This week we examine the early biological theories on crime. While the early theories are long abandoned in criminology, there is a surprising resurgence of these pseudo-scientific ideas. Read this article – The disturbing junk science of craniometry is enjoying a resurgence. Should we be worried that the technology of facial recognition relies on these outdated ideas?
Please leave at least three comments. One is your original contribution. And two comments are you replies to your classmates. Deadline: 10/10/21, 11:59 pm.
31 thoughts on “Discussion Forum 6: Facial Recognition and Early Biological Theories”
We should not be worried that the technology of facial recognition relies on these outdated ideas because many things are repeating itself. For example, Crawford says “we’re seeing a rerun, because it’s an easy way to create a metric – to simplify the world so that it can be quantified and computationally processed.” The skull shape and facial feature plays a very important role in determining what a person is actually capable of. Due to the facial recognition software, “the idea that skull shapes and facial features are indicative of peoples’ character or social identity is enjoying a worrying comeback.” The facial recognition technology is designed to analyze candidates’ language, tone of voice and facial expressions when they are asked a series of identical job questions. Facial measurements are indicative of a person’s chance to become employed. These are all factors that must be considered.
Hi Amy, I think that we should be concerned since we cannot allow racism to continue to exist, this is a problem that must be eliminated from the world, no one should be judged by the color or skin or by how he looks.
Hello Amy, I agree with you that we should not be worried that the technology of facial recognition relies on these outdated ideas. It is obvious that there are people with similar shapes but even though we can look similar to others
we aren’t the same person.
We should be worried that this technology of facial recognition relies on outdated ideas, those outdated ideas are based on race and not actual science. Skin color should not determine whether a person is a criminal or not, this outdated ideas is a clear example on how white people believed they were superior than people of color. We have to stop criminalizing people based on their skin color, and this face recognition technology is not helping to do that. It is crazy to believe that a person could be a criminal based on the shape/size of their skull, instead of focusing on the sociological factors that influence that person’s behavior.
I agree with you, Skin color should not determine whether a person is a criminal or not much less the size or shape of their skull.
Hi Julio. You have a very good point here. There are some factors that we should consider due to these outdated ideas. I agree that “We have to stop criminalizing people based on their skin color…”
Hello Julio, I would say that I agree when you said that “skin color should not determinate whether a person is a criminal or not”. This is an example of how most of the white people used to see African Americans years ago.
I think that we should be concerned since in the 19th skull size was used, by pseudo-scientists, as a spurious way to claim the inherent superiority of white people over black people. Skull shapes and facial features should not indicant peoples’ character or social identity. We return to the crucial problem we face today of racism where no one should be judged for how they look for their skin color, much less for the size or shape of their skull.
Yes!! No one should be judged based on their skin color or size/shape of their skull. That is clear racism !
Hi Endrika. You also have very point. Racism is still a problem we face today. It should not be going on for so long.
Hi Endrika, I agree, It’s even ridiculous that people think skull shapes would tell if a person is a criminal.
Hello,
We should be worried about the resurgence of craniometry, especially when it’s used alongside facial recognition programs and systems to determine employability. When these systems are trained in a way to start associating certain features with certain types of character, or level of likely success in a job it becomes an issue. This is problematic because it has no basis in science or reality–rather in racism. It’s not how you look that determines anything about you let alone if you are criminal or will be bad at a job. That’s more of an environmental question.
I 100% agree with you Cuffia, we should be worried about this outdated methods where they criminalized people based on their skin color, and you are correct about what defines a person being a bad employee or a criminal, its the outside factors and environment that create that type of individual.
We should be worried that the technology of facial recognition is related to outdated ideas, I don’t think that the shape of the skull would determine if someone is or would be a criminal or not. I think that social and psychological factors are those that play the roles in that not the skin color or the shape of the skull. But is very disappointing to think that even to these days these ideas might be considered.
Hi Andiela, I agree with you. Yes, I also don’t think the shape of a skull neither skin tone determines if a person is a criminal or not.
