Facial recognition software has made amazing strides in advancing security and surveillance techniques, but it is clearly not capable of creepily identifying what gender people identify despite their biology.

“It’s just unfair,” Ann Jiminez, who was born a biological male but who identifies as a woman, said in a tearful interview. “I’m a woman. I identify as a woman. I dress like a woman, wear makeup, and I’ve grown my hair out like a woman. Why can’t the computer recognize me fore who I am?”

Facial recognition technology is based on specific facial characteristics such as landmarks, or features, from an image of the subject’s face. For example, an algorithm may analyze the relative position, size, and/or shape of the eyes, nose, cheekbones, and jaw.

And since men and women have distinct facial structures based on genetic differences, the software typically assigns the biological sex to the gender.

“It’s just sickening,” Seymour Butts said of the error. “It’s 2019 and we don’t have a technology that will identify how I identify personally inside my head by looking at my face? What is this Nazi Germany?”

Facial recognition software developers defended the application. “We just developed the application to identify physical characteristics and it has done that very well. I’m sorry if it doesn’t also identify one of the completely arbitrary genders you just made up.”

“I want to be stalked and placed in government databases exactly how I identify,” Jiminez said, “not how I superficially look!”

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Exavier Saskagoochie

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