The ethically murky marriage of technology and beauty

The last time I bought foundation, I couldn’t decide if I was a “Fair” or a “Light.” Confusing names aside, shades of cosmetics are particularly tricky for me — a relatively pale Asian woman with yellow undertones in my skin. Colors designed for Asian complexions tend to be a bit dark or dull for my liking, while those for white skin look unnatural on me.

I’m already luckier than many people whose complexions fall on the darker range of the spectrum: Finding an accurate shade may be a challenge, but I can almost always get an option that’s close enough. For others who are more tan, though, that’s not always possible.

The latest spate of beauty tech seems intent on changing all that. Companies are using tech to provide highly customized products like makeup, corrective skin care and shampoos that are tailored to your exact needs. But while on the surface these appear to be well-meaning efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity, the industry needs to carefully examine every step as it moves forward or risk exacerbating problems around perceived ideals in beauty.

Lancome launched its Le Teint Particulier custom liquid foundation in 2016 at select Nordstrom stores. It uses a skin scanner to detect your complexion at various points on your face with the help of an onsite consultant and creates a formula that’s best suited for you. The company says it can detect more than 72,000 skin tones and mix your foundation on the spot. Oprah magazine’s Manouska Jeantus even said it “answered all our prayers for a foundation that works for dark skin tones.”

Meanwhile, businesses like Curology, Insitu and Skinceuticals have sprung up in the last few years or so, offering personalized skin care with the help of tech. Curology and Insitu learn about your skin from your pictures and answers to online questionnaires, while Skinceuticals’ Custom DOSE (Diagnostic Optimization Serum Expertise) will use in-person evaluations when the service launches this summer.

The idea is that the traditional way of classifying your skin as oily, dry or combination is no longer enough — you should be able to get products based on exactly how dry, supple and pigmented your skin is. That’s good news for people who don’t fit neatly into a category and want to treat their faces with a precise combination of moisturizers and active ingredients. And it’s not just about your complexion. Benefit Cosmetics, which launched an AR brow try-on app earlier this year, said: “All brows are unique, so we built an AR solution that is customizable for any person.”

But while these products seem to promise greater inclusivity for more diverse skin types, they also come at a cost. Literally. Lancome’s Le Teint Particulier will set you back $88 per 1-ounce bottle (price includes the consultation, although refills also cost $88), while the brand’s other foundation lines like Teint Idole and Teint Miracle, which have more-limited shades, cost $47 for the same amount.

Meanwhile, systems like Custom DOSE and Schwarzkopf’s smart salon, which scans your hair to better understand its moisture and color profile for a more accurate treatment, aren’t available everywhere. When Skinceuticals launches DOSE, it will start with specific dermatology and plastic-surgery clinics, while Schwarzkopf’s service will hit select partner salons first. It’s not clear where these are located yet — whether they’re in primarily affluent neighborhoods and major cities — but typically plastic surgeons don’t see very diverse clientele. Reports from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show that almost 70 percent of all patients who underwent cosmetic procedures in the US were Caucasian, while Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American people made up 11, 9 and 7 percent, respectively.

That goes against the very notion of inclusivity. Higher prices and limited availability impede access to these products, so, many people still will not be able to enjoy the benefits. Those aren’t the only factors, of course, and things like income inequality and expensive materials aren’t necessarily the beauty industry’s problem or something companies can control. But they do have a say over other parts of the challenge.

“As more and more companies are using technology to develop customized cosmetics, they need to pay attention to issues of accessibility not only from the standpoint of price and availability but from a marketing standpoint as well,” said Tiffany Gill, associate professor of history and Africana studies at University of Delaware.

Fenty Beauty (website screenshot)

“Even if customized beauty provides an opportunity for any women who have been marginalized by the beauty industry, like women of color with darker complexions,” Gill explained, “If these products are not marketed in an inclusive way, it sends a message that women of color are not central to [that] brand.”

To be fair, Lancome does use ethnically diverse models in its marketing for Le Teint Particulier to show off how it can create accurate shades for different people. And other makeup brands like IMAN, MAC, Make Up Forever and L’Oreal have stepped up representation in their marketing. Although, these companies, in particular, have generally provided a wider range of hues than their competitors and benefited from the buzz generated from Rihanna’s cosmetics line Fenty Beauty. The singer’s 40-shade range of foundations, which include more colors on the darker end of the spectrum than other brands, highlighted the industry’s failure to provide good, affordable products for people of varying, and frequently deeper, skin tones. The foundation I mentioned at the beginning of this article, for instance, offers only five shades.

