Kylian van Noordenne

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9th of July 2019: It is announced that the police will start using facial recognition cameras at Brussels Airport. The plan is that some cameras, with the facial recognition system, will be implemented on Brussels airport. What the system does, is that cameras scan faces in their view. The faces are compared with the already existing police photos that are mapped by software. Suspicious people may be stopped by security or police since their face scan matches with another picture in the database. The biggest advantage of implementing this system is that it will increase the speed of the flow on the airport. Police officers do not have to extract people from queues anymore. In other words, the time consuming random airport checks seem to become redundant. This technology is already implemented on multiple occasions. For example, all Canadian airports have already implemented facial recognition technology. A more closely related example is the Face ID from Apple, where you can unlock your iPhone/iPad with a scan of your face.

20th of September 2019: Brussels Airport experimented with facial recognition cameras for about two months. However, the police decided to stop this project. The project is not feasible from a legal point of view. It is currently against some privacy laws that restrict the full implementation of facial recognition technology. The police still want to implement the technology, but authorities have to decide whether this is legally possible in the future. For now, the plan of using facial recognition has been cancelled.

This is just one of the many news posts relates to privacy and facial recognition. People fear that their country might become a surveillance state, or doubt whether facial recognition is an effective way of providing more safety. On the other hand, there are people that prefer the increase in security and do not find this an issue for their privacy. New technologies provide further developments in the field of security. However, the ‘choice’ between security or safety remains to be a dilemma.

References:

https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/belgium-all-news/60350/brussels-airport-to-be-equipped-with-facial-recognition-cameras/

https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20190920_04618911

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Microsoft and Sony have been competitors in the gaming industry for ages, more specifically: Since the release of the Xbox in 2000. Microsoft is the owner of the Xbox gaming console and Sony owns the Playstation gaming console. The two companies used to be rivals, fighting over the console market for around two decades. Yet, a surprising turn of events has occurred.

Microsoft and Sony decided to start a collaboration. This collaboration was announced on May 2019. The reason for this partnership is that both companies want to introduce the concept that is called cloud-gaming. Cloud-gaming means that your game is played from a server, rather than from a computer or any other device. Normally you download a game directly to your PC or console. With cloud-gaming you store a game on a remote server, which makes downloading the game to your computer or device not necessary. An example of being cloud-based is Netflix, where you can stream from an extensive platform, without having to download your movie or episode itself. The cloud-based technique is not fully implemented in the console/gaming industry yet but there seems to be a possible application in the future.

But why do Microsoft and Sony exactly start a collaboration together? This is mainly since superpowers like Google and Amazon are forming a threat for Microsoft and Sony. Both companies have a lot of cloud experience and server power. This forms a huge threat for Microsoft and Sony.

Microsoft and Sony are collaborating to keep up their dominance in the game console industry. The threat for superpowers like Google is huge. Historically speaking, the collaboration is quite surprising. Maybe Microsoft and Sony realise that in certain areas they are stronger together, or maybe a proverb seems to fit in appropriately: a drowning man will clutch at a straw.

Tom Warren, 2019

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/20/18632374/microsoft-sony-cloud-gaming-partnership-amazon-google

Joanna Nelius, 2019

https://www.pcgamer.com/what-does-microsoft-and-sonys-and-strategic-partnership-even-mean/

Facial Recognition – Safety or Privacy?

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From Rivals to Partners – Sony and Microsoft Partnership

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