When Facial Recognition Tech Is Wrong
Uncanny Valley | WIRED18 Maalis 2022

When Facial Recognition Tech Is Wrong

Like a lot of tech solutions to complex problems, facial recognition algorithms aren't perfect. But when the technology is used to identify suspects in criminal cases, those flaws in the system can have catastrophic, life-changing consequences. People can get wrongly identified, arrested, and convicted, often without ever being told they were ID’d by a computer. It’s especially troubling when you consider false identifications disproportionately affect women, young people, and people with dark skin—basically everyone other than white men.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior writer Khari Johnson joins us to talk about the limits of facial recognition tech, and what happens to the people who get misidentified.

Show Notes:

Read Khari’s stories about how facial recognition tech has led to wrongful arrests that derailed people’s lives. Here’s Lauren’s story about Garmin’s Fenix smartwatch. (And here’s WIRED’s review of the latest model.) Arielle’s story about the wave of shows about Silicon Valley tech founders is here.

Recommendations:

Khari recommends hoagies. Lauren recommends Garmin smartwatches. Mike recommends the show The Dropout on Hulu.

Khari Johnson can be found on Twitter @kharijohnson. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(427)

WIRED Roundup: Grokipedia, Real Estate AI Videos, Alpha School

WIRED Roundup: Grokipedia, Real Estate AI Videos, Alpha School

In today’s episode, WIRED’s Brian Barrett is joined by Leah Feiger to run through five stories that you need to know about this week — from the release of Grokipedia to real estate entering its AI slo...

31 Loka 202523min

How to Hack a Poker Game

How to Hack a Poker Game

Last week, the US Justice Department published an indictment involving NBA stars and members of the mob for allegedly running a network of rigged gambling games. One of their rigging tactics was a man...

30 Loka 202531min

BIG INTV: Why Nicholas Thompson Made a Custom GPT to Run Faster

BIG INTV: Why Nicholas Thompson Made a Custom GPT to Run Faster

The Atlantic CEO’s new book, The Running Ground, examines his complicated relationship with the sport. Nicholas Thompson, former WIRED editor, talks to Katie about the ways tech is helping him become ...

28 Loka 202550min

WIRED Roundup: Protest Frogs, Google Bedbugs, AI Psychosis

WIRED Roundup: Protest Frogs, Google Bedbugs, AI Psychosis

In today’s episode, Zoë is joined by WIRED’s Louise Matsakis to run through five stories that you need to know about this week — from how SEO is changing in the era of AI, to how frogs became a protes...

24 Loka 202522min

How Data Centers Actually Work

How Data Centers Actually Work

Tech giants have been investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI data centers just this year alone. But as the deals pile up, so have the concerns around their viability and sustainability. Mik...

23 Loka 202528min

BIG INTV: Zohran Mamdani, the Internet’s Mayor

BIG INTV: Zohran Mamdani, the Internet’s Mayor

Mere months ago, New York's mayoral frontrunner was polling at the same level as literally "someone else." Zohran Mamdani talks to Katie about building a social media juggernaut, Big Tech capitulation...

20 Loka 202532min

WIRED Roundup: Satellites Data Leak, Cybertrucks, Politicized Federal Workers

WIRED Roundup: Satellites Data Leak, Cybertrucks, Politicized Federal Workers

In today’s episode, Zoë is joined by WIRED’s Jake Lahut to run through five stories that you need to know about this week — from how satellites are leaking sensitive data to what Zoë learned after int...

17 Loka 202521min

The New Power of Far-Right Influencers

The New Power of Far-Right Influencers

History professor Mark Bray is no stranger to death threats. As the author of the book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, published in 2017, he has received backlash and harassment from far-right circ...

16 Loka 202532min