By Beth Ellwood in PsyPost:

According to a new study published in Scientific Reports, facial recognition technology can accurately predict someone’s political stance from their Facebook profile photo. Remarkably, the algorithm shows greater accuracy in deducing a person’s political orientation than either human judgment or a personality test.

As facial recognition technology rapidly advances, the software is becoming increasingly skilled at identifying and tracking individuals. While some have expressed privacy concerns over these new surveillance capabilities, the author of the new study says these concerns represent only the tip of the iceberg.

“For over a decade now, I have been studying the privacy risks brought about by algorithms and big data,” said researcher Michal Kosinski, an associate professor at Stanford University.

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