Microsoft wants devs to take notes on their families (sends facial recognition data into the cloud)

The Register ^ | May 3, 2016 | Richard Chirgwin

[dayglored]

* All in a good cause: FamilyNotes is for learning the Face API *

Microsoft has GitHubbed a framework that could finally make an Internet-connected refrigerator useful: an application for family members to leave notes for each other.

Well, actually FamilyNotes is a developer demonstrator with two aims: to give developers more examples of putting code together in the Universal Windows Platform, and to help Microsoft understand how UWP is going.

The app, here, lets a user leave a note tagged for another user, and if the device (for example a tablet) identifies the recipient of the note (using facial recognition), it will show them the note.

While users can type messages to each other, Cortana is what Microsoft hopes will be the main means of interaction, and the Face API passes data to Microsoft Cognitive Services for facial recognition.

(Yes, faces are sent across the cloud. Put down the pitchforks: this is a demonstration and training exercise.)

The full list of features FamilyNotes demonstrates is:

• Speech recognition and speech synthesis by using the SpeechRecognizer and SpeechSynthesizer classes;
• User detection using the MediaCapture and FaceDetectionEffect classes;
• User facial recognition using the Microsoft Face API;
• Activation through Cortana voice commands, defined in
• VoiceCommands.xml (a VCD file), using VoiceCommands and Activation classes;
• Pen input using the InkCanvas API;
• JSON serialization using the DataContractJsonSerializer class; and
• Setting the app wallpaper using the Bing image of the day task snippet.

Since facial recognition is the key capability Microsoft wants to check out, it's probably worth wandering over to this link for some background reading.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/03/microsoft_wants_devs_to_take_notes_on_their_families/

[dayglored]

Probably less scary than it sounds, but worth keeping an eye on it (so to speak).

[dayglored]

Facial recognition technology ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

[dayglored]

Cool tech stuff ping...

[dayglored]

> Yes, faces are sent across the cloud. Put down the pitchforks: this is a demonstration and training exercise.)

Uh, huh...

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

What could go wrong, I can’t see any downside. /s/

[tacticalogic]

Probably less scary than it sounds, but worth keeping an eye on it (so to speak).

If there's going to be unintended consequences, it's probably best that the devs have to walk point.

[grania]

probably less scary than it sounds

You think? Information in the cloud about your personal eating habits in your own home? I know our privacy is a myth, but my gosh.

[Paine in the Neck]

"...this is a demonstration and training exercise."

Really?

For whom?

To do what?

[Resolute Conservative]

With the amount of minutia people post about their lives on Farcebook why would they care about this next level of intrusion?

[equaviator]

Yep. Appearing in and posting online porn pics and vids of themselves is just another form of social media to some of them.

[RitchieAprile]

Sounds to me like its for content management whereby the recipient’s ID is verified before the media becomes viewable.

We do that now using smart cards and a PIN.

Its just another twist on security by means of “knowing something, having something”.

[BenLurkin]

Goofy tech stuff

[dayglored]

> With the amount of minutia people post about their lives on Farcebook why would they care about this next level of intrusion?

Good point, but it will get all too interesting when look-alikes are accused of crimes they didn't commit, or get in trouble with their spouses for being somewhere they weren't. I don't believe computers are nearly good enough to not make mistakes that can ruin people's lives.

The same problem has, of course, existed for centuries with identical twins. But this takes it to a whole new level of potential trouble.

The next thing we'll hear is that someone develops a technology for a mask that can be made from the uploaded facial data, so that your neighbor can masquerade as you when they do something untoward. Just wait... :-)