Face detection - the ability of cameras to locate and focus on faces in a frame - is a pretty widespread feature in cameras these days. Now, Adam Rose at Time
reports that some people are complaining that it's - wait for it - racist. That's because certain products with
face detection capabilities have reportedly had trouble identifying non-white faces.
Now as Rose makes clear there doesn't appear to be any deliberate racism at work. It's more of a case that the algorithms that enable face detection have an easier time with white faces than they do with everyone else (which is odd, given the large number of Asian manufacturers in the camera business...). Still, it seems that work is underway to further refine the technology so that everyone's smile can be captured irrespective of ethnicity.