4 ms·
Google buying the face data of people in the streets for $5
- dekhn 7y agoI don't really think this is google, I think it's people pretending to be google.
- borplk 7y agoAgreed. It's not Google. None of it sounds like it would be. Sound more like a cover story that some hackers/scammers would use.
- noad 7y agoDoes it honestly surprise you that much that Google is doing this? Have you been completely offline for the past 10 years? The thing that is so frustrating to me about stories like this is that I don't know who to get angry at or complain about at parties. Google has become so massive it's clear that nobody is even aware of or in control of many of their activities, it's just a massive ball of opaque mud.
- dekhn 7y agoI worked at Google for the last 10 years.
- mrguyorama 7y agoI doubt Google would (or even have to) pay
- TuringNYC 7y agoThis seems no different than the “Microsoft Employee” who calls you for your social security number to ensure your “Windows warranty doesn’t expire.”
- dekhn 7y agoI actually got one of these scams, I kept them on a ride for a while then when I revealed, they had the audacity to say I was the jerk!
- nvrspyx 7y agoFrom the article, they mention that it was for improving facial recognition unlock. Could it be plausible that they're trying to test facial recognition in real world situations/lighting (e.g. outside in the park on a sunny day)? It also mentions that they were asked to look at notifications while it captured facial data. Could that be for attention recognition? I mean, it still seems sketchy to me, but it does sound at least somewhat plausible. The article also mentions that the two instances took place in opposite sides of the country (NYC and Miami).
- jclay 7y agoThe rep told me that they had intentionally avoided cities with a heavy presence of tech workers. Based on the survey I completed, they are looking for a diversity in eye color and those using colored contact lenses. He mentioned to me they started in Las Vegas. Central Park also makes sense for this given they can test with a large set of tourists.
- jclay 7y agoThis is absolutely legitimate. I was approached by a Google Rep and completed the series of tests for the $5 gift card. Mostly out of curiosity to see what they’re up to. It’s using what appeared to be a Pixel 3 with a heavy duty case wrapped around containing an additional camera and some sensors. I went through all of the poses one would do if they were training a model to perform similarly to FaceID. (Ok, now pull the phone out of your pocket and look directly at it. Look up at me then down at the phone, etc.)
- dekhn 7y agoHow do you it was a Google rep? I mean provably.
- dekhn 7y agoAccording this article, Google confirms that it is conducting field research of facial scanning: https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/29/8934804/google-pixel-4-face-scanning-data-collection https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/29/8934804/google-pixel-4-fa...
- dekhn 7y agoAn updated article includes Google confirmation they are running studies like this.
- writepub 7y agoDoes Google need any more face photos, given the vast trove at Google Photos and Picasa?
- ninju 7y agoThey need the 3D elements of the face, probably to help train the system to avoid being faked by photos :-)
- ganeshkrishnan 7y agoSounds like they need one more app : Google SocialPlusMessagingFace3dScan.
- jclay 7y agoThis happened to me in Central Park a few months ago. It certainly is Google and they offered me a $5 Starbucks gift card for completing the process. I discussed in length with the Google rep who was doing it and got some interesting answers if anyone is curious. They are certainly using this to train a model to authenticate faces similar to FaceID. I had to fill out a survey before which asked about my eye color, if I wear colored contact lenses, etc.