In Machines We Trust MIT Technology Review

Cameras in stores aren’t anything new—but these days there are AI brains behind the electric eyes. In some stores, sophisticated systems are tracking customers in almost every imaginable way, from recognizing their faces to gauging their age, their mood, and virtually gussying them up with makeup. The systems rarely ask for people’s permission, and for the most part they don’t have to. In our season 1 finale, we look at the explosion of AI and face recognition technologies in retail spaces, and what it means for the future of shopping.

We meet:
RetailNext CTO Arun Nair,
L'Oreal's Technology Incubator Global VP Guive Balooch,
Modiface CEO Parham Aarabi
Biometrics pioneer and Chairman of ID4Africa Joseph Atick

Credits:
This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Emma Cillekens and Karen Hao. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and Gideon Lichfield.

Two weeks after her forced exit, the AI ethics researcher reflects on her time at Google, how to increase corporate accountability, and the state of the AI field.

We meet:
Dr. Timnit Gebru

Find more reporting:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/16/1014634/google-ai-ethics-lead-timnit-gebru-tells-story/
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/04/1013294/google-ai-ethics-research-paper-forced-out-timnit-gebru/

Google's email to employees:
https://twitter.com/JeffDean/status/1334953632719011840

Gebru's email to the listserv Google Brain Women and Allies:
https://www.platformer.news/p/the-withering-email-that-got-an-ethical

The petition from Google Walkout:
https://googlewalkout.medium.com/standing-with-dr-timnit-gebru-isupporttimnit-believeblackwomen-6dadc300d382

Credits:
This episode was reported by Karen Hao, edited by Jennifer Strong, Niall Firth, Gideon Lichfield and Michael Reilly, and produced with help from Anthony Green, Emma Cillekens and Benji Rosen.

Face mapping and other tracking systems are changing the sports experience in the stands and on the court. In part-three of this latest series on facial recognition, Jennifer Strong and the team at MIT Technology Review jump on the court to unpack just how much things are changing. 

We meet: 
Donnie Scott, senior vice president of public security, IDEMIA
Michael D'Auria, vice president of business development, Second Spectrum
Jason Gay, sports columnist, The Wall Street Journal
Rachel Goodger, director of business development, Fancam
Rich Wang, director of analytics and fan engagement, Minnesota Vikings

Credits: 
This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Emma Cillekens and Karen Hao. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and Gideon Lichfield. 

Facial recognition technology is being deployed in housing projects, homeless shelters, schools, even across entire cities—usually without much fanfare or discussion. To some, this represents a critical technology for helping vulnerable communities gain access to social services. For others, it’s a flagrant invasion of privacy and human dignity. In this episode, we speak to the advocates, technologists, and dissidents dealing with the messy consequences that come when a technology that can identify you almost anywhere (even if you’re wearing a mask) is deployed without any clear playbook for regulating or managing it.

We meet: 
Eric Williams, senior staff attorney at Detroit Justice Center
Fabian Rogers, community advocate at Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
Helen Knight, founder of Tech for Social Good
Ray Bolling, president and co-founder of Eyemetric Identity Systems
Mary Sunden, executive director of the Christ Church Community Development Corporation

Credits: 
This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Emma Cillekens, and Karen Hao. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and Gideon Lichfield.

Moves have been made to restrict the use of facial recognition across the globe. In part one of this series on face ID, Jennifer Strong and the team at MIT Technology Review explore the unexpected ways the technology is being used, including how the technology is being turned on police.  

We meet: 
Christopher Howell, data scientist and protester. 

Credits: 
This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Tate Ryan-Mosley and Emma Cillekens, and Karen Hao. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and Gideon Lichfield.

The use of facial recognition by police has come under a lot of scrutiny. In part three of our four-part series on face ID, host Jennifer Strong takes you to Sin City, which actually has one of America’s most buttoned-up policies on when cops can capture your likeness. She also finds out why celebrities like Woody Harrelson are playing a starring role in conversations about this technology. This episode was originally published August 12, 2020.

We meet: 
Albert Fox Cahn, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
Phil Mayor, ACLU Michigan
Captain Dori Koren, Las Vegas Police 
Assistant Chief Armando Aguilar, Miami Police 

Credits: 
This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Tate Ryan-Mosley and Emma Cillekens. We had help from Benji Rosen and Karen Hao. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and Gideon Lichfield.