UK Politics Thread X: Boris' Big Bonkers Brexit Bash

[Liriena]

Look, I'm not saying that the NHS should be privatized. I'm just saying I can't, in good conscience, kink shame the people who enjoy public health catastrophes.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

UK launched passport photo checker it knew would fail with dark skin.

and I oop

Given you can override it, the checker seems like it's more of a gimmick than an essential service. It's common to release partially incomplete products while you still make improvements to them. Annoying for sure, but it doesn't sound like racism to me.

[The Huskar Social Union]

UK launched passport photo checker it knew would fail with dark skin.

and I oop

Also doesnt work with really light skin either.

What a fuck up.

[West Leas Oros 2]

UK launched passport photo checker it knew would fail with dark skin.

and I oop

And this is relevant, why?

[Ifreann]

UK launched passport photo checker it knew would fail with dark skin.

and I oop

And this is relevant, why?

UK Politics Thread.

[Alvecia]

UK launched passport photo checker it knew would fail with dark skin.

and I oop

Also doesnt work with really light skin either.

What a fuck up.

I was thinking maybe it was data input bias, but that sounds like an issue with the tech itself.

[Thermodolia]

And this is relevant, why?

UK Politics Thread.

Must be a slow news day

[West Leas Oros 2]

UK Politics Thread.

Must be a slow news day

I guess.

[Thermodolia]

I think we should do that honestly, just one more part of the state we can be rid of.

Oh for fuck sake.

NHS is cheaper and heavily reliable. Every country in the world bar the US, some African, and some South East Asian countries has a universal healthcare system.
It is more affordable per person and more reliable.

Not everyone is rich, or has an offshore bank account to evade taxes.
Do you even live in the real world?

Universal healthcare doesn’t mean government run ala NHS. Germany, Switzerland, and France all have systems which are mixed system. In the German system the government pays a base amount of 60% to 70% of the bill while private health insurance picks up the rest, in Switzerland it’s basically the ACA that actually works, and in France your healthcare is tied to your job with those who are unemployed being eligible for a Medicare type system.

[Vassenor]

UK launched passport photo checker it knew would fail with dark skin.

and I oop

And this is relevant, why?

And why can't we talk about a fuckup involving a department of the UK Government in a thread about UK politics?

[Greater vakolicci haven]

And this is relevant, why?

And why can't we talk about a fuckup involving a department of the UK Government in a thread about UK politics?

Really don't think it's a fuckup honestly, it's just not fully developed. Systems like this rely on large quantities of input, so skin tones sufficiently different from the majority in a given society are always going to cause issues. If you have a massive birthmark, or a lot of scarring on your face, it will probably do the same thing. The same goes for people with plastic surgery. Until the system receives a large amount of input, it won't be totally effective. It's not racism.

[Vassenor]

And why can't we talk about a fuckup involving a department of the UK Government in a thread about UK politics?

Really don't think it's a fuckup honestly, it's just not fully developed. Systems like this rely on large quantities of input, so skin tones sufficiently different from the majority in a given society are always going to cause issues. If you have a massive birthmark, or a lot of scarring on your face, it will probably do the same thing. The same goes for people with plastic surgery. Until the system receives a large amount of input, it won't be totally effective. It's not racism.

Where did I say that racism was the fuckup in question?

[Ifreann]

And why can't we talk about a fuckup involving a department of the UK Government in a thread about UK politics?

Really don't think it's a fuckup honestly, it's just not fully developed. Systems like this rely on large quantities of input, so skin tones sufficiently different from the majority in a given society are always going to cause issues. If you have a massive birthmark, or a lot of scarring on your face, it will probably do the same thing. The same goes for people with plastic surgery. Until the system receives a large amount of input, it won't be totally effective. It's not racism.

It's not racism that software developers didn't think to find dark skinned people to test their facial recognition software with? It's not racism that they didn't even have a black colleague try it out? I dunno, man.

[Massacrey]

It's a choice issue for me again. I shouldn't be forced to pay for health coverage which I don't want, or to contribute to the health of people I have no responsibility for.

You resent that you are required to part with a meagre ~4% of your income to not only pay for your own treatment, but also to help the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in society? Perhaps you would find the situation in the USA to be far more preferable: none of your hard-earned money would go towards those lazy do-nothings such as pregnant women or disabled folk, instead you simply pay an admittedly larger 10% of your income on insurance, and that provides cover for your entire household. Sure, it costs more and it's horribly inefficient, but at least the undesirable members of society won't be benefiting from the sweat of your own brow! After all, it's all about looking after your own. And fuck everybody else.

[Fartsniffage]

Really don't think it's a fuckup honestly, it's just not fully developed. Systems like this rely on large quantities of input, so skin tones sufficiently different from the majority in a given society are always going to cause issues. If you have a massive birthmark, or a lot of scarring on your face, it will probably do the same thing. The same goes for people with plastic surgery. Until the system receives a large amount of input, it won't be totally effective. It's not racism.

It's not racism that software developers didn't think to find dark skinned people to test their facial recognition software with? It's not racism that they didn't even have a black colleague try it out? I dunno, man.

It also doesn't work with very light skinned people. Facial recognition software just doesn't work well if there isn't much contrast in the face. It's the B8 problem of the 21st century.

[Thermodolia]

And this is relevant, why?

And why can't we talk about a fuckup involving a department of the UK Government in a thread about UK politics?

Well we do talk about BoJo everyday

[Ifreann]

It's not racism that software developers didn't think to find dark skinned people to test their facial recognition software with? It's not racism that they didn't even have a black colleague try it out? I dunno, man.

