New HP Webcam is Racist

on December 22, 2009 - 1 Comment
Categories: Hardware Horrors

hpwebcamracist New HP Webcam is Racist

Here’s one the execs over at HP probably regret. Apparently their latest face recognition technology included on their HP MediaSmart computers has a severe problem. The problem? It’s unable to recognize the faces of black people. Clearly demonstrated in the video below, we can see how the camera is able to follow “White Wanda”, but when it comes to tracking a darker face, the camera simply doesn’t have the technology required.

HP finally released a response to the video, which doesn’t do a very good job of explaining exactly why the camera functions the way it is, but it does say they’re working on the problem. I think this is one of those problems that should have been worked out before the product was released. Here is HP’s official statement.

“Everything we do is focused on ensuring that we provide a high-quality experience for all our customers, who are ethnically diverse and live and work around the world. That’s why when issues surface, we take them seriously and work hard to understand the root causes…

We are working with our partners to learn more. The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty “seeing” contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting. While we work on this, take a look here for more information on the impact of lighting on facial tracking software, and how to optimize your webcam experience: http://bit.ly/7HsZHD.”