World is, probably, not ready for Minority Report
Written by Akshay Chavan on #arccoder Blog
04 Apr 2015Many people I know in the tech industry were fascinated by the scene from Minority Report where the camera over the billboards recognizes the person by an iris scan. If not that level of sophistication there are several tech companies and researchers who are actively working of such an application using faces or some non-biometric scan involving a registered or anonymous tracking devices.
The retail industry has a many ways to collect data about their store visitors, their whereabouts in the store, and their purchases. Some make use of this data while some don’t. Many stores use such data in decision making or strategy formulation, for example, converting potentials to repeat customers or recommend the right product to their loyal customers. Even customers don’t mind sharing this information because they get discounts for being their data sources.
So why are these same customers reluctant and uncomfortable to allow companies to collect data through facial ?recognition? No wonder, tech companies that deliver such capabilities are not doing great. Is it customers being skeptical about the legitimacy and trustworthiness of privacy policies? Or is it the thought of being accessed through the company database forever? These are all very valid and reasonable apprehensions. Can we really blame the customers for this? I don’t believe so. So what is the solution to this dilemma?
The tech industry is working very hard to gain people’s acceptance to such computer vision oriented technology. It would take something more than showing assurance and legitimacy of the privacy statement. Who knows the forthcoming generations would be more welcoming. May be the concern is that people are not ready to have their picture taken at places they visit or have a picture proof of their whereabouts. May be they find it down right creepy? Remember when someone says I have put up camera at home to keep an eye on my pet when they are away and your first response to it is “sounds creepy!”
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