4 ms·

Democratic senators to propose ban on use of facial recognition

15 points by longdefeat 6y ago

yummypaint 6y ago
This is a good opportunity to improve the overall rigor in determining what can pass as scientific evidence in trials. Companies push this garbage to make a quick buck, prosecutors credulously buy in to boost their metrics, and the justice system becomes increasingly unjust. The efficacy of this stuff hasn't even been demonstrated, let alone the understanding of uncertainties jurors must have to weight this kind of information. Putting the brakes on for now is absolutely the right move. The fates of human beings should never be decided by commercial black boxes. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/FBI-Admits-Pseudoscientific-Hair-Analysis-Used-in-Hundreds-of-Cases-180955070/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/FBI-Admits-Pseudos... https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/reversing-legacy-junk-science-courtroom https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/reversing-legacy-jun...
apearson 6y ago
Actual Title: "Facial recognition bill would ban use by federal law enforcement"
- hirundo 6y ago
  What a significant difference. I'm afraid of it in the hands of Big Brother. But I would love for my phone to be able to look through my glasses and notify me "violent escaped criminal 30 feet away at 11 o'clock." Except then it would also be able to raise notifications like "person affiliated with <outgroup> 30 feet away at 11 o'clock." Add syndication and people who wrongthink could be tracked down like pokemon.
dang 6y ago
Proposed bills almost never go anywhere [1], so barring something unusual, it's best to wait for a state change with more signal, a.k.a. significant new information (SNI) [2]. [1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20bills&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... [2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20%22significant%20new%20information%22&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
25mph 6y ago
When there's nothing newsworthy, the news agencies use the future tense.

15 points by longdefeat 6y ago

This is a good opportunity to improve the overall rigor in determining what can pass as scientific evidence in trials. Companies push this garbage to make a quick buck, prosecutors credulously buy in to boost their metrics, and the justice system becomes increasingly unjust. The efficacy of this stuff hasn't even been demonstrated, let alone the understanding of uncertainties jurors must have to weight this kind of information. Putting the brakes on for now is absolutely the right move. The fates of human beings should never be decided by commercial black boxes. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/FBI-Admits-Pseudoscientific-Hair-Analysis-Used-in-Hundreds-of-Cases-180955070/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/FBI-Admits-Pseudos... https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/reversing-legacy-junk-science-courtroom https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/reversing-legacy-jun...

apearson 6y ago

Actual Title: "Facial recognition bill would ban use by federal law enforcement"

hirundo 6y ago
What a significant difference. I'm afraid of it in the hands of Big Brother. But I would love for my phone to be able to look through my glasses and notify me "violent escaped criminal 30 feet away at 11 o'clock." Except then it would also be able to raise notifications like "person affiliated with <outgroup> 30 feet away at 11 o'clock." Add syndication and people who wrongthink could be tracked down like pokemon.

dang 6y ago

Proposed bills almost never go anywhere [1], so barring something unusual, it's best to wait for a state change with more signal, a.k.a. significant new information (SNI) [2]. [1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20bills&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... [2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20%22significant%20new%20information%22&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

25mph 6y ago

When there's nothing newsworthy, the news agencies use the future tense.