Face Recognition: It can help you find love and stop educators

As SVT News can tell you, the police and the National Forensic Center want to use facial recognition to hunt criminals. But, as I said, there are several unexpected uses of the technology.

- It can be used in all contexts where for some reason you want to know who is doing something and what people want, says Jörgen Ahlberg, who has done research on facial recognition technology.

As recently as a few months ago, in December 2018, Taylor Swift created headlines as she scanned the faces of concert visitors to catch stalkers. During the concert, people could walk into a custom-built booth to see how the pop artist rehearsed before gigs. What they didn't know was that everyone who stood in front of the screen was photographed with a special camera. The images were later compared to a database containing images of hundreds of people stalking Taylor Swift.

The initiative received harsh criticism from human rights organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, which, among other things, pointed out that facial recognition can incorrectly identify people and points out that it is unclear where the images are collected and who can access them.

But, as I said, there are several unexpected uses for facial recognition. Already in 2011, the state-owned company Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation in Canada chose to install facial recognition technology on their gaming machines to help gambling addicts.

The technology is also used by Tencent, one of the world's largest computer gaming companies, to prevent minors from excessive gaming.

Face recognition is also used in some hotels to facilitate check-ins. Thanks to the technology, the concierge can easily remember the name of returning guests.

Having a hard time finding your soul mate? Yes, facial recognition can apparently also be used for love. Several dating sites use facial recognition to help you find people who fit your needs - or maybe more spicy: People who are similar to your ex.

Face recognition can also stop schooling - something that has happened at universities in the United Kingdom. The technology has also been tested in Sweden. Just a few weeks ago, for example, Elektroniktididen reported on the Anderstorpsgymnasiet in Skellefteå, where, among other things, facial recognition helped to implement an automatic student registration in order to save teachers' time. The Swedish Democrats in Malmö want to conduct a similar test.

In the UK, the technology has also been used to prevent minors from buying alcohol. When a familiar face - who has previously had trouble with showing a leg - tries to buy alcohol, the cashier simply gets a warning.

Abroad, facial recognition has spread through a wide font. However, Jörgen Ahlberg agrees that the technology has not yet established itself in Sweden.

- We have always had pretty tough regulation in terms of both camera surveillance and personal data. GDPR makes it even more difficult.

Do you think it will break through now?

- What will come through in particular are various convenience items that make things a little smoother. It can be anything from your laptop knowing that you are picking it up from the bag which means that it has already logged in and started your programs or that the car knows exactly what settings you want on the seat. It's about making things a little easier and faster.