TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Passport software rejects Asian applicant due to 'closed eyes'
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
While Lee considered this incident a funny mishap, many social media users claimed the facial recognition technology had racist inclinations.
(Shutterstock/File)
A
New Zealand-based DJ of Taiwanese descent, 22-year-old Richard Lee, has encountered problems in an online passport application as his uploaded photograph was rejected because the software mistakenly detected his face to have “closed eyes”.
After numerous failed attempts to submit his photograph, Lee finally contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
As reported by kompas.com, the Ministry officers responded to Lee’s issue by saying the lighting on his photo, especially around his eyes, was uneven. It turns out that more than 20 percent of online passport photo submissions are rejected for various reasons, according to an Internal Affairs spokesman. “The most common error is a subject’s eyes being [detected as] closed, and that was the generic error message sent in this case,” he said.
(Read also: Red Hot Chili Peppers mistaken for Metallica by Belarus customs)
"New Zealand passport robot thinks this Asian man's eyes are closed"Kiwi Richard Lee had his passport application … https://t.co/Cyh05eFS6m
— _( :3」∠)_ (@hikakO_o) December 9, 2016
While Lee considered this incident a funny mishap, many social media users claimed the facial recognition technology had racist inclinations.
Lee, on the other hand, did not feel angry or offended, because he understood that facial recognition technology was still relatively new and not too advanced. “Machines are robots that do not have feelings. I was finally able to receive my passport,” Richard added. (mra/kes)
