To the Computer, You're Still Beautiful
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/weekinreview/12bigp.html?oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
The New York Times
December 12, 2004
To the Computer, You're Still Beautiful
By MATTHEW L. WALD
UNATTRACTIVE passport photos, once merely traditional, may become
mandatory. The reason is that computers do not like smiles.
A United Nations agency that sets standards for passports wants all
countries to switch to a document that includes a "biometric feature," a
digital representation of the bearer's face recorded on an embedded
computer chip. In airports and at border crossings, a machine will read the
chip to see if the information there matches the bearer's face. But the
machine can be flummoxed by smiles, which introduce teeth, wrinkles, seams
and other distortions.
The State Department issued instructions that passport photos "should be
neutral (non-smiling) with both eyes open, and mouth closed." In a grudging
sop to the irrepressible, a "smile with closed jaw is allowed, but is not
preferred."
A State Department spokeswoman pointed to another page of the Web site
where "neutral" had been changed to "natural." But it, too, said that the
mouth should be closed. Canada and Britain have issued similar instructions.
In the end, some critics say, the joke may be on the government, because
the face recognition system may deal poorly with aging, and a passport is
good for 10 years.
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R. A. Hettinga
On Sun, 12 Dec 2004, R.A. Hettinga wrote:
computer chip. In airports and at border crossings, a machine will read the chip to see if the information there matches the bearer's face. But the machine can be flummoxed by smiles, which introduce teeth, wrinkles, seams and other distortions.
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In the end, some critics say, the joke may be on the government, because the face recognition system may deal poorly with aging, and a passport is good for 10 years.
On the other hand, this provides a "reason" for passports to be reduced to 5 years. -- Yours, J.A. Terranson sysadmin@mfn.org 0xBD4A95BF Civilization is in a tailspin - everything is backwards, everything is upside down- doctors destroy health, psychiatrists destroy minds, lawyers destroy justice, the major media destroy information, governments destroy freedom and religions destroy spirituality - yet it is claimed to be healthy, just, informed, free and spiritual. We live in a social system whose community, wealth, love and life is derived from alienation, poverty, self-hate and medical murder - yet we tell ourselves that it is biologically and ecologically sustainable. The Bush plan to screen whole US population for mental illness clearly indicates that mental illness starts at the top. Rev Dr Michael Ellner
participants (2)
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J.A. Terranson
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R.A. Hettinga