Of course, in some cases, exclusivity is the whole point. Maya Mikhailov, chief marketing officer and co-founder of mobile commerce platform GPShopper, believes there are two approaches to beauty personalization — mass and highly individual. “Mass personalization would be along the lines of Fenty Beauty or Curology –- they offer a great range of products for your individual skin types and shades, but they have an affordable price point and are looking to serve 95% of the market,” she said. Lancome and Skinceuticals, on the other hand, are targeting a more discerning audience that might be willing to pay more, she added.

Also, companies may simply be reacting to the market’s desire for greater diversity instead of being motivated by nobler intentions. “Consumers are the ones pushing the personalization trend and brands are just echoing this change in beauty ethos,” Mikhailov said. “[They] no longer idealize one standard of beauty and expect the industry to be responsive to their skin tones, textures and tastes.”

In its push for personalized products, the beauty industry has more to consider than just inclusivity and diversity. “I worry about the ways the beauty industry is using technology to diagnose beauty problems,” Gill cautioned. “Are these technologies going to be based on beauty standards that exalt certain standards of beauty as the norm? Can the technologies fully accommodate a full range of complexions and hair textures? Before embracing these technologies, beauty brands need to ask themselves some hard questions.”

We’ve already seen examples of these. From selfie-tuning apps that think of “beautifying” as lightening skin color and sharpening jawlines, to smart mirrors that seem to think freckles or wrinkles are problems, beauty tech is a situation as delicate as giving a kid a box of matches. Tech products have historically been designed for a specific audience that tends to be white-first and masculine. VR headsets, for example, still can’t quite fit on the heads of people (especially women) with thick locks and afros, nor over the glasses of nearsighted, contact lens-averse folks.

The industry’s effort to use tech and address individual needs seems borne of good intentions. It could be the beginning of a widespread change to being more inclusive, but it also runs the risk of exacerbating problems with marginalization and racial bias. The products we are seeing so far are early examples, so the lack of access and higher prices are somewhat expected. If companies truly want to embrace a broader pool of people in the long term, though, they need to make inclusion a core part of their business and not just marketing hype.

US and UK warn that Russia has been hacking routers worldwide

This morning, reports surfaced that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has been briefed on possible incoming Russian-based cyberattack that could lead to the release of compromising information about the country’s lawmakers. But the threat has been expanded beyond gaining leverage on politicians. UK cyber intelligence agency NCSC, the FBI and the DHS have jointly accused Russian-based attackers of engaging a campaign for months trying to compromise routers, switches and firewalls around the world to hijack the Internet’s infrastructure.

Globally, this effort had targeted millions of machines to spy on ISP customers, organizations and government agencies. The attack strategy let Russia peer at the data passing through the compromised devices, whether that be business or intelligence-related. It had also let attackers cripple firewalls and intrusion detection systems that organizations use to flag malicious internet traffic, according to the BBC. Any compromised hardware might even be used as a foundation for future attacks, the alert theorized.

The joint warning stated stated that the main targets have been ISPs, firms running ‘critical infrastructure,’ government departments and big companies. Finally, the alert outlined what erratic hardware behavior should indicate a device has been compromised. The report didn’t identify which companies have been affected, nor the number of devices that have been hacked.

Source: The BBC, Forbes

We’re listening to: ‘Acquisitions Inc.’ and ‘The Adventure Zone’

This week’s IRL is about podcasts. Or games. Or both? Kris Naudus loves role-playing games — the ones with dice rather than pixels — and she also loves podcasts. Combining the two should be a dream, but Kris has struggled to get into some of the most popular shows. Until now.

Kris Naudus
Senior Editor

I never played Dungeons & Dragons when I was young. My role-playing was limited to a vampire LARP in high school and a d20 Star Wars game post-college. I was aware of D&D’s existence, but it always seemed like something I would forever miss the boat on.

