How # 10YearsChallenge helps Facebook to create a largest biometric repository and how it can strengthen their position in the fintech industry
This time I’m going to write not entirely about fintech project — well, almost. The last couple of days you can see a large spread of #10YearsChallenge hashtag on Facebook. People post photos of themselves now and with a difference of 10 years. Looks funny, touching, somewhere cute. But if you include the inner “boring person” inside you, the story loses its bright colors and begins to script for a new “Black Mirror” episode. So, this is a very interesting and successful Facebook project for working with big data. About him (and its application to payment acceptance) I’m going talk.
Categorize it
Despite the fact the concept of “artificial intelligence” is very conditional and people usually rush them mainly for marketing purposes, neural networks are already working and are effective. From communication with colleagues in this industry, I understood little, except for this: one of the very first, important and difficult tasks that confronts them in the process of developing a good algorithm is the correct categorization of data. Machine learning programs should receive them systematically in order to develop and acquire the ability to process more data, etc. Logically, Facebook’s # 10YearsChallenge, which you and your friends are now spreading, can actually be a thoughtful viral project to encourage millions of users to classify their data and shows, how they have changed over the last decade.
It all began with a light “flashmob” (an outdated concept, by the way), in which people posted the first and last profile photo for comparison — or the first and last selfie. In both cases, the convenience of updating information can’t be denied — almost like updating a paper passport photo in Ukraine. If you add to this the fact it spread on Facebook for about three days, this boosts logic to my conspiracy — this is not a trailer from the gaming or film industry giant, It’s supposed to be allegedly organic phenomenon.
Return of status quo in a big data sphere
The main motive for Facebook to launch #10YearsChallenge is to gain a competitive advantage. This fuzzy concept begins to take on specifics, if you think about the meaning of the face recognition algorithm. Due to the active development of biometric data protection methods (including billing), passwords are no longer relevant, and a fingerprint is not an advanced tool. iPhone X uses face recognition to open the screen or confirm purchases. More and more smartphones based on Android are also equipped with the function of facial authentication. And just a quick look at the deployment of the system of “social credit” in China with the ratings of citizens is enough to understand, how big deal for a technogiant is to have a good face recognition system. The associated data sets will be of great importance in the near future — I would even say, key for the development of our own services. And Facebook still has one of the largest audiences in the world, which they 100% not planning to lose.
The operational side of payment security for personal biometrics
The process of face verification is more effective, than a password, but not a panacea for security, which seems to be. Comparison of an example with a saved pattern is performed by measuring various points between objects and comparing these measuring. Thus, Face ID and others are not as effective as a complex cryptographic key. A completely synchronized person is almost impossible to reproduce (although some have succeeded), the method must be upgraded. This is what happens. To do this, we need constant updating of facial data in order to have a “fresh” pattern of user faces in the database. Do you see the connection?
So, what does all this mean for real people, and what for fintech business? And the fact that the data stored by Facebook can be used to open your phone, identify you in certain databases or even make purchases.
Conclusion
After the scandal with Cambridge Analytica, it became clear Facebook sold/partially used user data for advertising, and the permission for this is crookedly wired in a public offer, which, as we know, 99.9% of users don’t read. However, one should not underestimate Mark Zuckerberg: his company is actively developing its payment options: payments to Instagram, p2p transfers to Facebook Messenger. It’s unlikely he will give the data to third parties. Its main goal now is to create an ecosystem, billing and social, to make it’s as seamless as possible. And, admittedly, his tools work with enviable efficiency.
