EMOTION RECOGNITION TECH, SNAP SPEED FILTER & AFRO-LATINX REPRESENTATION
Darlene is taking a well-deserved vacation this week and we miss her terribly. While she’s Instagramming her way through a hiker’s paradise, I’m attempting to fill her v. large, v. cool shoes. Here’s what’s on my radar:
“Emotion Recognition” technology is coming our way, and it’s terrifying. The Guardian first reported this in May, but there’s been a lot of recent buzz about a bit of tech from a company called Taigusys, which is already being used by a handful of Chinese corporations to monitor employees, supposedly detecting not just their facial expressions but the emotions underlying them—and going so far as to promise it can differentiate a genuine smile from a fake one. It’s Big Brother on a whole other level, and critics say the tech is based on a whole bunch of pseudoscience and stereotyping and is extremely inaccurate, not to mention unethical. But companies are still using it, and “emotion recognition” is projected to be a $36B industry by 2023, so our dystopian future is closer than we all might think.
In less terrible news, Snapchat finally pulled its “speed” filter, which clocks the speed you’re moving at, and has been linked to a bunch of reckless driving incidents. Teens have gotten into accidents trying get selfies going above 100 mph, and have caused injuries, death, and yielded a few different lawsuits. And finally, as of yesterday, Snap confirmed that it’s removing the feature. Better late than never, I suppose.
This week, there’s been a lot of conversation about the lack of Afro-Latinx representation in IN THE HEIGHTS’ version of Washington Heights. It’s a complicated issue that’s wrapped up in a history of colorism in Hollywood (and writ large across many cultures, globally). Lin-Manuel apologized and promised to do better. Rita Morena stepped in to defend him in a way that felt dismissive of the legitimate concerns of Black people who were speaking up. Ultimately, she apologized as well. But what’s more interesting to me is what happens next. Monica Castillo dug into the idea in greater depth on NPR, and makes the point succinctly and smartly: “IN THE HEIGHTS wasn't going to solve decades of media exclusion and centuries of colorism, but perhaps it can start a movement towards a diversity that is actually inclusive.”
And to close on a promising note, Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19) officially became a federal holiday as of President Biden’s signing that legislation into law on Thursday. He called it one of the “greatest honors of his presidency” to commemorate the end of slavery in this way. For a little more context on Juneteenth and its history, check out this quick and excellent TikTok from @taylorcassidyj.
—Neha Gandhi, EVP, Digital & Strategy
