HP is looking into the facial-tracking software used in
its personal computers, after a punter claimed that it was unable to follow his
movements.
The customer who calls himself “Black Desi” said the
program was racist because it was unable to follow his movements. In a
YouTube video Desi said that he thought his skin colour is interfering
with the computer’s ability to follow him.
In the clip, the software fails to follow the movement of
his face while easily tracking the face of his co-worker, referred to as “White
Wanda.” The video, posted on December 10 under the title “HP
Computers Are Racist,” has been watched more than 86,000 times. The video appears to have caught HP on the hop.
Writing
in its
blog HP said that it was examining the program, which is used
for video chats. Apparently the software was designed to find faces by
measuring the contrast between the eyes and upper cheek and nose.
The camera may have difficulty seeing the contrast in
low-light conditions, HP thinks.