Weekend edition—Facial recognition exits, Adidas troubles, tear gas ice cream

Good morning, Quartz readers! It has been a week of public reckoning for police use of facial recognition software. On Monday, IBM disavowed the technology entirely and CEO Arvind Krishna condemned its use “by other vendors, for mass surveillance, [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! It has been a week of public reckoning for police use of facial recognition software. On Monday, IBM disavowed the technology entirely and CEO Arvind Krishna condemned its use “by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms.” Amazon responded Wednesday by putting a one-year moratorium on police use of its Rekognition software, closely followed by Microsoft’s promise not to sell the technology to US police. The announcements came in the wake of weeks of intense protests against racism and police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd. But they also followed [years of academic research and activism]( highlighting the biases embedded in commercial facial recognition software and its grave potential for misuse. To be clear, IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft make up a relatively small share of the market for police facial recognition software. While Amazon did sell Rekognition to a number of law enforcement agencies, most police departments have contracts with smaller, less well-known firms like Clearview AI. None of these companies have stopped making deals with law enforcement. But the high-profile exits of tech companies are still likely to have a major impact on facial recognition in the US. All three firms called on members of Congress to pass legislation regulating the industry, ratcheting up pressure to create a uniform, national policy governing the technology’s use. By inviting regulation, those firms are accepting its inevitability and [welcoming the chance to have a hand in shaping the rules](. For example, in Washington—the first US state to regulate facial recognition—the laws were [literally written by a Microsoft employee](. The announcements may also have a chilling effect on fundamental AI research. IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon play an outsized role in generating basic AI research and driving academic interest in the field. Their condemnations, along with souring public opinion, could leave a stain on facial recognition that discourages researchers from advancing available tools. Among academics, there’s a growing conversation about whether research on facial recognition can ever be ethical. After all, as UT Austin AI ethicist Maria De-Arteaga pointed out when we interviewed her this week, if you could fix all the biases that make facial recognition less accurate for women and people of color than for white men, you’d be left with an even more powerful surveillance tool that could more readily be used to target marginalized communities. —Nicolás Rivero Sponsor content by The Nucleus Group This strategy & design collaborative equips purpose-driven organizations with the skills to advance change. The Nucleus Group trains organizations to advance from the inside, building capacity rather than creating dependency on outside specialists and consultants. Their support has driven positive change for humanitarian institutions and Fortune 500s alike. [Register for their free 30 minute webinar]( to learn ways to lead your organization through today's seismic shifts. This sponsorship is part of Quartz’s small business contest, spotlighting members who own and operate small businesses. FIVE THINGS ON QUARTZ WE ESPECIALLY LIKED Adidas leadership dismissed diversity complaints as “noise.” At an all-hands meeting last year at Adidas’s Reebok subsidiary, the head of HR brushed aside concerns about the company’s inaction in addressing internal racism. [As Marc Bain explains]( it’s just one reason Black employees are growing impatient with the company’s leadership. —Oliver Staley, culture and lifestyle editor The whiteness of human spaceflight in the US. ​To many, the events of May 30 told a tale of two countries. In one, history-making Black Lives Matter protesters were forcefully demanding racial justice; in another, the mostly white men of NASA and SpaceX were spending lavishly on a momentous space launch. But, [as Tim Fernholz reports]( Black engineers ​in aerospace were deeply affected by both developments, and they’re watching the giants of their field for signs of change and recognition. —Lila MacLellan, senior reporter, Quartz at Work Post-policing. With surprising speed, the conversation following the killing of George Floyd moved from demanding police reform to proposing something more radical: defunding the police altogether. For many people, the knee-jerk reaction is “Then what?” [Alex Ossola’s feature answers that question]( looking at what police abolitionism seeks to accomplish, how it works, and what results it can achieve. —Annalisa Merelli, geopolitics reporter Can you hear me? If videoconferencing hiccups are driving you nuts, consider what it’s like to be an interpreter working via Zoom. The job is especially challenging for medical interpreters, many of whom are working remotely as hospitals limit patient contact to reduce the spread of Covid-19. When technology gets in the way of clear communication, [Katherine Foley reports]( patients’ health