Madison Square Garden bans Girl Scout troop mom using facial recognition – Time for a CV Dazzle badge for Girl Scouts?

Adafruit has an interesting (and alarming) piece about an incident of invasive and bizarre facial recognition law enforcement:

When Kelly Conlon joined her daughter’s Girl Scout troop for a fun outing to see the Rockettes perform their Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall in New York, she had no idea she would end up booted from the show once she entered the building.

Security stopped Conlon, NBC New York reported, because she is a New Jersey lawyer. It seems that Madison Square Garden Entertainment has begun using facial recognition technology to identify any visitor to any of its venues—including Radio City Music Hall …

…Conlon has never practiced law in New York nor personally been involved in litigation against MSG Entertainment. Instead, she is guilty by association …

…she told NBC that she posed no threat at the Rockettes show, insisting, “I was just a mom taking my daughter to see a Christmas show.” She described her experience as “embarrassing” and “mortifying.”

As Adafruit comments, it may be time to start getting serious about computer vision Dazzle, hair and make-up designed to thwart facial recognition software.

Adafruit then has some fun imagining Girl Scout Merit Badges for cybersecurity.

Read the full piece here.

• 
  Scientists create facial recognition network to mass surveil seals
  

  
  
  From AP News: A research team at Colgate University has developed SealNet, a database of seal faces created by taking pictures of dozens of harbor seals in Maine’s Casco Bay. The team found the tool’s accuracy in identifying the marine mammals is close to 100%, which is no small accomplishment in an ecosystem home to… READ THE REST

• 
  Artists disrupting facial recognition technologies
  

  
  
  Here are two fascinating projects that both seek to disrupt facial recognition technologies and resist the pervasive intrusion of our current surveillance society.  The first is called “URME Surveillance,” by Leo Selvaggio. Selvaggio is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on new media, public engagement, and the ways in which identity and technology converge. Selvaggio… READ THE REST

• 
  Stolen guitar recovered after 45 years using facial recognition technology
  

  
  
  Randy Bachman lost his most beloved Gretsch in 1976. The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist had bought the 1957 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins guitar when he was just 18 years old, with money saved up from doing odd jobs around town. Back then, it cost $400; today, it’s worth about $15,000. When it was… READ THE REST

• 
  Get the coziest night of sleep with this weighted blanket, now 49% off
  

  
  
  We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. The difference between a good night’s sleep and a bad night’s sleep is immeasurable. When you toss and turn all night, you just can’t operate well the next day. But when… READ THE REST

• 
  Get nearly half off this refurbished Lenovo Chromebook, now under $150
  

  
  
  We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. You don’t want to be tethered to your home office desk in a remote working world. That flexibility to work from anywhere is too enticing to pass up. If you want… READ THE REST

• 
  This wine subscription is perfect for drinking 2022 into the sunset
  

  
  
  We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. We’ve all got our favorite go-to drinks. Some of us drink beer, some of us drink soda, but for the very elite, wine is always on the brain. Could be something… READ THE REST