AfterDawn: Tech news

Facebook's face recognition catching up to humans

Written by James Delahunty @ 05 Apr 2014 5:57 User comments (1)

Facebook's face recognition catching up to humans

Facebook has published an interesting research paper on its site surrounding new facial recognition technology called "DeepFace".
In a paper, eerily titled, "Closing the Gap to Human-Level Performance in Face Verification," the researchers detail a system that can confirm that two pictures show the same person accurately 97.25 percent of the time, compared to humans who have been recorded at around 97.53 percent accuracy.

The interesting thing about the technology detailed in the paper is that unlike other facial recognition systems (such as one Facebook currently uses itself), this system does not require a detailed frontal picture of the face.

Instead, it uses "3D modelling" to help it confirm an identity even when a head is turned somewhat in a picture. The DeepFace system conducts its analysis based on more than 120 million different parameters.

"We don't currently use the techniques discussed in the paper on Facebook," said Facebook spokeswoman Lydia Chan, reports CNN.



Intel has also developed technology that can use facial detection cameras and software to determine a person's approximate age and gender, and retrieve information, like ads, that suit.

All of this new technology will unquestionable raise privacy concerns over the coming years. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has already raised the alarm on such technology and, "ever-more-pervasive video surveillance," and the potential loss of anonymity in public.


Sources and Recommended Reading:
DeepFace: Closing the Gap to Human-Level Performance in Face Verification: www.facebook.com
Facebook's new face recognition knows you from the side: money.cnn.com
Picture Source: Facebook

Previous Next  

1 user comment

16.4.2014 05:56

"DeepFace"?

...

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

Sony suspends memory card sales because memory chips are simply not available Sony suspends memory card sales because memory chips are simply not available (28 Mar 2026 6:49)
Sony has announced that it is temporarily suspending the sale of memory cards used in mobile phones and digital cameras, among other things. The company states that the reason is problems with the availability of memory chips.
Austria plans to ban social media for under 14 year olds Austria plans to ban social media for under 14 year olds (28 Mar 2026 6:17)
Austria is planning to ban social media for children under 14. The reform aims to protect children from harmful effects and addictions, but at the same time, it is problematic from a privacy perspective.
TP-Link urges users to update their routers - several vulnerabilities patched TP-Link urges users to update their routers - several vulnerabilities patched (26 Mar 2026 1:56)
Serious security vulnerabilities have been discovered in several TP-Link router models, for which patches were released at the end of March 2026. The company urges users to update their router software immediately.
Google: The feared Q-Day is now expected to happen in 2029 Google: The feared Q-Day is now expected to happen in 2029 (25 Mar 2026 4:32)
Google has advanced its estimate of when current forms of encryption will become insecure. The moment is called Q-Day, or Quantum Day, when the computational power of quantum computers will be sufficient to break currently used encryptions.
OpenAI shuts down its AI video service Sora OpenAI shuts down its AI video service Sora (24 Mar 2026 6:28)
OpenAI has decided to shut down Sora, its AI video creator, just months after its release. The decision is due to issues such as copyright problems and the deepfake phenomenon.

News archive