times best-selling books, Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the
World’s Most Successful Businessesand The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore
the American Dream. His views are his own. Connect with him on Twitter.
Comments
Post a Comment