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Face masks are one of the best defenses against the spread of COVID-19, but their growing adoption is having a second, unintended effect: breaking facial recognition algorithms（算法）.

Wearing face masks that adequately cover the mouth and nose causes the error rate of some of the most widely used facial recognition algorithms to rise to between 5 percent and 50 percent, a study by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found.Black masks were more likely to cause errors than blue masks, and the more of the nose covered by the mask, the harder the algorithms found it to identify the face.

“We need to understand how face recognition technology deals with masked faces,” said the author of the report and NIST computer scientist."We have begun by focusing on how an algorithm developed before the pandemic (大流行病)might be affected by subjects wearing face masks.Later this summer, we plan to test the accuracy of algorithms that were intentionally developed with masked faces in mind.”

Facial recognition algorithms such as those tested by NIST work by measuring the distances between features in a target\ face.Masks reduce the accuracy of these algorithms by removing most of these features, although some still remain.This is slightly different from how facial recognition works on iPhones, for example, which use depth sensors for extra security, ensuring that the algorithms can't be fooled by showing the camera a picture (a danger that is not present in the scenarios NIST is concerned with).

Comment 1

Well, that's one good thing to come out of the pandemic.Mass surveillance is nonsense.Time to pair masks up with sunglasses to deliver the decisive stroke.

Comment 2

"Wearing face masks that adequately cover the mouth and nose causes the error rate of some of the most widely used facial recognition algorithms to rise sharply" Rubbish technology! I would've never guessed.

Comments

There9 s a reason why some country is already using gait（步态）analysis.Facial recognition is too easy to block or to fool.

Comment 4

Pretty soon they are going to do...analysis.With the development of Al, there will be a way out.

Comment 5

The Al's getting better, though, so soon it won't matter.Just like how you can pick out a relative or close friend even in bad CCTV footage, so too can AI.Your height, walking gait, mannerisms, voice, ears, clothing, etc, all add up to YOU.