Facial recognition is still a touchy subject in the tech world, all the more so when it comes to mobile and wireless. But while some balk at the idea of Big Brother in our pockets, others are wishing it was already a feature on their smartphone.
On a recent visit to Israel – a country brimming with tech-telligence and start-up fever – a friend introduced me to a blog centered around a wish list of ideas. Things one would like, but which don’t appear to have been invented yet.
Apparently Hagai, the blog’s author, is not interested in developing the ideas himself, but wants to create an open platform – a souk of ideas, if you will – where people can come and offer their thoughts, or even their expertise in being able to make tech dreams come true.
A recent entry, soliciting a facial recognition app for smartphones, caught my eye.
“Who’s That App would enable you to take a picture of someone you know or want to know better with your smartphone and would search the web for any matches based on face recognition software,” it reads.
Is it just me, or does that make anyone else out there shudder?
“Imagine being at a bar and falling head over heels for someone. You could either approach [the person] and try to get a phone number or email address, or you could ask around if anyone you know knows that person. Who’s That App would provide another option – take a picture of the person and get to know him or her a little better through a Facebook page or anywhere else that person’s picture appears.”
Perhaps it’s just because I’m a woman and am particularly sensitive to the whole issue of stalking, but this app sounds like the stuff of nightmares to me. And potentially dangerous to boot.
Luckily, Hagai doesn’t seem the creepy type. “Dating and matchmaking services aside, Who’s That App is definitely something I’d like to have on my phone, simply because I hate seeing people in the street that I recognize and should remember their names but never do.” Now, that, I can identify with, although I’m not sure the risks are worth the gain.
Hagai notes that such an app should be relatively easy and cheap to develop, as it could be based on many existing technologies for searching the web with pictures rather than keywords, as well as facial recognition technology already out there. Indeed, we’ve seen firms like Viewdle do something similar when it comes to tagging your photos automatically from a database of your facebook friends.
Still, there is a world of difference between your phone identifying people you already know and complete strangers and I’m not sure we’re quite ready to cross that privacy line just yet. At least I’m not. But I’m interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.
