Creepy AI scans a driver's face and voice to monitor mood and distraction level
You're being watched.
No, not on Facebook, but in your car. Or at least you could be, with a new artificial intelligence system that tracks drivers' emotions, energy, and distraction levels.
On Wednesdasy, Affectiva, a MIT Media Lab emotional recognition software startup, launched its emotional AI software — which means that car manufacturers can include its facial- and voice-tracking tech in future cars.
The company says the system could help prevent drowsy and distracted driving accidents, but it's also just next-level creepy.
Your car, loaded with the software and cameras, can detect if you're super out of it, falling asleep at the wheel, or too upset or angry to focus on driving. This tech could eventually work with semi-autonomous cars that are triggered into action if you're boiling over with road rage. Essentially, the car would take over if you're determined unfit to safely drive.
The CEO said Affectiva has a database of 6 million faces from 87 countries. The company's emotional machine learning is mostly used for ads and media, but now Affectiva is working on improving its system for driving.
Using face and head tracking with near-infrared and RGB cameras, the AI system measures facial expressions and emotions like joy, anger, and surprise. It also listens for sounds of anger, arousal, and laughter. For sleepiness, it looks at yawning, eye closing, and blinking patterns.
No need to cover your emotions, your car will soon know what's up.
Topics Artificial Intelligence
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
