"Looking" gay
 

I was not sure what to post this under (maybe we need a technology forum?) but I thought it was interesting and wanted to share.

There is an article in The Guardian that claims "New AI can guess whether you're gay or straight from a photograph "

https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...m-a-photograph

Supposedly it can "...correctly distinguish between gay and straight men 81% of the time, and 74% for women..."

It bring up some interesting questions - do people "look" gay? I mean sure Boy George you pretty much knew at first glance - but what does being gay look like?

I do know since I have horrible "gaydar" this would have been helpful over the years - imagine feeding your school yearbook into the system! ;)

It used to be that while walking somewhere, the guy who looked back at you at the same time you looked back at him was a good candidate to be gay. But that's cruising, a different subject. ;)

Seriously, with some guys I just knew. Other times, like when I went to Dignity/Washington in DC in the '80s and '90s, I'd see hundreds of gay men of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, walks of life (although skewed to white-collar government workers, priests or others of religious orders, and college students), etc., etc. I learned there wasn't really a single aspect of appearance I could go by but more the countenance and manner, the look in the eye. I imagine my gaydar was also poor unless I saw men in a gay setting or we actually interacted -- whether verbally, non-verbally, physically...

There's been some pushback on the study from GLAAD and HRC, but here's a piece arguing they misunderstand the science: HRC and GLAAD release a silly statement about the ‘gay face’ study from The Bilerico Report on LGBTQNation. The authors of the study addressed the controversy, too, and in a very readable form that's accessible and understandable to lay people. I recommend it, if you have a few minutes to spare.

I agree it's a phenomenon worth studying. Heck, with the new iPhone X coming out, maybe Apple will know if you're gay! :)

The tech is out there, to paraphrase The X-Files, and if the research becomes reproducible and them implemented in a reliable manner -- sounds distant, but things change quickly these days -- it could be used by homophobic governments or groups to target gays.

~ Bob S.

Well at $1000 Apple will know if you are rich! ;)

Hahaha...good point....hey, don't forget Google from all the searches we do on line!

It is a bit scary what sort of profile could be put together about us from our search history.

As has been shown with the Amazon Alexa they maintain the information about what was searched for.

Even using software to hide IP addresses and erase your search history I guess with the Internet there is no "in the closet" - if someone wanted to find out what you are into they can.

I just hope for the sake of all the young guys still not sure and not ready to be outed that they are better on the computer than their parents are and can cover their tracks until they feel comfortable.

I make a lot of Google searches for places in the Sex Listings, either to check the address, the hours, or the maps' geo-coordinates or to check when someone says a place is closed.

I submit corrections occasionally to Google Maps for places in the Sex Listings, whether they are gyms, bathhouses, adult video stores, or whatever.

I guess at this point I really don't care what Google's computers and algorithms think of me.:D

I don't see it affecting the ads I see except when I'm doing these searches. In that case, it seems to be contextual based on my search terms, not so much on my search history.

Great - because with Amazon suddenly months later it will come up with "Since you looked at lube you might be interested in..." and there does not seem to be a way to exclude items from your search profile. It is really a shame because they do have a nice selection of adult toys!

I wonder if it would say the same if you were looking for lube to grease the joints on you car...lol