An increasing number of photo sharing and social networking sites have facial recognition software to help users identify and “tag” people in photos. I don’t have much use for this type of feature; for me looking at old photos is more about pleasant discoveries than efficient searches. But I can see where people would find it useful. Whether you like the feature or not, it does provide compelling proof that the technology, while less than perfect, is viable and cheap. After all, this feature is implemented in essentially free software.
Facial recognition software is also popular with law enforcement agencies as a way to catch criminals and terrorists. In fact, they are already using it to catch the bad guys. And given the ongoing investment from government(s), we are going to see facial recognition systems that are bigger, better, and faster in the coming years. More on that in a future...