Privacy and Video Analysis

#Discussion(Security) [ via IoTGroup ]

Is the video analysis anonymous – When someone is walking into a store, is it just another face to me that I am analyzing and tracking or am I recognizing him / her ? Now, there is a sea difference between the two. Lets look at different levels of analysis:

 
a. A Hispanic female, age 34 just walked in 
b. A Hispanic female, age 34, who had last visited the store 3 weeks back just walked in 
c. A Hispanic female, age 34, who had last visited the store 3 weeks back and purchased 1 jeans and 2 sweat shirts just walked in
d. Joanne just walked in, she is a female, age 34, who had last visited the store 3 weeks back and purchased 1 jeans and 2 sweat shirts 

Looking at the above example, one can clearly see the “inference” one is drawing. My take is that if we are going up to level b, there should not be any problem of “privacy”.

Level c is in grey area. I would still say, it falls within “ethical” levels. Level d is where the problem could be. Because now we have attached a personal identity to it. Lets further analyze how much breach of privacy, beyond what is already there that is happening in case of level d.

1. The business now knows that I have come to the store – Does Google not already know this, when I walk in with a smart phone to any store or hotel. Yes it does, as we get a notification from Google, how did you like the place, would you like to review it, etc, etc. Besides Google, a lot many other apps that I have permitted the location services also have the same information. So, really speaking where I am going and how much time I am spending already is more or less a public information. So, practically speaking, is there really a “breach” in privacy ?

2. The next counter to this is that as a user, I have made a conscious choice of giving access to my location to Google, Uber, Ola, Swiggy, etc, etc and I have signed off on the obscure terms that no one really needs. There should be a way to “opt out” or rather “opt in” to this. That is a pertinent point. While a non practical one. As 99.9% of people either are not aware or do not bother about disallowing such access. Also, they weigh the benefit in favor of the loss in privacy and still go for allowing the access. Businesses, would in this case also build a mechanism to achieve this. A more tougher task, but can potentially be done using Beacons or other LBS technologies.

3. Let us now try and see the benefits that a customer can derive from deployment of such technology, especially at level d. – Experience: As a customer, my experience can be significantly enhanced if the sales person “knows” my buying records, likes and dislikes. When I visit an e-commerce, the seller already knows that and thats why brick and mortar companies are struggling to provide similar experience to their customers. I believe my digital footprint is as personal as my physical footprint [read bio metric data]. Why should there be a discrimination between the two – Security: While I am at a public space, my security is to a large extent dependent of the business owner. If, by “compromising” my privacy the security of the premise can be increased significantly using Video Analytics, then, it might be a fair trade off. No ?

– Products and Service Offerings: Brick and Mortar Retailers and Service Providers struggle to have the level of inventory and display to meet the needs of all its customers. They make trade offs all the time. As a loyal customer, If AI and Video Analytics enables them to take more optimal trade offs that improves my experience, then why not ? This can be applied to loyalty programs and promotional offers. Most customers would not mind them. My view is that we should not paint video analytics, face analysis and recognition with the same brush. There are different levels and different benefits to be drawn for stakeholders by adapting this technology.

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