It also doesn't work with very light skinned people. Facial recognition software just doesn't work well if there isn't much contrast in the face. It's the B8 problem of the 21st century.

Well if that's the problem then that's different.

[Hirota]

It's not racism that software developers didn't think to find dark skinned people to test their facial recognition software with? It's not racism that they didn't even have a black colleague try it out? I dunno, man.

It also doesn't work with very light skinned people. Facial recognition software just doesn't work well if there isn't much contrast in the face. It's the B8 problem of the 21st century.

Indeed.

We are (probably) talking about the upper percentiles of people here - people who could be considered albino, and at the other extreme, exceptionally dark skinned people.

I say "probably" because this article doesn't really have much in the way of content, just lots of outrage - which whilst understandable is a little scant on proper science. New scientist have really dumbed down since I last read them back at school. Is a FOI request particularly scientific?

[Vassenor]

It also doesn't work with very light skinned people. Facial recognition software just doesn't work well if there isn't much contrast in the face. It's the B8 problem of the 21st century.

Indeed.

We are (probably) talking about the upper percentiles of people here - people who could be considered albino, and at the other extreme, exceptionally dark skinned people.

I say "probably" because this article doesn't really have much in the way of content, just lots of outrage. New scientist have really dumbed down since I last read them back at school. Is a FOI request particularly scientific?

Whereas your speculation that this is only edge cases is totally OK and not outrage at all.

[Hirota]

Indeed.

We are (probably) talking about the upper percentiles of people here - people who could be considered albino, and at the other extreme, exceptionally dark skinned people.

I say "probably" because this article doesn't really have much in the way of content, just lots of outrage. New scientist have really dumbed down since I last read them back at school. Is a FOI request particularly scientific?

Whereas your speculation that this is only edge cases is totally OK and not outrage at all.

Like I said, this article doesn't really have much in the way of content. I don't see the point in having a tizzy over something you can't know for certain on the basis of one sketchy article bereft of details, and full of soundbites.

Still, I do hope it gets improved and these reported issues get fixed, obviously.

[The New California Republic]

Snacking should be banned on public transport and extra taxes placed on unhealthy foods to tackle child obesity, England's outgoing chief medical officer says.

This is squarely aimed at children on the way to and from school and so will only apply on local transport - trains, buses, trams and metro networks.

The ban will also apply to adults - she wants them to model good behaviour to children.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49975720

Fuck off with that shit. I quite often have meals on the bus and trains to and from work, as sometimes it's the only free time between things that I have.

And most of the buses and trains I am on have zero children sat anywhere near me, with no children on them at all depending on the time of day, so how is my eating affecting the behaviour of nonexistent children?

If, if, this ever happens, I am going to carry on eating and drinking on public transport regardless.

[Hirota]

Found the original FOI request. New Scientist blogger journo should have included it in their piece.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... ng-1443718

[The Free Joy State]

Snacking should be banned on public transport and extra taxes placed on unhealthy foods to tackle child obesity, England's outgoing chief medical officer says.

This is squarely aimed at children on the way to and from school and so will only apply on local transport - trains, buses, trams and metro networks.

The ban will also apply to adults - she wants them to model good behaviour to children.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49975720

Fuck off with that shit. I quite often have meals on the bus and trains to and from work, as sometimes it's the only free time between things that I have.

And most of the buses and trains I am on have zero children sat anywhere near me, with no children on them at all depending on the time of day, so how is my eating affecting the behaviour of nonexistent children?

If, if, this ever happens, I am going to carry on eating and drinking on public transport regardless.

On BBC Breakfast, the outgoing Chief Medical Officer made an explicit comparison to the smoking ban -- when asked if that meant fines, she didn't deny it.

And I agree. It's bullshit. Most of the time, when I use public transport, there are no children around. They even say it will have a tiny impact on children's health. Why waste time with pointless new regulations, rather than focus time, money and energy on the things that will help?

If it ever happens, I plan to keep snacking on the bus if I need to.

[Ifreann]

Snacking should be banned on public transport and extra taxes placed on unhealthy foods to tackle child obesity, England's outgoing chief medical officer says.

This is squarely aimed at children on the way to and from school and so will only apply on local transport - trains, buses, trams and metro networks.

The ban will also apply to adults - she wants them to model good behaviour to children.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49975720

Fuck off with that shit. I quite often have meals on the bus and trains to and from work, as sometimes it's the only free time between things that I have.

And most of the buses and trains I am on have zero children sat anywhere near me, with no children on them at all depending on the time of day, so how is my eating affecting the behaviour of nonexistent children?

If, if, this ever happens, I am going to carry on eating and drinking on public transport regardless.

Ban snacking on public transport if and only if it comes with a cut to working and school hours to guarantee every person enough time to eat full meals at home. The work day won't start until after second breakfast at the earliest.

[The Blaatschapen]

Snacking should be banned on public transport and extra taxes placed on unhealthy foods to tackle child obesity, England's outgoing chief medical officer says.

This is squarely aimed at children on the way to and from school and so will only apply on local transport - trains, buses, trams and metro networks.

The ban will also apply to adults - she wants them to model good behaviour to children.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49975720

Fuck off with that shit. I quite often have meals on the bus and trains to and from work, as sometimes it's the only free time between things that I have.

And most of the buses and trains I am on have zero children sat anywhere near me, with no children on them at all depending on the time of day, so how is my eating affecting the behaviour of nonexistent children?

If, if, this ever happens, I am going to carry on eating and drinking on public transport regardless.

And if you don't pay the fine, then you will even get served