VOA慢速英语2021--Facebook关闭面部识别系统

Facebook says it is ending its facial recognition system that automatically identifies users in pictures and videos.

The company's Vice¹ President of Artificial Intelligence, Jerome Pesenti, announced the change this week in a statement on the company's corporate² website.

Pesenti said the decision to end the system was "part of a company-wide move to limit the use of facial recognition in our products." The facial recognition system on Facebook is to be ended "in the coming weeks."

The move comes as the social media service faces accusations³ that it failed to take action to protect users even though its own research suggested its products can be harmful. In the past, Facebook has also faced widespread criticism for not doing enough to protect the privacy of its users.

The decision also followed a company announcement that it was changing its name from Facebook to Meta. Industry experts have said the name change appeared to be an attempt to move attention away from unfavorable media attention in recent months.

"This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology's history," Pesenti said in his statement. As a result, "more than a billion people's individual facial recognition templates" will be removed, the statement added.

Meta has said that more than a third of Facebook's daily active users have given their permission to have their faces recognized by the social network's system. That represents about 640 million people worldwide.

Facebook first started offering facial recognition about 10 years ago. But over time, it has made it easier for users to opt⁴ out of the system as it faced more pressure from courts and government officials.

Pesenti said the company still sees facial recognition technology as a powerful tool. But he noted⁵ that the situations where it can be helpful "need to be weighed against growing concerns about this technology as a whole."

He said examples of acceptable uses of the technology would be to confirm a person's identity or prevent fraudulent activities. He added that Meta will continue working on facial recognition for such uses and would seek out the opinions of outside experts before deciding on how it will use the technology in the future.

Kristen Martin is a professor of technology ethics⁶ at the University of Notre Dame⁷ in Indiana. She told The Associated Press that Facebook's decision to shut down the system "is a good example of trying to make product decisions that are good for the user and the company." She added that the move also demonstrates the power of public and regulatory pressure, since the facial recognition system has long been the subject of strong criticism.

Facial recognition technology has been used by other industries as well, such as retail⁸ businesses, security companies and by some law enforcement agencies. But critics say such systems have a high failure rate, especially when attempting to identify members of some minority groups. Facial recognition technology has also led to major concerns over privacy and ethics issues.

Several American cities have passed bans on the use of facial recognition systems. And major technology companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and Google, have stopped selling facial recognition software to law enforcement agencies.

Adam Schwartz is a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He told the Reuters news agency that Facebook's action comes after moves by other tech companies. Still, he said, it could mark a "notable moment in the national turning-away from face recognition."

Words in This Story

automatic – adj. something controlled using machines and not people

shift – n. a change in something

template – n. a system that helps organize information on a computer screen

opt out – phr v. to choose not to be part of an activity or to stop being involved in it

fraudulent – adj. dishonest and illegal

ethics – n. ideas and beliefs about what kind of behavior is morally right or wrong

regulatory – adj. controlling an activity or process, especially by using rules

retail – n. the activity of selling products to the public in shops and on the internet

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

4 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

7 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

8 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。