Emotional Analysis Techniques are a new age techniques used in Data Analytics to process data such as gaze tracking, sentiment analysis, facial movements, gait analysis, heartbeats, facial expressions and skin moisture. Emotion analysis can also be applied to the use of textual data.
Other examples include monitoring the physical health of workers by offering wearable screening tools or using visual and behavioural methods including body position, speech, eyes and head movements to register students for exams.
Emotions are also gathered and analysed using EEG signals and sub conscious data which falls in the Neuro Rights domain.
These techniques are also related to Sentiment analysis or Opinion Mining which is a Machine learning and NLP technique used by some survey agents to assess the feedback on goods and services. The data gathered in this process is used for marketing.
These techniques have now attracted attention of ICO-UK, which has warned that “Immature biometric technologies could be discriminating against people”
The UK Commissioner has stated that a “Biometric guidance” may be released by the ICO-UK in the next year. For the time being the ICO-UK (Stephen Bonner) has said that they are concerned that incorrect analysis of data could result in assumptions and judgements about a person that are inaccurate and lead to discrimination.
It is recognized that the inability of algorithms which are not sufficiently developed to detect emotional cues, means there’s a risk of systemic bias, inaccuracy and even discrimination.
ICO has noted that the technique may be used along with many face recognition technologies used by Financial Companies who analyse photo IDs and Selfies, airports where passengers are scanned by facial recognition and use of voice recognition for access.
In view of the above all organizations who are using biometrics may come under a special watch to understand if they are using emotional analysis and if so responsibly.
Naavi
