The PlanetRecruit Blog

Facial recognition software too creepy for Google

You know something's wrong with the potential application of some technology when Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, says the Cookie Monster won't build a giant database able to recognise and identify individual faces. It is well known that the company has, in the past, worked on such a system but now it will not be deployed.

Eric Schmidt, was speaking to an audience at Google’s 'Big Tent' gathering on the growth of the internet and the ramifications this may have for the privacy of the individual in a world increasingly dominated by huge databases containing information on billions of people.

Schmidt opined that facial recognition technology is one of the developments that has "most surprised" him and added that the “surprising accuracy of these systems is very concerning”.

Are SMEs really more appealing to the younger generation?

I read some comment on the job market recently that put forward the opinion that corporate / blue chip employers are struggling to attract younger talent. According to the article, this demographic is more naturally drawn to smaller start-up companies over the big players in any given market. 

The theory is that smaller organisations are more adaptable and agile, allowing them to change quickly to meet the demands of their customers, but also are more concerned with the needs of their staff. This is offset against a perception that in a corporate company you will become a tiny cog in a big machine and no longer be rewarded with significantly better pay or benefits. This seems a reasonable enough proposition, and there is always the chance that working in a small organisation you'll get in on the next big thing. 

The whole theory feeds into the ‘anti-corporate message’ that has always been there, but has arguably become more commonplace since the recession. People are more aware than before of the impact that big brands can have on the UK economy and local businesses – a big well-known supermarket on your side of town will hurt local shopkeepers for example. And let’s not get started on the general antipathy towards other large corporates such as oil companies, energy suppliers and telecoms companies.

Video Killed the Interview Star

I posted on PlanetRecruit previously about Google Books now containing over five million books, which is pretty impressive. But even more impressive are YouTube’s growth figures, which have reached frankly terrifying levels. Every single day, YouTube receives and hosts another six years' worth of video. That’s 36.5 hours of video added every minute.

Start watching nothing but YouTube videos today and you’ll be five years, eleven months and 30 days behind before the end of the day. Tomorrow, you’ll be 12 years behind; the next day, 18 years. So perhaps we can all be forgiven for having missed the latest must-see viral sensation.

Video is everywhere on the web these days, in all kinds of formats and places. For instance, if you’re reading this then you’re probably a user of Skype or Oovoo or one of the many other VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol) services on the web. However, as the parent of two small children whose relatives live some on the other side of the world, I can personally vouch for the value of these services. VoIP joins the family together like no other technology I’ve seen before. Children today are growing up seeing nothing unusual in talking to real-time moving images of people on a screen when it’s late at night, even though it’s early morning here.