is put on the line. —Katie Palmer, science and health editor The inequality of US visas. In an attempt to keep out foreigners who stay in the US after their visas expire, the federal government has created a situation in which people from poorer countries are much more likely to have their business, tourist, or medical-treatment visas denied. [As Youyou Zhou shows]( in her walkthrough of a dynamic data visualization, Nigerians are particularly disadvantaged while Argentinians are almost always approved. Of course, that’s when they’re allowed to travel in the first place. —David Yanofsky, editor, Things team One remote workshop from Quartz we especially liked How to build an anti-racist company. Many companies are making statements about their desire to become more inclusive and equitable, but turning those statements into meaningful change is no easy task. Quartz at Work invited four experts in diversity and racial justice to offer practical tips for workplace colleagues and leaders who are ready to do more. [The one-hour video]( is packed with specific, actionable ideas you can start using immediately. —Heather Landy, executive editor This Remote Control workshop is viewable by everyone, not just Quartz members. We hope you find it as helpful as we did. Fun(?) fact In the latest Weekly Obsession, Mary Hui told us that a gelato shop in Hong Kong has developed [tear gas-flavored ice cream]( in support of pro-democracy protesters. In developing the recipe, the owners experimented with wasabi and mustard, but ultimately settled on roasted and ground black peppercorns to create a slightly irritating aftertaste. The flavor has been a hit. Learn more about tear gas by [viewing the email on the web]( and sign up to have the Weekly Obsession delivered to your inbox, for free, every Wednesday by hitting the button below. [⚡ Sign me up]( Subscribe with one click FOR MEMBERS David Huang for Quartz China is everywhere. It’s taken a pandemic for many countries to wake up to just how powerful China really is—and how much its decisions can shape peoples’ lives. Frantic attempts to recalibrate relations with China are now underway all around the world. This week’s field guide (✦ a Quartz member exclusive) is an eye-opening deep-dive into[China’s changing influence](. ✦ Becoming a member gets you access to our field guides and a whole lot more, all while supporting quality journalism. [Sign up for a seven-day free trial to check it out.]( ✦ FIVE THINGS FROM ELSEWHERE THAT MADE US SMARTER Identifying identity. Reflecting more recently on my own racial identity amid the recent US protests, I found [this piece by FiveThirtyEight’s Perry Bacon, Jr. and Michelle Conroy]( helpful in exploring the complicated relationship between race and identity. While a high percentage of Black Americans view their race as an important part of their identity, the share was significantly less for white, Hispanic, and Asian Americans. The piece helped provide some clarity on what race means on a more personal level and the possible reasons for why some people feel more connected than others. —Michelle Cheng, reporter, Quartz at Work Minneapolis was inevitable. The Minnesota city is proud of its liberal politics and has produced Black superstars like Prince and Jam & Lewis. [Justin Ellis’s essay in The Atlantic]( is about the reality, for most, of growing up Black in this predominantly white corner of the Midwest. “When you’re born into redlining,” he says, “it has a way of making you believe that neighborhoods are the natural outcome of residents having a job and paying bills on time.” —Hasit Shah, deputy editor, global finance and economics What makes an apple go bad? [The New Yorker’s Helen Rosner]( put together five tight paragraphs to answer a question on many minds right now: how exactly a rotten apple ruins the barrel. As anyone who’s entered a grocery store can attest, apples are irregular and prone to imperfections and spoilage. Once the fruit has expelled too much of the ripening ethylene gas, rot can set in quickly, and “the closer an apple is to rot, the more rot it spreads.” —Max Lockie, deputy news editor If a tree falls in the forest and no one pays taxes… Known for its lumber industry, the US state of Oregon’s rural communities have seen jobs and tax revenue slip away in recent years. Many Oregonians blamed environmental rules, like one that restricted logging to protect the endangered spotted owl. But [a new investigation by local journalists]( shows a bigger impact from Wall Street investment firms, which bought up swaths of timberland and lobbied for lower taxes and fewer environmental protections, ultimately draining $3 billion from Oregon communities in the last three decades. —Tim Fernholz, senior reporter Designing women. Leslie Kern never realized how much urban planning is centered around male breadwinners until she got pregnant. Suddenly, just trying to get to work every day became a daunting expedition, and things didn’t improve once her child was born. [In this essay for Vox]( Leslie asks how cities could be designed differently—from transportation to street lights—so women feel more comfortable and safe navigating their streets. —Liz Webber, senior news curator Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, plain old ice cream flavors, and good apples to hi@qz.com. 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