Now, 20 years later, D&D is having a bit of a moment. Some of this is due to its publisher, Wizards of the Coast, updating the rules and embracing digital tools to make it more accessible to new and returning players. But a lot of its newfound popularity has come from groups recording or streaming their games for audiences, producing podcasts and shows like Critical Role and HarmonQuest.

About two years ago, my book club started up its own campaign, and it didn’t take long for people in the group to gravitate toward their favorite D&D shows. Some are partial to Penny Arcade’s Acquisitions Incorporated (Acq Inc), having seen the team perform in person at a few PAX shows. But, for the majority, it’s all about The Adventure Zone (TAZ).

I was a bit hesitant to jump into TAZ: I never got into My Brother, My Brother and Me, the comedy advice podcast by the McElroy brothers, who also host TAZ, and it was starting to feel overhyped. My fellow gamers talked it up nonstop, Tumblr was full of fangirling and then one night I found my favorite bar filled with Taako cosplayers because (surprise!) the after party for the MBMBAM show was there. RIP to my peaceful night with a drink and a book.

Eventually, I relented and gave the show a try, starting with the first arc, “Here There Be Gerblins.” The first few episodes were understandably rough as the guys sort of figure out how to play D&D and what they want their characters to be. I got as far as the second arc, “Murder on the Rockport Limited,” which, I am told, is when it starts to get good, but even as the flow improved, I still wasn’t feeling it. So I moved on.

A week ago PAX East took place in Boston, and I went with my brother and a few friends. The Acq Inc live show is always a highlight for us and, needing a new podcast in my rotation, I decided to give the early episodes a try in the week running up to the convention. It didn’t blow me away, either, but I am impressed with how well-drawn the characters were from the start. Sometimes revisiting old things can be a bit of a culture shock, but all the base ingredients were present from the very beginning. It surprised me to notice little jokes and character traits that survived to this day. I can only hope my group can be this solid in 10 years.

Of course, that was a simpler time, and now Acq Inc has grown into a beast, with costumes! Props! Special effects! (The animated recaps are my personal fave.) It’s veered away from being a mere podcast, which I don’t mind since I’ve discovered that maybe D&D is as much visual as it is audio for me. Yes, it’s ultimately supposed to live in my imagination, and good storytelling should be able to do that. But D&D is also a game — one that can get bogged down in its own rules sometimes, and that can be rough on listeners as players try to figure out things like bonuses and damage. I also like being able to see the players and the maps.

Acq Inc has embraced its spectacle more and more with each episode, and that was on full display at PAX East as the team was dropped in the middle of “WizardUnknown’s Battle Royale.” Yes, that name should invoke a certain popular genre of computer game. It wasn’t just a few in-jokes, either — the players were stripped of their equipment and the available area was cut down as time passed. The screen graphic displayed recent kills and how many players were left, and it got pretty intense as that number dropped into the single digits.

Also — and this is a bit of a spoiler — there were Twitch jokes. Which were hilarious if you’re familiar with game streaming culture, but also still funny in the way overlaying modern elements onto a medieval fantasy world is (something Terry Pratchett excelled at in the Discworld series). It reminded me of how often I wish my gnome bard had a camera, because sometimes, after a particularly hard-fought or ridiculous battle, I just want to take a selfie. It just seems like something my character (who wears a shirt with her name on it) would do.

I sometimes find myself missing technology in medieval fantasy stories, and I wonder if that might be why I never actively sought out Dungeons & Dragons when I was younger. I didn’t read Lord of the Rings until I was out of college, and even now I tend to prefer fantastical stories set in an early 20th century-type world, like Fullmetal Alchemist or Legend of Korra. My speculative-fiction diet also veers heavily toward the modern day, from X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the ’90s to more recent entrants like Supernatural and Gravity Falls.

So when my colleague Aaron recommended I give TAZ another shot with its “Amnesty” arc, about monster hunting in contemporary West Virginia, it was right up my alley.

The show has just started its second season. but prior to that, the McElroys ran some experimental mini-arcs, switching game-running duties, systems and genres. Amnesty is run using the Monster of the Week RPG system, which is really evocative of how the tale is structured. It’s very heavy on the storytelling, which is a godsend when you’re trying to, well, tell a story. D&D sometimes gets bogged down in the results of die rolls, with potentially awesome moments in battle getting derailed by a critical fail, or terrifying monsters being waylaid in one turn by a clever player with just the right skill bonuses.

