As one of the leaders in advanced technology product market, Tencent has developed its cloud computing service since 2010 and the service became available for users in 2013. The cloud system of the company contains numerous functions that are leading the future trend, including AI, big data, computing, data warehouse, as well as SaaS (Tencent, 2022). The company manages to provide customers with solutions that can really help them to achieve success in society and business market.
What is new about this cloud service is the introduction of AI face recognition to set restriction on children and teenagers gaming. Previously, gamers were required to upload their real name and ID number to verify whether they are adults in order to prevent children from gaming a long time (Hollister, 2019). However, children still have some ways to find the loophole of the verification system, as they are able to upload their parents’ personal identification or personal data from someone else. To tackle this tricky problem, Tencent introduced face recognition supported by AI to plug the hole (May & Chien, 2021). Basically, the mobile gaming applications will request the authorization to use the camera, and users will be monitored by their phone cameras while playing mobile phone games. If children play mobile games after 10 p.m. according to the Chinese regulations, they will be caught by the system with face recognition that can determine whether the players are children or adults, and those children will be automatically kicked out by the system (Hollister, 2021).
Despite the regulation and data privacy, it is interesting to see how AI face recognition can be applied in mobile games monitoring. Normally people would think about using face recognition to replace the key for opening the door or to walk through the metro lock machine without checking by smart cards. Of course, there would be pros and cons to apply face application in this case, but it literally goes beyond my imagination and might give you some insights how these advanced technologies could be applied in our life.
References
- Hollister, S. (2021, July 9). How Tencent’s sweeping new facial scans will catch Chinese kids playing past curfew. The Verge. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/9/22567029/tencent-china-facial-recognition-honor-of-kings-game-for-peace
- May, T., & Chien, A. C. (2021, July 8). Game over: Chinese company deploys facial recognition to limit youths’ play. The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/business/video-game-facial-recognition-tencent.html
- Tencent. (2022). Tencent Cloud. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.tencentcloud.com/
Hi Junlin,
Very interesting case you brought forward! I had never heard of this specific application of facial recognition before. In a sense it is still similar to the other application of facial recognition that you mention, only now it’s a key to unlock a game rather than a door.
Personally, I wouldn’t be sure if this application would be a success, especially if it’s governmentally regulated. I can understand that maybe parents can instate such a mechanism to fit their own methodologies when raising their children, but a nationwide ban for late night gaming for children might be tricky.
Nonetheless, it’s good to wonder about other applications of technology than the ones we currently consider. Will be interesting to see in what other ways facial recognition will be applied in the future!