Surveillance

AWS brings Amazon One palm-scanning authentication to the enterprise

https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/28/aws-brings-amazon-one-palm-scanning-authentication-technology-to-the-enterprise/ I always buy my coffee from the cart outside the building. It’s not that his coffee is better than the franchise in reception – although it is! It’s not some statement about supporting small businesses. It’s that taking a few moments to queue up, have a chat about the… Read the rest

Ice Ring gives 24/7 health tracking the finger

https://newatlas.com/wearables/ice-ring-omate/ I know traditional weddings aren’t everyone’s taste. But we earned the full experience: dressing up, pretty location, the music, even the arguments about which relatives to sit where. And we spent ages on the vows and the pre-nup: promising to share the data, to watch over each other’s feeds,… Read the rest

Callyope monitors mental health through speech-based technology

https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/21/callyope-monitors-mental-health-through-speech-based-technology/ When he was a baby we had the baby monitor and the babycam. Like all new parents we spent hours glued to them in the early days but then they became everyday, sitting in the corner of the room unnoticed until we head something unusual. It was just good… Read the rest

Powder, an AI clipping tool for gaming, can detect when a creator yells during a stream

https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/20/powder-an-ai-clipping-tool-for-gaming-can-detect-when-a-creator-yells-during-a-stream/ The inquiry had asked for the recordings. He was happy to oblige. Nothing to hide. Nothing to see or hear here. He’d told the Chair of the inquiry that he’d get the recordings over the next day. He’d proudly explained that his was a transparent company and that its… Read the rest

Spray-on sensors can turn any clothing into motion-sensing technology

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2402474-spray-on-sensors-can-turn-any-clothing-into-motion-sensing-technology Look, there’s money attached. Budget. Extra budget and we’re behind in the league tables. We need to up our game .. if you’ll forgive the… The Department has made it clear. Unless our school gets its ranking higher, we’re going to miss out on this year’s extra funding. There’s… Read the rest

Police Use of Face Recognition Is Sweeping the UK

https://www.wired.com/story/uk-police-face-recognition-expansion/ There’s always one open to the idea. They’re not paid much and its not hard work. And they’re easily persuaded. There’s no big moral debates, as we say: “no-one gets hurt”. I think they’re open to it because they know that there is so much data – theirs and… Read the rest

MPs join campaign group’s call for facial recognition ban

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/national/23837679.mps-join-campaign-groups-call-facial-recognition-ban/ My mates and I go looking for them. The best place is on the main streets of course. That’s convenient because it’s easier to go straight into the shops. My parents are outraged. They keep going on about privacy, freedom. You should see my dad’s attempts at hiding his… Read the rest

Researchers developed 3D-printed sensors that can record brain activity on earbuds

https://www.engadget.com/researchers-developed-3d-printed-sensors-that-can-record-brain-activity-on-earbuds-150000043.html?src=rss Musicians? They’ve always been a pain. We’re the ones who make the music. Fifth Beatle? Remember that? We know how to turn their inarticulate, often tuneless ideas into hits. And we know what people want to listen to. Egotist rock stars! They’d be nowhere without us. There’s no point… Read the rest

Your Boss’s Spyware Could Train AI to Replace You

https://www.wired.com/story/corporate-surveillance-train-ai Obviously we’re irreplaceable. Goes without saying that the business needs us. We brought the systems in. We’ve rolled them out across the company and we’re the ones who decided what to measure. The whole point has been to see where we can reconfigure, what we can do differently, who… Read the rest