In a column for The Atlantic, Profs. Woodrow Hartzog and Evan Selinger highlight the importance of separating facial recognition apps and large databases in order to protect privacy and relative anonymity in public. “No matter how powerful a facial recognition app is designed to be, it can’t get the job done without being connected to a database that links names to faces,” they write, adding, “the key is to ensure legal and social pressure demands the same responsible behavior from database owners as it does from designers, hosts and users of facial recognition technologies.” Meanwhile, CNET News reports on an augmented reality app planned for Google Glass. The Brain app would lay data from the virtual world—such as a Facebook profile—over what’s being observed in the real world. The company’s chief executive said, “We are trying to develop the platform … to try to anticipate and understand what you need and what you want and then present it when you need it.”
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