Consumer Reports Claims Kinect Is Not Racist

[Tears of Blood]

my god gamestop.

GameSPOT

Not GameSTOP.

 

[Snotnarok]

I loved how they said it was racist as if it was yelling racial stereotypes at them while they tried to use it.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

"While testing out the Kinect, two dark-skinned GameSpot employees experienced problems with the system's facial recognition abilities,"

So, obviously it had to do with the colour of their skin, rather than the myriad of other problems that could have occurred. And because of that, the Kinect is racist.

I may not like the Kinect, but I don't go around making up stories to discredit it. And what's Gamespot's angle here? I don't believe they've ever stood up for race rights before...

 

[Asuka Soryu]

To my knowledge watching people actually playing Kinect at the latest E3 the problem was that black clothes have trouble being recognized this problem becomes exponential when you do not have proper lighting which to essentially cancel out the black is pretty hard to do when you need a big room.

Who even started this charge anyway of a device being racist? How the heck can an electronic be racist anyway?

Well, they're trying to argue that the device was designed not to work for ethnicities. There by being racist. Even though it was prooved to be a lighting issue and not something programmed into the machine, from racial hate.

 

[Mason Goldbeck]

Lols, makes me think of the motion sensors in Better Off Ted.

 

[harvz]

1) before claiming dark-complexioned people will have issues, try leaving the basement and put some light in front of you
2) try a lighter person with a very bright light behind the camera, you should see the same
3) most camera's of this kind have this problem
4) this is a motion capture device, i dont really care anymore since i bought a wii that hasn't been on since a month after purchase

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

To my knowledge watching people actually playing Kinect at the latest E3 the problem was that black clothes have trouble being recognized this problem becomes exponential when you do not have proper lighting which to essentially cancel out the black is pretty hard to do when you need a big room.

Who even started this charge anyway of a device being racist? How the heck can an electronic be racist anyway?

It sounds like someone reported it that way to be sensationalist.

Similar things have been reported with other devices that have trouble tracking black people onscreen, like some web cameras. It was reported in jest, and taken seriously.

I suppose any device that discriminates based on skin colour is TECHNICALLY a racist, though.

I tend to think that racism is a reaction based off the perception that one race is superior to another. I do not think a machine is capable of making such a judgment. If that were the case, then a whole slew of motor vehicles are "racist" for not working properly with people of certain builds.

If you wanted to apply an inflammatory word to the device, I'd call it "defective" instead. Assuming of course that it did indeed fail to work properly when operated by a person of color.

 

[BrEnNo1023]

anybody else reminded of that Better Off Ted episode where the doors, lights and bathrooms were fitted with sensors...that couldn't pick up dark skin?

I can still see Portia de Rossi in her business suit narrowing her eyes and smiling. "Walk away...tall"

 

[Estocavio]

Don't let Kanye know!

In all seriousness, Microsoft isn't racist to one single ethnicity.... they think we're all equally gullible piles of money!

Wouldnt be an issue - If he tested it, his sparkly diamond teeth would light the room enough based on the reflections off the Kinects lense, so hed be fine.

*OT*
A device cannot be racist. Furthermore, who was it that even said "The Kinect isnt working for me, it MUST be because of my race! Lawsuite."

 

[Sixties Spidey]

First RE5, then this. Fuck you, Gamespot.

 

[Something Amyss]

I tend to think that racism is a reaction based off the perception that one race is superior to another. I do not think a machine is capable of making such a judgment. If that were the case, then a whole slew of motor vehicles are "racist" for not working properly with people of certain builds.

If you wanted to apply an inflammatory word to the device, I'd call it "defective" instead. Assuming of course that it did indeed fail to work properly when operated by a person of color.

you can't be "racist" towards a physique. that could be why you "tend to think" of racism in selective terms. The act of discriminating based on characteristics of race is racism. I mean, honestly, I'm not going to tirade against the evils of the Racist Kinect, especially not for an off-hand comment I made, but since you are objectively wrong, I figured I'd mention it.

I'm not sure "defective" is really an inflammatory term here, either. Or adequately describes the situation

But then, at this point I have completely wandered away from the jocularity in my prior post.

 

[Yureina]

Thank god...

Its nice to see those that love to cry "racism!" at the most minor possible slight to not be taken seriously. Its also good that the system actually works correctly.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I also trust Gamespot to do a more thorough and knowledgable critique of computer game equipment than Consumer Reports.

Wheras I would fact-check a claim by Gamespot that the Sun rose in the east.

Gamespot never mentioned the word "racist" and I doubt Consumer Reports did either. That's just spin from the Escapist trying to get a few cheap hits. The only issue raised was level of skin pigmentation and facial recognition by Kinect.

It's not just the Escapist; look at the Google News search for articles on the issue, of whom the vast majority picked up on the "racist" angle. Even if the term wasn't in the GS article, the intent was clearly to gain attention by hitting cultural hot-buttons. (Yes, I'm explicity accusing GS of trolling for hits. I'll also accuse them of sloppy methodology in their testing, something I certainly expect Consumer Reports to get right with their extensive experience with product testing.)

-- Steve

 

[SpaceSpork]

The Kinect is racist because it's black! And you know what else is racist? Nighttime! Someone needs to ban nighttime!

 

[El Gostro]

Damn,<link=I'm always late>I'm always late for this debates...

 

[El Gostro]

Double post,sorry

 

[robotam]

Well my one is racist. I bought it day one and since then it's being complaining to me about foreigners. I told it to behave and it called me a racial slur.
Oh no, that was my grandad...
..never mind.

 

[soapyshooter]

GameSpot is a piece of shit, they lost all credibility after the Kane and Lynch debacle.