We started off 2019 with a social media challenge called the #10YearChallenge. It really isn’t a challenge but an opportunity for people to feel better about themselves, to demonstrate climate change, or to create some great memes. After this “challenge” started there was some debating over how the “challenge” images were being used.
Now I can not say for sure how companies, including my favorite… Facebook, are using the images but I don’t doubt that some organization out there is more than likely using the images to help train their facial recognition model. But they are probably using all our pictures that have been posted on social media. There is even a debate that insurance companies can be using the images to see how you have changed over time, you know… to see if you are or are not taking care of yourself.
I have no idea where this “challenge” started but it was a great opportunity to get more and more facial pictures out there, including new ones we had not seen before. Participate all you want, if it makes you feel better, but I beg you to think before you post. Is it really important for you to get the picture out there? Is it really important for you to be sharing personal images of yourself? People say most of these pictures are already out there but maybe that is true for “Hollywood”… not sure for the other participants though. Once again… I don’t know the answers but I am certainly going to question the process and motives of organizations that are out there. I am all for better facial recognition models, but I don’t want to help train it.
Wired article debating if it is a harmless meme
CBS This Morning interview with the Wired author, Kate O’Neill
