Questions continue about study claiming that AI can infer sexual orientation from facial images
In 2017, a study claimed to have shown that artificial intelligence can infer sexual orientation from facial images, reviving the kinds of claims made in the 19th century about inferring character from outer appearance. Despite widespread complaints and criticisms, the study, by Michal Kosinski and Yilun Wang, is scheduled for publication in the respected Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. A reanalysis of the study's methodology and findings shows that the answers to a handful of yes/no answers to questions about personal presentation can do almost as well at guessing sexual orientation as the study's AI software. The writers conclude that the concerns about privacy raised by the study's original authors relate less to AI than to mass surveillance.
Writer: Blaise Aguera y Arcas, Alexander Todorov, and Margaret Mitchell
Publication: Medium