S.T.O.P. Welcomes Microsoft Removal Of ‘Emotion Recognition’ Software, Calls On Company To Stop Other Biased Products

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Welcomes Microsoft Removal Of ‘Emotion Recognition’ Software, Calls On Company To Stop Other Biased Products   [NEW YORK, NY, 06/21/2022] -- Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, welcomes Microsoft’s removal of access to emotion recognition software in Azure Face, but the civil rights group called for Microsoft to go further, stopping sales of all biased products. It specifically demanded Microsoft to cease selling and supporting its controversial Domain Awareness System policing software.   SEE: Microsoft to retire controversial facial recognition tool that claims to identify emotion https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/21/23177016/microsoft-retires-emotion-recognition-azure-ai-tool-api   “It doesn’t take a supercomputer to see why 'emotion recognition' is a bad idea,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “This technology may struggle to understand how human beings really feel, but it makes most of us feel pretty alarmed. The truth is that the technology is crude at best, only able to decipher a small subset of users at most. But even if the technology were improved, it would still penalize anyone who’s neurodivergent. Like most behavioral AI, diversity is penalized, and those who think differently are treated as a danger. While this is an important step, Microsoft still has a long way to go in cleaning up its civil rights track record. The firm still profits from the Domain Awareness System, Orwellian intelligence software built in partnership with the NYPD. The Domain Awareness System, and the AI policing systems it enables, raise the exact same concerns as emotion recognition, only the DAS is profitable. If Microsoft, truly wants to live up to its civil rights principles, then it’s time to discontinue the DAS too.”   The civil rights group previously organized advocacy efforts against Microsoft’s continued development and support for the Domain Awareness System. Microsoft has partnered with the NYPD on the DAS since 2008, and the NYPD is set to spend $31.4 million more on it in 2020 alone. Through this partnership the City of New York also receives a 30% commission anytime another jurisdiction purchases the DAS technology from Microsoft. SEE:  S.T.O.P., 18 Civil Rights Groups Call on Microsoft to End NYPD Surveillance Partnership https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2020/6/29/rx1g0bfh1d12f2e4ra234mtr7vrmvi Ditch the DAS Organizational Sign-On Letter https://www.stopspying.org/s/2020-06-29-Ditch-DAS-Sign-On-Letter.pdf The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   - END – CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn.     Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.