Facial recognition is technology, which (surprise!) recognizes a human face using video or photograph features. Then the face is compared to the database to find any matches. This technology is used to verify the identity of users and is applied in a variety of spheres: from banking and police to creating smartphones and gaming.
However, even though this technology may significantly improve the quality and security of services, it stirs lots of privacy issues. Many users are afraid to lose sensitive data and are not sure whether the technology is secure.
Today we will tell more about the impact of facial recognition on the gaming industry and will try to highlight both pros and cons of the technology. Hopefully, after finishing reading you’ll be able to decide which side you are on!
Benefits this technology can offer
At the moment, facial recognition technology is widely used by multiple industries: governments and airports, universities and colleges, websites, businesses, retailers, marketers, and other organizations.
However, this technology has bloomed to the fullest only thanks to smartphone makers and game developers. Apple was the first to use facial recognition for unlocking iPhone X and further models. The chance that an unknown person will unlock the phone is only one in a million.
Another industry, which greatly benefits from technology is gaming. With the help of face recognition, platforms can verify the identity of players and prohibit access to underage users. Even though youngsters are trying to bypass the technology by uploading pictures of relatives, these attempts usually fail.
The next advantage is that players don’t have to worry about losing money when withdrawing casino winnings. Only you get access to the account and the funds. On such platforms like CasinoHEX, users can get familiar with platforms, which boast top-notch security of payouts.
It’s difficult to find a more useful technology when it comes to managing the anti-money laundering compliance. Facial recognition allows paying close attention to patrons and any transactions inside the game. Thus, suspicious activity may be immediately detected and stopped.
In addition, facial recognition greatly helps with preventing problem players from the platform. This technology allows identifying users and those, who were excluded from the game, won’t be able to join it again. Moreover, players that have chosen to block themselves, won’t have access to the platform.
Finally, this technology allows companies and websites to identify high-value players immediately. These may be regular users or those, who spend much. Websites reward them with a better experience, exclusive features, and more attention. Facial recognition may help platforms to provide personalized and top-notch customer support to players, who regularly enter the website.
Apart from gaming, facial recognition greatly helps with uncovering criminals, finding missing people, and solving minor disputes. Airports apply the technology on checkpoints and businesses – in stores and malls to detect thievery.
Compared to contact security measures like fingertips, facial recognition is a fast and automatic way to detect suspicious activity and to prevent any harm.
Facial recognition drawbacks
Unfortunately, facial recognition has not only positive but also negative features. The most popular drawback of this technology is privacy. Users are afraid that such intervention into personal life is inappropriate and goes against democratic principles. Moreover, some cities like San Francisco, Cambridge, and London have prohibited real-time facial recognition thinking that the cons of the technology outweigh its pros.
Another problem is that facial recognition is more effective when identifying white males. Women and people of colour may simply fail to enter their favourite game or website. The light and camera angle also greatly influence the result.
Finally, many players concern that sensitive data, which is kept in databases, may be lost or stolen. Especially considering how many hackers make a living by stealing personal information.
Is it worth the risk?
There are no ecological decisions when it comes to technologies and safety. If we want to apply facial recognition, improve our gaming experience, and get access to secure platforms, we’ll have to deal with civil liberties and privacy.
It is only up to you to decide whether such intervention is an affordable price to pay for all the conveniences the facial recognition technology has to offer. We’ll continue exploring the topic further and you will always be among the first to find out the latest news.