Tech Is Already Reading Your Emotions – But Do Algorithms Get It Right?

From measuring shopper satisfaction to detecting signs of depression, companies are employing emotion-sensing facial recognition technology that is based on flawed science, according to a new study.

If the idea of having your face recorded and then analyzed for mood so that someone can intervene in your life sounds creepy, that’s because it is. But that hasn’t stopped companies like Walmart from promising to implement the technology to improve customer satisfaction, despite numerous challenges from ethicists and other consumer advocates.

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A new study in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest is challenging the basic science behind emotion-sensing tech and its claims to be able to infer a person’s mood from their facial expressions. The scientists behind the research, who hail from Northeastern University, Caltech, Ohio State, and the University of Wisconsin – Madison, also make clear precisely what’s at stake.

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