Live Science Bar “Facial recognition, from humans to digital! Psychology and artificial intelligence”

Available online on the UM YouTube channel.

Our first contact with the visual world begins at birth. Our perception of faces improves during the first few weeks of life, and by two months, a baby is able to recognize those around them and show a preference for their mother's face. Humans quickly become able to automatically recognize familiar faces, even in a crowd, thanks to mechanisms in the brain.

In the 1960s, American researchers studied computer programming with a view to recognizing faces. In the early 2000s, everything accelerated with the development of deep learning and big data. Today, facial recognition technologies, based on the exponential development of artificial intelligence technologies, are becoming increasingly widespread. Facial recognition is becoming more common in our daily lives, particularly for securing certain types of access and in numerous everyday applications such as video surveillance, biometrics, robotics, home automation, image search, and more.

In an increasingly digitized society, the emergence of facial recognition technologies is not without consequence. While they may fascinate us with their science fiction-like performance and futuristic nature, they also pose significant legal, ethical, and social challenges. Regulated by the General Data Protection Regulation, these uses, which are more or less sensitive, raise a number of questions.

To discuss this, four multidisciplinary experts will come together and answer questions live from the online audience.

• Gina Devau, neurobiologist, researcher at the Molecular Mechanisms in Neurodegenerative Diseases (MMDN) laboratory, lecturer in neuroscience at the Faculty of Science – University of Montpellier.
• Adel Jomni, Professor Center for Research Studies on Information Security and Cybercrime (CRESIC) at the University of Montpellier. Head of the university degree program in Cybercrime: Law, Information Security, and Digital Forensics.
• Abderrahmane Kheddar, Doctor of Robotics, researcher at the Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics, and Microelectronics (LIRMM).
• William Puech, researcher at the Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics and Microelectronics (LIRMM), head of the Image and Interaction Department (ICAR), University Professor at the University of Montpellier.
  

• This Science Bar can be watched live and replayed by clicking here.

  It is part of the annual "Brain Awareness Week" event, the program for which can be found by clicking here.

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