No Smiling On Your Drivers License. It Makes Our Software Sad

from the the-computer-makes-me-frown dept

We've discussed in the past how absolutely useless most facial recognition systems are. Their error rates (both types of errors) are way too high to be even remotely useful. At best, they're potentially (though, not definitely) useful for advertising purposes, where a false read isn't that big of a deal. However, apparently some states are using facial recognition software to try to make sure the photo on the license matches with other photos of the individual -- but the software sucks so bad that it can't recognize faces when you smile. So, the states using the software, Arkansas, Indiana, Virginia, or Nevada are supposedly telling people they can no longer smile on their driver's license photos. Apparently finding software that actually works wasn't an option.

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Opposition to REAL ID Continues to Grow

from the state-legislators-say-no dept

My colleague Jim Harper points out that the National Conference of State Legislatures has called for the repeal of the REAL ID Act. We last noted that the Department of Homeland Security was pretending that all 50 states were on schedule to implement the law, despite the fact that several of them had explicitly said they wouldn't implement it. Now it appears that a lot of state legislators are ready to take things a step further and call for the outright repeal of a law that many of them have refused to implement in their own states. The NCSL letter makes an excellent point that can't be emphasized enough: the worthwhile parts of REAL ID, such as making driver's licenses harder to forge, can be accomplished at the state level without getting the feds involved. States can take what's good from REAL ID and voluntarily incorporate it into their state identification systems without participating in a massive federal database that would become a magnet for identity theft.

Timothy Lee is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Timothy Lee and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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French Drivers Renting Out Their Driving History Online

from the oui dept

A few months ago we discussed the practice of renting out one's credit score to people having trouble getting a loan. There didn't seem to be much justification for the scheme, as it's pretty clearly just a way to game the system. A similar practice is taking place in France, except instead of credit scores, people are renting out their good driving records. Basically, the way it works is that if someone commits a traffic violation that accrues points onto their license, they can pay someone else to take the fall. For the elderly, who have more use for cash than a clean driving record, the system works out pretty well. Of course, it doesn't do much to further the purpose of driving laws, which are there to keep bad drivers off the road. In most cases, letting the market find an optimal price for any good (in this case, a clean driving record) would be ideal. But for the safety of French drivers, it would probably be best if this loophole were closed.

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