I just got used to using my thumb print to unlock my deepest secrets when Apple seems to be dropping the technology. Why? It is said that the home button on the iPhone 8 will be incorporated into the screen and that the technology doesn’t so far work with fingerprint ID. Instead, it seems, we will get facial recognition. I remain to be convinced that it will work as effectively as my firmly placed thumb I am racked with trepidation. I know a lot about facial recognition.
Actually, it is an age-old science that has gone out of use of late. When I started my working life as a humble bank clerk we had no computers or mechanical aids to calculation. But one talent we did have by the spadeful was facial recognition. I instantly recognised any one of the several hundred customers of our particular branch. Cheques were cashed purely on face recognition, aided of course by a photographic memory for signatures which, I am sure, has also gone by the wayside. Even a recognised voice over the telephone was sufficient to move funds.
Sadly modern human — especially modern bank clerk — has entirely lost this useful ability to recognise faces. Mind you, I shouldn’t complain too much. I still have an impressive recognition ability; it’s just that nowadays I can’t put a name to the faces. I think I need a bit of technology.
Today, however, even The Queen or the Prime Minister or the Bundeskanzler would have to produce their respective Visa debit cards and trot out a PIN before getting past the bank’s gatekeeper. Heaven help the three of them if they forgot their Internet Banking Code or their Memorable Place (Leipzig? Balmoral? Maidenhead?). Or, let it be said, characters 2, 5 and 9 of gY7xc(!67mgklG%. That’s the one that always gets me and I can’t help feeling there must be a better way to build a fraud trap.
So it’s welcome news that faces are again coming back into vogue. Let Apple and other tech companies pave the way with their spiffy software to unlock their smartphones. But wouldn’t it be nice if your bank manager again took the trouble to remember who you are?
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Good face expression, bad photo lighting
Yes Don, I hardly recognise myself. But it was only a snapshot inside a cafe. Didn’t bother with the studio lighting this time!
A friend of mine has a saying ‘you’ve a great face for radio’. Facial and eyeball recognition has been around for some time at airports. Sometimes I have to remove my glasses, sometimes I don’t have to do this. Only once did I have an issue at Heathrow (of course) where they had lost the file with my photo. I received an apology (just about) for this mishap. Apart from glasses, hairstyle and facial hair changes could also make a difference.
As we speak there are bound to be some geniuses somewhere in a darkened room who are plotting how to copy facial profiles so that they can hack our devices. All giving new meaning to the old saying ‘your face is your fortune’.
The old real-time recognition from human beings is something that I value and often gives a good reason for giving repeat business. Another thing is an assistant or clerk that actually knows more about the product or service than oneself. Unfortunately, this is becoming all too rare in the here today, gone tomorrow retail world of today.
William