A set of smart vending machines at the University of Waterloo is expected to be removed from campus after students raised privacy concerns about their software.

A set of smart vending machines at the University of Waterloo is expected to be removed from campus after students raised privacy concerns about their software.

The machines have M&M artwork on them and sell chocolate and other candy. They are located throughout campus, including in the Modern Languages building and Hagey Hall.

Earlier this month, a student noticed an error message on one of the machines in the Modern Languages building. It appeared to indicate there was a problem with a facial recognition application.

“We wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for the application error. There’s no warning here,” said River Stanley, a fourth-year student, who investigated the machines for an article in the university publication, mathNEWS.

  • Aux@lemmy.world
    122·
    9 months ago

    Not /s. Privacy is a foreign concept for humans, invented a bit over a century ago. Privacy is a root cause of many social problems in our day and age.

    • otp@sh.itjust.works
      11·
      9 months ago

      Every person should have a tracking implant and anyone should be able to access it.

      In that case, I would guess that you’re a man, and one who has never had a stalker.

          • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.comEnglish
            11·
            9 months ago

            Their argument would be that the stalker having privacy allows them to do the stalking…

            they are indeed unhinged. If everything was magically public like they wish. We’d have no resources as every government official would be outed for what they were hiding. Would be complete anarchy real fast.

    • I Cast Fist@programming.dev
      10·
      9 months ago

      Privacy as a human right is, indeed, new. The concept and the desire for it is old. Doing things and not wanting to get caught is as old as walking forward. What, you think the idea of cheating a romantic partner is new? That every military in history and prehistory exchanged letters with one another, saying what they were doing? That every important and “important” person always exposed everything they did and thought to everyone?

      Also, keep in mind there’s a significant number of serious journalists that need privacy in order to do their job of exposing crimes. I can already see you replying “They wouldn’t need to do that if everything was public”. True, but that would also mean that tyrants and wannabe tyrants would have incredible ease in killing everyone they disliked.