It was a couple of days ago that I was reading Strive Masiyiwa’s post on Facebook about top skills for the future and he stressed the importance of Africans and young entrepreneurs to explore the new gold mine in AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning to positioned themselves well enough for the 4IR.
The opportunities of AI is significant and there is no doubt that its penetration might cause disruption is some industries and its impact is likely to build up at an accelerated pace over time. But after a number of scandals involving questionable data collection on social media (remember Cambridge Analytica?), some people have wondered if the technology could be more sinister than it looks.
We asked genuine questions yesterday concerning the privacy issues over the use of viral AI-based photo app FaceApp. A Lot of tech blogs and reporters pointed out that FaceApp isn’t clear about what it does with the image of your face once you’ve used the application.
However, the company responded to the panic over how they use the photos, they didn’t address the part of their terms of service that had caused most fear to people, one in which users are asked to agree to give up the rights to any images they edit with the app.
A number of companies have been caught out using users data for controversial projects in recent years.
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In May this year, NBC reported that Ever, a photo storage app was using shared images to train facial recognition technology which is then sold on to private companies, law enforcement, and the military.
And earlier this year as well, IBM company were found to be using Flickr photos to train facial recognition systems without users’ permission.
There have also been concerns about FaceApp allegedly uploading users’ entire camera roll to their server, rather than just photos that are explicitly selected. Thankfully, security experts say there is no evidence to suggest the app does this.
Nevertheless, concerns about FaceApp’s privacy policy are fair, if not unusual for apps of its kind.
Is that a privacy concern? What about FaceApp?
Like many tech companies, FaceApp quietly takes information from its users in a way that is often not made explicitly clear to them and if you’re worried about what companies might be doing with your personal information, you should always think twice before giving up your data for a viral challenge.
While apps like FaceApp are free, they do come with a cost – you’re giving up your personal data to use them.
Policymakers will need to show bold leadership to overcome understandable discomfort among people about the privacy of their data and the penalty for people caught in the wrong side of the law.
In March this year, President Museveni signed the Data Protection and Privacy Bill into law to protect the privacy of individuals and personal data by regulating the collection and processing of personal information.
Will the law alone by able to protect internet users in Uganda from tech giants company that feed on users private information? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
