Google paralyzes its facial recognition program after discovering that it used the homeless

Google has paralyzed the research program on facial recognition after it was learned that companies hired by the technology company paid homeless African-Americans with a gift check to carry out a scan of their faces.

Last week, “The New York Daily News” reported that one of the companies contracted by Google in Atlanta, USA to research and improve facial recognition technology, scanned the faces of homeless African Americans.

According to an anonymous source, this decision was made without a Google representative. A second source detailed to the aforementioned outlet that workers were tasked with locating homeless people and college students in California because they would be more open to receiving a gift voucher from $ 5 in exchange for your face scan.

This information led Google to paralyze the program to improve the facial recognition system, launched for the company’s next smartphone, the Pixel 4, and with the intention of avoiding bias in black people, reports “The New York Times ».

In Atlanta, likewise, local authorities demanded an explanation from Google for these events. “The possibility that members of our most vulnerable population are being exploited to advance your company’s business interests is deeply alarming for numerous reasons,” wrote the Atlanta prosecutor. Nina hickson.

A company spokesperson said in a statement that Google «we take these claims seriously». Likewise, he explained that the technology company hired other companies to scan the faces of volunteers, and that they are investigating the facts.