We’ve already seen facial recognition software make inroads into the casino world. So far, these have mainly been designed for assisting with identifying and barring self-excluded players, such as MelGuard, a biometric tracker used in Japan. We’ve also seen casino ATMs using facial recognition to spot money launderers in Macau casinos by matching users to their photo IDs.
But here we have something new in the facial recognition scene: a tool designed to help casinos manage their corporate social responsibility concerning problem gamblers. Human, an AI company jointly based in the UK, the US and China, put out a press release this week announcing plans to roll out technology for this very purpose. They claim their tech is capable of recognising the “subliminal facial expressions” of players in order to assist in drawing deeper conclusions on their states of mind, including recognising those in “emotional distress.”
These subtle facial expressions have been a long-time favourite topic amongst live poker professionals, and it is interesting to note that Human is also planning to use their technology to help provide advanced poker training to support the learned suppression of such signals for the poker tables.
Human even mention mobile technological applications, which of course lends itself to the notion – what if I could analyse my opponents facial expressions at the table, using an app? I doubt that Human are planning that particular application, as most of their applications tend to be working with the casino rather than the punter, but surely as the technology becomes more widespread, somebody will do it. It may not be long before we see a ban on mobile phones at the poker tables.
Still, if technology exists which can automatically flag up barely perceptible indicators of extreme stress, unhappiness, desperation or compulsive states of mind, that would be marvellous for supporting effective CSR, and give the casino industry one fewer excuse for failing to locate and treat problem gambling in their premises.
