FACE DANCERS

Face-recognition technology is already intruding as CCTV and other surveillance cameras gain the capacity to ID individuals on the street and in public places. Smartphone apps may soon allow cops, government agents and even private individuals to do the same. Fortunately, for outlaws, those concerned with basic privacy, and anyone else who objects to being face-booked, some good news has arrived. Anti-recognition camouflage face paint could soon be protecting the wearer against identification. Adam Harvey, a designer and technologist with NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, has begun reverse-engineering algorithms behind face detection. He generated a series of blocky images that could become the "building blocks of anti-surveillance makeup," and focused on the simplest yet most important patterns for foiling the face-recognition tech. Couple this with an alt-fashion, retro-Kiss, face-paint fad, and electronic Big Brother could be seriously thwarted.

“Anti-Face-Recognition Camo Images with a red square represent those where a face was found, whereas no red square meant the face escaped detection. "TEST PATTERNS" marks patterns made according to the reverse-engineering, while "RANDOM PATTERNS" shows random doodles made without the benefit of face-detection patterns. "NO PATTERNS" simply indicates how face detection algorithms work even on basic line drawings.” Click here for more.

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The secret word is Mask