Automatic soap dispenser fails to recognise Black person's face
An automatic soap dispenser was found to dish out soap to a white person’s hand, but not a black person’s, resulting in accusations of "racism". Nigerian Facebook employee Chukwuemeka Afigbo shot a video in which a person with light skin received a dollop of foamy froth after waving their hand underneath. However, when the next person, who has dark skin, gave it a go, nothing came out. He then took a white piece of tissue and waved it under the dispenser and it appeared to work. Per IFLScience , the dispenser most likely used a light sensor to detect when a hand is beneath it. Its inability to sense darker skin raised questions about diverity and racism in technology, and about the lack of diversity in the industry that creates these kinds of products. System 🤖 Unknown Operator: Developer: Shenzhen Yuekun Technology Country: USA Sector: Travel/hospitality Purpose: Dispense soap Technology: Infrared; Light sensor Issue: Bias/discrimination
- Date it happened
- 2017-08-01
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