5 minutes talk

« H K I - A NG L A IS poi n t w he re t hey can combi ne facia l coding, voice sensing, gestu re t r ack i ng and gaze t rack i ng, he said, a less st i l ted way of i n te ract i ng w i t h mach i nes w i l l ensue. Fo r some, t h is t ype of technology ra ises an O rwel l ian specter.

A nd A ffect iva is awa re t ha t i ts face-read i ng sof twa re could st i r p r ivacy concerns.

B u t Dr.

K a l iouby said t ha t none of t he comi ng apps usi ng i ts sof twa re could record v ideo of people’s faces.

« T he sof t wa re uses i ts algo r i t h ms to read you r exp ressions, » she said, « bu t i t doesn’ t sto re t he f ra mes.

» So far, t he company’s algo r i t h ms have been used ma i n l y to mon i to r people’s exp ressions as a way to test ads, mov ie t r a i le rs and te levision shows i n advance.

I t is m uch cheaper to use a p rog ram to analyze faces t ha n to h i re people w ho have been t r a i ned i n face-read i ng. A ffect iva’s cl ien ts i ncl ude U n i lever, M a rs and Coca-Cola.

T he adve r t is i ng research agency M i l l wa rd B rown says i t has used A ffect iva’s technology to test abou t 3,000 ads fo r cl ien ts. Apps t ha t can respond to facia l cues may f i n d w ide use i n educa t ion, gam i ng, med ici ne and adve r t is i ng, said W i nslow Bu r leson , an assis tan t p rofessor of h u man-compu te r i n te ract ion a t A r izona Sta te U n ive rsi ty.

People w i t h au t ism, w ho can have a ha rd t i me read i ng facia l exp ressions, may be among t he benef icia r ies, Dr.

B u r leson said.

By wea r i ng Google Glass or other I n te r ne t-connected goggles w i t h cameras, t hey cou ld get clues to t he react ions of t he people w i t h w hom t hey we re t a l k i ng, clues t ha t could come v ia an earp iece as t he p rog ram t ra nsla tes facia l exp ressions. Bu t facia l-coding technology r a ises p r ivacy concerns as mo re and mo re of society’s i n te ract ions a re v ideotaped, said Gi nger McCa l l, a lawye r and p r i vacy advoca te i n Wash i ng ton.

« T he u ngua rded exp ressions t ha t f l i t across ou r faces a ren’ t always t he ones we wan t other people to read i ly i den t i fy, » Ms.

McCa l l said, fo r examp le, du r i ng a job i n te r v iew.

« We rely to some exten t on t he t r a nsience of t hose facia l exp ressions.

» She added: « P r iva te compan ies a re developi ng t h is technology now.

B u t you can be su re govern men t agencies, especia l ly i n secu r i ty, a re t a k i ng an i n te rest, too.

» Ms.

McCa l l ci ted severa l govern men t repo r ts, i ncl ud i ng a Na t iona l Defense Research I ns t i t u te repo r t t h is yea r t ha t d iscusses t he technology and i ts possib le app l ica t ions i n ai r po r t secu r i t y screen i ng. 2. »