Last week in the US, a company called Alfi struck a deal to give 10 tablets with facial recognition cameras to Uber and Lyft drivers. The special tablets will display ads to passengers, while artificial intelligence will track their reactions to the content shown.
Alfi claims its technology uses “computer vision” to “recognize passenger demographics” and deliver “personalized content and ads.” According to the company, drivers who accept the tablet could receive a share of revenue of up to “$350,” if passengers actually watch the ads.
Company says algorithm tracks “tiny facial cues”
While the company's website says Alfi's algorithm tracks "small facial cues," the company's chief revenue officer wrote on LinkedIn that Alfi actually “uses computer vision to facial recognition”. But the company also says that it “respects users’ privacy; without tracking, storing cookies, or using personally identifiable information,” something provided for in the European privacy law GDPR.
In one recent presentation, Alfi chief executive Paul Pereira said: “Imagine you’re a 25-year-old woman wearing Gucci sunglasses, and you’re walking through an airport and every digital screen has ads curated just for you. So instead of seeing ads for nursing homes or wheelchairs — which aren’t relevant to you as a 25-year-old woman — you’ll see ads for women’s fashion and designer eyewear curated just for you.”
How Motherboard pointed out, while app drivers have an increasingly more difficult job precarious, extra income is always welcome. But Alfi seems like just another company taking advantage of this precarious situation to perform facial recognition on thousands and thousands of Uber and Lyft passengers, and to display even more ads. And the drivers earn very little in return.
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