When the facial recognition system doesn’t know that your face is a face

“If you don’t include people with disabilities or people with facial differences in developing these processes, no one will think about these issues,” says Kathleen Bogart, a psychology professor at Oregon State University who specializes in disability research and lives with facial difference. “AI has amplified these issues, but it is rooted in misrepresentation and long-standing bias toward people with facial differences, which occurred long before the advent of AI.”

Too little, too late

When facial verification systems fail, it is often difficult to find help, adding stress to a stressful situation. For months, Maryland resident Nour Al-Khaled struggled to set up an online account with the Social Security Administration. Al-Khalid, who suffers from a rare craniofacial condition Appleferon macrostomiasays having an online account will allow her to easily access SSA records and quickly submit documents to the agency.

“I don’t drive because of my vision; I have to be able to rely on location,” Al-Khaled says. “You have to take a selfie, and the pictures have to match,” Al-Khalid says. “Because the face is different, I don’t know if it’s because the ID or the photo is not recognized, but he always says the photos don’t match.”

Not having this access makes life more difficult. “On an emotional level, it makes me feel like an outcast from society,” she explains. Al-Khaled says all services should provide alternative ways for people to access online systems. “The lack of other backup options means people sometimes get caught up in these mazes of technological systems,” says Byrom of Present Moment Enterprises.

An SSA spokesperson says alternative options to face verification are available, and it is “committed” to making its services more accessible to everyone. The spokesperson says the agency does not manage facial recognition systems itself but uses Login.gov and ID.me for verification services. The General Services Administration, which runs Login.gov, did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment. “Accessibility is of the essence priority “For ID.me,” an ID.me spokesperson says, adding that it has previously helped people with facial differences and offered to help Al-Khaled immediately after WIRED called.

“There are few things more dehumanizing than having a machine tell you you’re not real because of your face,” he says. Corey R. Taylora New York-based actor and motivational speaker living with a craniofacial anomaly. Taylor says that last year he was using a financial app to access a small amount of money; While trying to complete payments, he found that the facial verification system could not match his profile picture to the photo on his ID card. For the system to work, he had to move to different positions. “I literally had to raise my eyes and contort my face,” Taylor says. When he emailed the company, he got what appeared to be a typical response.