Google and the Brave New World

[WhiteTara]

So soon, your "friend" can take your picture with their smart phone and Google will give them all the info the internets have to offer. The indigenous people in many countries think picture taking is soul stealing...this feels even more sinister. (Spoken like a true child of the '60s.)

http://mashable.com/2011/03/31/google-face-recognition-app/

Google is working on a facial recognition mobile app that would allow users to snap a picture of a friend or new acquaintance — and then access his or her Google Profile contact information, according to multiple reports.

The as-yet-unnamed app is capable of grabbing a Google Profile user’s name, email address and phone number. The technology is also capable of accessing Twitter, Facebook, Flickr or other online photos and data.

Naturally, Google has to wrestle with the privacy implications. How do you harness the power of this technology while still allowing individuals to maintain some semblance of anonymity?

Right now, Google is working on an opt-in model. Google Profile users have to elect to participate, and they must explicitly give Google permission to use their profile data and picture. If they don’t, the photo app won’t recognize them.

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