Group items tagged

Google came under fire this week after its new Photos app categorized photos in one of the most racist ways possible. On June 28th, computer programmer Jacky Alciné found that the feature kept tagging pictures of him and his girlfriend as "gorillas."

If you searched for "three white teenagers" on Google Images earlier this month, the result spat up shiny, happy people in droves - an R.E.M. song in JPG format. The images, mostly stock photos, displayed young Caucasian men and women laughing, holding sports equipment or caught whimsically mid-selfie. If you searched for "three black teenagers," the algorithm offered an array of mug shots.

"Facebook's News Feed-the main list of status updates, messages, and photos you see when you open Facebook on your computer or phone-is not a perfect mirror of the world. But few users expect that Facebook would change their News Feed in order to manipulate their emotional state."

"In December, I converted my one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco into a "smart home." I connected as many of my appliances and belongings as I could to the internet: an Amazon Echo, my lights, my coffee maker, my baby monitor, my kid's toys, my vacuum, my TV, my toothbrush, a photo frame, a sex toy, and even my bed."

A couple of years ago, I was heavily involved in analysing and reporting on the massive VTech hack, the one where millions of records were exposed including kids' names, genders, ages, photos and the relationship to parents' records which included their home address. Part of this data was collected via an IoT device called the InnoTab which is a wifi connected tablet designed for young kids; think Fisher Price designing an iPad... then totally screwing up the security.

"Nearly three years after the company was called out, it hasn't gone beyond a quick workaround"

Alex Najibi's research into racial discrimination within facial recognition technology