Cameras are already reading the licence plates on our cars for minor traffic offences, and it looks like our faces are next.
FacialNetwork.com recently announced a beta release of “NameTag”. This is the first real-time facial recognition app for Google Glass and possibly other platforms in the future.
The app allows faces to be tagged in real time using the live video feed from Google Glass. The images are uploaded to the cloud where the snagged mug shots are compared to a database. This links people to social media accounts, dating profiles and even compares them against a sex offenders database. The result is then returned to the user.
Now combine this with what Facebook are already doing. Facebook recently indicated in their terms of service that they reserve the right to add user profile pictures to its facial recognition database.
I did some research into this and it seems they have gone as far as categorizing people based on appearance and fashion habits. People are labelled in categories, such as biker, hipster, nerd, rocker or hippy. Do you get the picture? They sure do.
The scary part is Facebook can simply assimilate any start-up with an idea. It’s as simple as that. For example, look how Apple acquired the biometric security company AuthenTec for $356 million, just for a new home button on the new iPhone 5s. It’s as simple as that for them.
What are the implications of this? What is the world coming to? I imagine a future where strangers will greet you by name when approaching you, and have no doubt that this tech already exists in government & law enforcement. In the near future, even retail outlets will be displaying ad’s based on things that you “like” according to your online footprint in the cloud.
Check it out the video demo at:
I think it’s kind of creepy, but what do you guys think?
