February 24, 2024 - 9:00am
As headlines continue to hype up the possibilities of artificial intelligence, companies are increasingly using this technology to supercharge our worst impulses. Oops Busted!!, a new facial recognition search service, claims to be able to locate a cheating partner who is using dating apps. Users, for a small fee, can upload an image of anyone they choose, giving the individual’s name, sex, age and location. Facial recognition technology will then be used to scan the most popular dating services to track them down.
The company bills itself as “a team of technology enthusiasts and relationship experts […] dedicated to enhancing trust in relationships through advanced technological solutions”. Of course, the uses of this technology go beyond suspicious spouses. Oops Busted!! also advertises itself as an option for those wondering if “this new girl in the office” is “single and dating” or “reconnecting with lost contacts, loves, or friends”. As with many online facial recognition search engines, there is nothing to prevent users tracking anyone they please, locating them and uncovering deeply personal information in the process.
Ironically, Oops Busted!! promises that the privacy and confidentiality of its users is paramount. The app makes no mention of those who are being unknowingly tracked by jealous partners, curious colleagues or even by strangers. The gross privacy violation for those on the sharp end of this novel surveillance technology goes unmentioned.
Oops Busted!! arrives in an already crowded market. Clearview AI made headlines for scraping the entire internet to create vast databases of billions of faces, selling access to police forces and intelligence agencies around the world. A slew of lawsuits, fines and demands to delete its data have followed, with limited success.
Meanwhile, other platforms are springing up online, making powerful surveillance capabilities available to anyone with an internet connection. PimEyes, a facial recognition website, offers subscriptions which allow users to perform dozens of searches a day. If your face is anywhere on the internet, private companies will have indexed it and are making money off of it, while opening the door to stalking on a scale never before possible.
There is a growing unease over how easily our online identities can be tracked. It is not unusual to see parents hiding their children’s faces behind emojis on social media, or for protesters to blur the faces of those in crowds. In Europe the AI Act is on the verge of becoming law, and though far from perfect will grant EU citizens some protection from appearing in these private facial recognition databases.
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SubscribeThe first thing that popped into my head is that people are going to volunteer to bring Big Brother into their lives and surrender their own privacy, in exchange for some trivial reward (e.g., catching out your romantic partner, or snooping on your neighbors).
So it’s interesting that the author works with Big Brother Watch; it seems we think alike. Technology may be a helpful servant, but it will be a terrifying master.
The UK is already a soft totalitarian state.
Soon to cone – syntax recognition with some vocabulary and trigger words matched – so I can find out the real names, addresses, bio-history, and all else on anyone who dares post messages here or anywhere.
Oops Busted on steroids.
Call it ‘Dox Me’ and it is just around the corner.
The mark of the beast is upon us. It’s the replacement of cash with a cancelable debit card. The state knows everything you buy, who bought near you and who gave you charity. They can know all the people who you associate with. The 7 years tribulation when Satan rules will soon start. All the technical devices he wants are at hand. With the technology any one is totally enslaved. They can cancel a person’s bank account. They can identify anyone who gives charity to an enemy of the state. People will starve if they cannot buy food. “So that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.” After Christ returns, he will punish anyone with the beast mark. No cooperation with Satan’s state is allowed “And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” We see that all will be forced to bear the mark by Satan and be thrown into hell by God if they do. The only way out of this catch 22 will be martyrdom. Get saved and raptured out before being faced with this problem.