Controversy over AI which can recognise ‘gay faces’

Controversial AI software which scientists claimed could recognise ‘gay faces’ just by their facial features doesn’t work quite how it’s claimed.

Experts from Google and Princeton say that the actual differences is do with the way gay people take selfies, and other ‘cultural’ factors such as wearing glasses.

The experts say, ‘The obvious differences between lesbian or gay and straight faces in selfies relate to grooming, presentation, and lifestyle – that is, differences in culture, not in facial structure.’

Dr Michal Kosinski and his Stanford team had claimed their software was able to correctly identify a man’s sexuality 91 per cent of the time and a woman’s 71 per cent, could detect subtle differences in facial structure that the human eye struggles to pick out.

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The technology had potentially chilling implications for privacy – as it could be used to ‘out’ closeted gay people – and may have worrying uses in states where homosexuality is illegal.

There are still 11 countries where homosexuality carries the death penalty.

But the Google and Princeton researchers wrote in a blog, ‘We can immediately see that some of these differences are more superficial.

‘For example, the “average” straight woman appears to wear eyeshadow, while the “average” lesbian does not.

‘Heterosexual men tend to take selfies from slightly below, which will have the apparent effect of enlarging the chin, shortening the nose, shrinking the forehead, and attenuating the smile.

‘The obvious differences between lesbian or gay and straight faces in selfies relate to grooming, presentation, and lifestyle – that is, differences in culture, not in facial structure.’

The AI analysed 35,326 images of men and women from a US dating website, who had all declared their sexuality on their profiles.