megaquake
The Download: facial recognition for migrant children, and Japan's megaquake
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to collect and analyze photos of the faces of migrant children at the border in a bid to improve facial recognition technology, MIT Technology Review can reveal. The technology has traditionally not been applied to children, largely because training data sets of real children's faces are few and far between, and consist of either low-quality images drawn from the internet or small sample sizes with little diversity. Such limitations reflect the significant sensitivities regarding privacy and consent when it comes to minors. In practice, the new DHS plan could effectively solve that problem. But, beyond concerns about privacy, transparency, and accountability, some experts also worry about testing and developing new technologies using data from a population that has little recourse to provide--or withhold--consent. What Japan's "megaquake" warning really tells us On August 8, at 16:42 local time, a magnitude-7.1 earthquake shook southern Japan.