Re: [projectvrm] Facial recognition vs. Privacy

[Dan Miller < >]

To reinforce what Frank is saying: How accurate can it be if you upload one image and it responds with 10 profiles?

That's ridiculous and, if each of the profiles contains contact info, etc. it also sounds felonious. Not even a skip tracer or "find people" Web site would do that. You can't just serve up private information about an individual just because someone asks or, in this case, uploads a picture that "might" be you.

On Fri, Jun 3, 2016 at 9:37 AM, Frank Ramirez < " target="_blank"> > wrote:

Hi Doc:
I used this technology in past. It may be a bit of marketing fluff here, virtually all systems. I have tested are flawed and also the volume of data makes it hard to process in an economic manner which dissuades adoption. Getting actionable insights is also a bit of a challenge. Also if there was ever a straw that broke the camel's back as far as legislative restraint this might be it. The data establishment is fearful of legislation and the public outcry here I think will be quite large in the USA.

As a privacy advocate all I can say is that I would actively evangelize for very stringent controls and very high penalties for abuse. Many people do not know that the do-not -call list attracted 180 million users in less than 3 months and now boasts 240 million members - for scale purposed Facebook today has only 150M members. The program also generates some good revenue for the govt and I am sure they, and the legal community would love to see regulation increase. The government and legal community is looking for an excuse for more regulation. But I think that is not needed.

I maintain the position that the only way to stop the data establishment is commercially. I think the solution resides in using P2P technology and Blockchain to return data ownership to consumers. You enable engagement by rewarding consumers with 100% transparency and maximizing realization of their economic value for themselves. Firms compete on how much money they can return to consumers. This is what we are building at PowerMyData. With a consumer owning their LBS and mapping that to their other data  as a service they commercialize for themselves - this would deliver much more value to them and vendors than simple facial recognition.

The problem is that outside this ivory tower no one really knows what we're talking about. Privacy is an issue like smoking or drinking while  pregnant - the harm it does falls outside the 5 human senses. Add to that the fact that the data establishment actively occludes the issues and tells only their 1/2 of the real story and you have a public that is ambivalent. No one realizes that if they could secure their privacy and realize the economic value of their data for themselves thy could put over $180/month in their pocket.

Frank Ramirez
Founder
PowerMyData
www.powermydata.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Doc Searls [mailto: "> ]
Sent: Friday, June 3, 2016 8:38 AM
To: ProjectVRM list < "> >
Subject: [projectvrm] Facial recognition vs. Privacy

<https://mic.com/articles/144573/an-incredibly-accurate-facial-recognition-app-is-coming-here-s-what-it-means-for-privacy>

The headline: "An Incredibly Accurate Facial Recognition App Is Coming — Here's What It Means for Privacy.” It begins,

"Privacy is dead — or at least, it will be soon. That's the conviction held by Russian entrepreneurs Artem Kukharenko and Alexander Kabakov, whose startup, NTechLab, recently launched a facial recognition app that nearly obliterates the concept of anonymity. Called FindFace, the app has remained exclusive to Russia since going live earlier this year. Soon, though, Kuhkarenko and Kabakov are introducing a cloud-based platform that makes their frighteningly accurate algorithm available to everyone…"

Thoughts?

Doc