A set of smart vending machines at the University of Waterloo is expected to be removed from campus after students raised privacy concerns about their software.
The machines have M&M artwork on them and sell chocolate and other candy. They are located throughout campus, including in the Modern Languages building and Hagey Hall.
Earlier this month, a student noticed an error message on one of the machines in the Modern Languages building. It appeared to indicate there was a problem with a facial recognition application.
“We wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for the application error. There’s no warning here,” said River Stanley, a fourth-year student, who investigated the machines for an article in the university publication, mathNEWS.
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There’s a lot of people in the world who do, in fact, like to eat.
“I was only following orders”
Problem is, if you refuse to do it, they’ll hire another developer who will.
There are also a lot of people, already in the wealthiest upper percentiles, who would implement big brother just to be slightly wealthier.