Is HP MediaSmart computers are Racists?

7:14 AM // 0 comments // ngsk // Category: News , Software , Technology //

You may be hearing that people are racist, have you ever heard that Face Tracking software could also be racist. Yes, it happened with HP developed Face Tracking software for its MediaSmart computers – watch the video below which was taken by Desi and Wanda of an electronic store.



Responding to huge number of mails and postings on different sites, HP posted a response on its Voodoo Blog and asserted that poor lighting or possibly faulty algorithms are responsible. An admin nicknamed Frosty wrote:

We are working with our partners to learn more. The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty “seeing” contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting.

He also added that, “camera might have difficulty 'seeing' contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting," and suggested users to visit a help page on facial tracking assistance in adjusting the brightness and contrast settings.

Following comments were given by Laptopmag by doing more research using some HP notebooks around his office.

Though it’s obvious that the bias isn’t racial in nature but instead based on lighting conditions and the camera’s ability to distinguish between shadow and human face, this does bring up an interesting question: when testing this software, how many of the involved project members were dark-skinned? How many different lighting conditions were tested? The software was likely developed by a third party, not HP, so this is probably an issue on a number of webcams across several manufacturers. Perhaps this incident is an indication that the software makers should involve a greater pool of testers when designing these features.

To know about his research visit his blog page