As Amnesty tells a contemporary story, we get to enjoy elements of popular culture and technology without it feeling out of place or forced. Well, mostly, as Amnesty is set in the National Radio Quiet Zone, so radio and cellphone use is dodgy to nonexistent over the course of the arc — the inability to contact people remotely plays a role at several points.

A rules system that doesn’t get too wrapped up in specifics made the story easy to follow, especially if, like me, you’re not familiar with the game being played at all. It’s also a more collaborative storytelling system, with the players — Justin, Travis and Clint — playing a larger role in how the story is shaped and where it ultimately goes. The first season of TAZ was accused of “railroading” its players to move the plot forward as intended, so it’s nice to see the boys being allowed to drive more. The five-episode mini-arc of Amnesty still wrapped up rather nicely, with the characters being left in a place where, if we never saw them again, it wouldn’t feel like we were cheated, but with an inkling of more to come. Which we do get, as episode six, the first episode of the second season, was released last Thursday.

I’ll probably stick with The Adventure Zone for a while. Amnesty fills the gap in my heart left by the departure of cryptid-hunting, monster-of-the-week-type shows like Gravity Falls and Grimm. I love supernatural investigation as a genre, and it’s even more interesting when it delves into American folklore — something you won’t see in the medieval fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons, given its roots in the very Anglocentric Lord of the Rings. There’s so much out there to explore beyond liches, fiends and, yes, dragons. Chupacabra, anyone?

“IRL” is a recurring column in which the Engadget staff run down what they’re buying, using, playing and streaming.

Google offers access to virtual 3D models of ancient monuments

Historic monuments around the world face threats from natural disasters, tourism and war, which is what led Ben Kacyra to found CyArk — a non-profit organization working to scan and digitally archive ancient monuments. With laser scanning, photogrammetry, drone imaging and structured light scanning, CyArk’s team has been developing detailed, digital 3D images of structures like the Ananda Ok Kyaung temple in Myanmar, the Al Azem Palace in Syria and Chichen Itza in Mexico. Now, Google is making these models available through its Arts & Culture platform.

In 2016, an earthquake damaged a number of Myanmar’s ancient temples. But because CyArk had scanned and photographed some of the structures both inside and outside prior to the quake, it was able to create accurate 3D models of the damaged temples. You can now explore them through your computer, smartphone or VR viewer and see how they once looked. The data collected by CyArk could also be used to aid in restoration efforts.

Through Google Arts & Culture, you can now see 25 historic locations in 18 countries and those wanting to download CyArk’s data can apply to do so through this form. You can explore those sites in 3D here and check out the video below for more information about CyArk’s efforts.

Source: Google (1), (2)

Weibo reverses planned purge of LGBT content

Last Friday, China’s social network Weibo said it had plans to remove violent and gay-themed content on its platform in order to comply with strict new Chinese cybersecurity regulations. Now, however, after many users of the Twitter-like system protested the removal of LGBT content, the company has relented, saying that the main purpose of its cleanup efforts is to remove pornographic, violent and gory content, not homosexuality.

According to What’s on Weibo, thousands of users responded to the plan to include gay content in Weibo’s three-month purge with the hashtag, “I am gay.” The reversal of the company’s plans around LGBT content was met with positive responses, reports What’s on Weibo, including the @LGBT account on the service which claimed this was a “step forward” in showing “respect for people who are different.” While this news may be heartening for LGBT Weibo users, the Chinese government still has the right to shut down products and services at will if it feels there is a security risk. Hopefully the protests and new Weibo decision will stick, however.

Via: The Verge

Source: Weibo

‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ and other Sega classics are coming to the Switch

Sega’s latest nostalgia trip isn’t limited to a mini Genesis and Shenmue ports. In the wake of a Japanese announcement, Sega has confirmed that it’s releasing a swath of classic Master System and Genesis games on the Nintendo Switch in North America and Europe this summer. The titles will fall under the Sega Ages bundle, and most of the initial roster are titles you’ll recognize: Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, the arcade version of Gain Ground and Thunder Force IV. The new series should ultimately include over 15 titles.

It’s not certain what these titles will cost, although they’ll be available individually. There are promises of new features, although it’s not certain what those entail.

