Amazon's Rekognition software can now spot fear
Amazon's Rekognition software can now spot fear
The facial recognition tech is also getting
better at estimating a person's age, the company says.
Amazon's controversial facial recognition technology, called Rekognition,
has a new skill. It can now spot fear. The company says it recently launched
updates to Rekognition's facial analysis features, including improved age
estimation and the addition of fear to its emotion detection.
"We have improved accuracy for
emotion detection (for all 7 emotions: 'Happy,' 'Sad,' 'Angry,' 'Surprised,'
'Disgusted,' 'Calm' and 'Confused') and added a new emotion: 'Fear,'"
according to an update from Amazon on Monday. "Lastly,
we have improved age range estimation accuracy; you also get narrower age
ranges across most age groups."
Amazon boasts that its Rekognition
software can track and analyze hundreds of
people in a photo using a database with tens of
millions of faces. The ACLU has expressed concern about law
enforcement's use of the technology, saying it could be abused by governments
to pose a "grave threat to communities, including people of color and
immigrants, and to the trust and respect Amazon has worked to build."
In July, the Orlando Police
Department officially ended its Amazon Rekognition program after
a bumpy ride. The department had temporarily stopped using Rekognition in June 2018
after the city's pilot program with Amazon ended and after the ACLU penned an
open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos highlighting privacy concerns.
Amazon employees have also protested the sale of Rekognition software to
police.
Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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