Microsoft is putting a stop to its sketchy AI emotion recognition

Facial recognition is a hot-button topic and Microsoft is now pivoting its AI projects by ending its emotion recognition technology.

Microsoft is currently working on improving its ethics policies. Part of that update includes a new version of its Responsible AI Standards. The company defines this new Standard as a multi-year project to “define product development requirements for responsible AI.”

As part of this, the company is stopping (for the time being) its emotion response recognition projects available to Azure clients.

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So, why is Microsoft halting the project? One of the main reasons is no one really knows how to define emotion accurately, according to Natasha Crampton, Microsoft’s Chief Responsible AI Officer (h/t Gizmodo).

Because of this, the AI systems would be unable to accurately predict what emotions people are displaying. And, besides that, emotion recognition is just gross and shouldn’t be something businesses care about.

Companies have already tried to force workers to put a smile on their faces before meetings. Microsoft’s decision to put a halt to its Azure Face facial recognition services is a smart one.

Facial recognition is full of problems. Often, these systems can be trained using improper datasets and the use of facial recognition can lead to discrimination, misinformation, and privacy concerns.

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