No computer yet has been developed that matches the capabilities of what the human brain is able to do. While computers are, in fact, able to make incredible calculations in real-time that humans would never be able to execute on their own, artificial technology isn’t yet capable of doing things like interpreting people’s emotions or differentiating people’s faces from one another with high levels of accuracy.
For some years, however, tech gurus have developed facial recognition software that can be used in a variety of applications.
Social media applications have long wanted to utilize facial recognition technology for a number of reasons. Facebook has for a few years to help recommend friends for existing users based on pictures they post of other people who already have Facebook profiles.
Since Facebook has been using facial recognition technology to recommend potential friends to existing users based on the photos they post, the world’s most social media network has never once asked users whether they’re okay with their photos being scanned for such information.
Now, according to a new announcement rolled out by Facebook yesterday, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, Facebook will be changing how it deals with asking for users’ consent regarding the utilization of facial recognition technology.
All Facebook users will now have access to Facebook’s facial recognition technology. New users will have the liberty of being forced to opt in to the use of facial recognition technology on Facebook in order to reap the benefits – and potential downfalls – of what Facebook has worked many years to develop.
Users who currently don’t have facial recognition technology settings turned on will be asked by Facebook automatically if they’re interested in allowing the social media giant to browse through their pictures and use its facial recognition technology on them.
These settings are known officially by facebook as Face Recognition settings. Face Recognition settings are replacing the platform’s existing utilization of facial recognition technology, which comes in the form of Tag Suggestions. With Tag Suggestions, users are notified if other users or profiles have uploaded pictures of them that match up with their own pictures that they’ve uploaded to the social networking platform. Face Recognition first came out in 2017, though not everybody had access to it at this time.
In order to change your settings regarding Face Recognition on Facebook, simply head over to Settings and click under the Privacy menu.
