Microsoft stops selling emotion-reading tech, limits face recognition

Microsoft on Tuesday said it would stop selling technology that guesses someone's emotion based on a facial image and would no longer provide unfettered access to facial recognition technology.
The actions reflect efforts by leading cloud providers to rein in sensitive technologies on their own as lawmakers in the United States and Europe continue to weigh comprehensive legal limits.
Since at least last year, Microsoft has been reviewing whether emotion recognition systems are rooted in science.
"These efforts raised important questions about privacy, the lack of consensus on a definition of 'emotions,' and the inability to generalize the linkage between facial expression and emotional state across use cases, regions, and demographics," Sarah Bird, principal group product manager at Microsoft's Azure AI unit, said in a blog post.
Existing customers will have one year before losing access to artificial intelligence tools that purport to infer emotion, gender, age, smile, facial hair, hair and makeup.
Alphabet Inc's Google Cloud last year embarked on a similar evaluation, first reported by Reuters. Google blocked 13 planned emotions from its tool for reading emotion and placed under review four existing ones, such as joy and sorrow. It was weighing a new system that would describe movements such as frowning and smiling, without seeking to attach them to an emotion.
Google did not immediately respond to request for comment on Tuesday.
Microsoft also said customers now must obtain approval to use its facial recognition services, which can enable people to log into websites or open locked doors through a face scan.
The company called on clients to avoid situations that infringe on privacy or in which the technology might struggle, such as identifying minors, but did not explicitly ban those uses.
(Reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing by David Gregorio)
RISKIN REPORTS
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Canadian government reaches C-18 online news deal with Google
The Canadian government has reached a deal with Google over the Online News Act known as C-18, Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge announced Wednesday. The agreement will see the tech giant continue to share Canadian news content, and in return Google will make $100 million in annual payments to news companies.
Here is what Canada's drug shortage situation looks like right now
Compared to the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, Canada experienced an uptick in prescription drug shortages in 2022 that Health Canada says has continued throughout 2023.
U.S. says alleged murder plotter was directed by India and mentioned B.C. killing
U.S. officials have charged an Indian national in a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil – in a case they say is connected to the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Sask. man accused of sexually assaulting 3 boys arrested at daycare
An Assiniboia, Sask. man stands accused of sexually assaulting three boys under the age of 12 was arrested at a home-based daycare.
LIVE at 1:30 Edmonton police to announce charges in deaths of 2 constables
The Edmonton Police Service will hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon to announce charges in the deaths of two constables earlier this year.
Provinces are moving away from pap smears, but more infrastructure is needed
Some provinces are moving to HPV tests as the primary mode of cervical cancer screening, and others are close behind, an expert says.
Once a furniture store then a dance hall, this century-old theatre in St. John's returns to its roots
The Majestic Theatre has reopened in downtown St. John’s as a fully functioning arts venue. The project backers hope it’s a return to form for the historic building.
Homes near ski hills are increasing in price across Canada. Here's where
A new report from Royal LePage predicts the cost of homes near ski hills will not cool in 2024, but instead heat up across in many regions. Here's where.
Canadian government selects Boeing military plane in sole-source deal, bypassing Bombardier
The federal government is expected to announce Thursday that it has selected Boeing to replace the military's aging patrol planes in a multibillion-dollar deal, according to three sources familiar with the matter.