We should not be worried that the technology of facial recognition relies on these outdated ideas. According to the article, during the 19th and 20th century, biological determinists and pseudoscientists used skull shapes and face measurements to categorized what they believed were genetically inherited traits belonging to particular groups. Also the shape of a skull nor skin tone does not determine if a person is a criminal. It’s ridiculous to even think that or it being a conversation which all of this comes down to racism today for African Americans.
We should be worried because it isn’t true and this technology is being used as though it is real and that physical attributes do determine skillfulness, intelligence, and chances of being a criminal. This technology’s use also reinforces racism and grouping people in to categories based on appearance. We need to take down the systemic racism and this technology would contribute to it.
is not abut just African American when we talk about racism, it’s everyone else that is not white, racism exist towards all different ethnicities.
I never said racism only exist within African Americans but we do most likely get racially profiled more than all the other ethnicities.
I agree but we shouldn’t rely on this database because as you said we can’t determine if someone is guilty of a crime just by a shape of a skull we need more insight of who in reality in the person.
I think it’s outrageous that skull shape or size could even be a thing considered when someone is simply just existing
I would like to say that we shouldn’t be worried that the technology of facial recognition relies on these outdated ideas because no matter the time that has passed our appearance shows our culture, gender, and ethnicity. There are also other ways to identify an individual if those don’t work at all. Nowadays we do not only see skeletons to identify a person because it is possible to do that with different methods.
yes I can agree on that new technology is always growing but we have to think of society how it affects the people
I believe we should be worried that the technology of facial recognition relies on these outdated ideas because although it’s a technology that can identify individuals from images and video based on an analysis of their facial features. A facial recognition system can also be used to accomplish one of two different tasks verification or identification. On the other hand, Facial recognition technology can be developed by grating millions of images from social media profiles and driver’s licenses, without people’s consent. The software then runs a facial analysis of images captured on CCTV or other video surveillance to search for potential matches against the database of scraped images. Therefore, it led to having a racial bias according to the article they used skull-shaped and face measurements to categorize what they believe belong to particular groups. This just shows how they are relying on technology that might not even be accurate it just goes by physical characteristics how can someone determine if a person is a criminal you can’t they would just go for the skin-colored person instead.
Do you believe there should be a different result when using facial recognition ?
I think we should be worry because technology seems to get outdated of ideas of many things getting repeated itself. As the article says, ” IBM’S says history has shown that when physical information is collected to separate and classify different groups of people, it can amplify information the artificial distinctions that others create. It shows that had many problems before with the technology can’t always be accurate.
I think we should be worried that the technology of facial recognition relies on these outdated ideas. O’Brien says “AI systems that have error rates of no more than 1 per cent for lighter-skinned men miss up to 35 per cent for darker-skinned women”. By someones skin color it shouldn’t be classified as a criminal because anyone can be a criminal no matter what skin color one is. Also, crainiometry shouldn’t determain if the skull shape and face measurements, what pseudoscientists believed where inherited traits, belong to particular group. How can the shape of a skull and face measurements be associated to a particular group?
Upon reading the information provided . I dislike the idea of facial recognition more than i did before despite the fact that i use it . I don’t understand how one can be racially profiled off of perceived race or the skull of said person . It doesn’t come across as logical to me as all . With the technology in this day and age it is shown many times that individuals are pretending to be ” african american / or of darker melanin to commit crimes. It pushes a harmful notion on communities that are already negatively effected and over policed as is for simply existing . I also blame statistics for having a role in these problems because of lack of trust for public servants the correct information is not always collected leading to the spread of misinformation by the masses.
Should we be worried that the technology of facial recognition relies on these outdated ideas? I say yes we should be worried about the technology of facial recognition that relies on these outdated ideas because these antiquated beliefs are based more on race rather than science. This outdated belief that skin color determines whether a person is a criminal or not is a vivid illustration of how white people felt when they were superior to people of color. We must end criminalizing people based on their skin color, and facial recognition technology is not assisting us in this endeavor. It’s absurd to suppose that a person’s personality may be influenced by the shape or size of their skull rather than the sociocultural elements that impact that person’s behavior.