What do Winona Ryder and Osama bin Laden have in Common? Nothing, except that airport facial recognition scanners can't tell the difference. It's a tale of technology's tail wagging the dog.
The London Telegraph a story today reporting, "Airport face scanners 'cannot tell the difference between Osama bin Laden and Winona Ryder.'"
Facial recognition technology is going to take a while to get the "wrinkles" out.
"The technology was designed to help immigration officials spot people traveling under false passports, particularly terrorists, but the multi-million pound scheme now appears to be in jeopardy," reported the Telegraph.
The timing of comparing Ryder's image to bin Laden demonstrates the Telegraph's need to put a spin on a story that connects it to a major event. There is obviously a "wow" factor here, since such public figures are so conspicious, but for very different reasons.
Staff writer, Duncan Gardham, never explains why the newspaper decided to choose the Ryder-bin Laden example, but it's easy to speculate that more people will read the story if it's sensational. No surprises there, but it is a bit over the top.
Failed facial recognition isn't a new story. In 2002, Wired Magazine ran a story about the failure of the technology used at the Palm Beach International Airport. Other reports also show major problems.
Now, 9 years later, the media is dusting off the story again, but this time it has unusal tongue-and-cheek twist.