Yes, this is clearly yet another bid on Sega’s part to cash in on fuzzy feelings for its brand on a system that seems tailor-made for quick bursts of retro gaming. At the same, it’s hard to completely balk at the idea. Many of these games would eventually vanish (outside of emulators) if ports like these didn’t exist, and it underscores the diversity of the Switch’s lineup when retro ports are readily available alongside triple-A blockbusters.

#セガフェス 2018で発表した、Nintendo Switch™「SEGA AGES」。

オリジナルを忠実に楽しめることはもちろん、追加要素を盛り込み、より快適に、より魅力的なプレイを体験できます。セガフェス 2018で発表した5タイトルの他、多数のタイトルを続々と展開予定です。#SEGAAGEShttps://t.co/iuprgP2AId pic.twitter.com/hENDBHhBcf

— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) April 16, 2018

Via: Kotaku, Polygon

Source: Sega (Twitter)

Porsche is building a speedy EV charging network across the US

Porsche knows that it can’t just compete against Tesla by producing fast electric cars — part of Tesla’s advantage stems from a Supercharger network that gives you the confidence to drive long distances. To that end, Porsche’s North American chief Klaus Zellmer has revealed to Automotive News that his company is planning to complete a network of 500 fast charging stations in the US by the end of 2019. About 189 of those stations will reside at dealerships, while the rest will sit along highways. You might need only brief pit stops (Porsche’s system charges the Mission E to 80 percent capacity in less than 20 minutes) to continue on a cross-country journey.

Tesla, for context, had 443 Superchargers in the US as of November 2017.

To no one’s surprise, Zellmer noted that it’s “pretty certain” these chargers will cost money. Porsche hasn’t sorted out the business model, the exec said, but it’s not necessarily locked to a pay-per-charge model. You could have a membership card, for instance, or an all-inclusive package. Dealerships might also offer free charging to reel in customers. In the long run, Porsche is also looking at chargers near the places you’d expect to find Porsches, such as golf courses and hotels. These ‘bonus’ locations wouldn’t need to have fast charging, though.

The charger arrays will be expensive — Zellmer warned of “six-digit” costs for dealers. Porsche isn’t going into this alone, though, as it has three potential partners (ChargePoint, EVgo and VW’s Electrify America) in mind for building the non-dealership locations.

This won’t necessarily be great news for the automotive world. EV charging is already complicated due to a mix of formats and speeds, and this risks creating a future where your choice of car frequently limits where you top up. Even so, it’s hard to deny the allure of a network that virtually eliminates the pain of slow charging — you may be more likely to ditch your gas-powered 911 or Macan if you know you won’t have to wait hours to get a full battery.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Automotive News

T-Mobile will pay $40 million for failing to fix rural calls

T-Mobile has agreed to pay (PDF) the FCC $40 million for failing to fix ongoing call failures for rural customers. The carrier previously claimed that it had resolved the problem, but the Commission kept getting complaints about calls that weren’t going through. The company also admitted it had committed another grave FCC sin: Injecting false ring tones while customers are on the line, which misleads them into thinking the carrier isn’t to blame if a calll fails.

Per the agreement, T-Mobile admits fault and will pay the fine, though it’s far from the first time the company has done so. In 2015, it settled with the FCC for $17.5 million around a pair of 911 outages, which prevented customers from contacting emergency services. The carrier also paid the Commission $48 million in 2016 over its misleading data plans, which throttled users consuming the most information without properly disclosing such a policy.

Source: FCC

Spotify lures away Apple Music’s head of hip-hop programming

The war between Apple Music and Spotify is clearly heating up. Variety has discovered that Spotify recently poached Carl Chery, Apple Music’s Head of Artist Curation for hip-hop and R&B programming. It’s not certain when he’s leaving or what he’ll do next (we’ve asked both Apple and Spotify for comment). However, it could be a big coup — Chery has been influential not just at Apple, but in the music industry at large.

Chery is best known for securing Apple Music exclusives from Chance the Rapper, including the Grammy-winning album Coloring Book. He can also take credit for helping to break artists like Cardi B, Post Malone and Khalid. Combine that with his oversight of key A-List playlists on Apple Music and it’s evident that Chery is a tastemaker who can find relatively unknown artists and give them global recognition.

Given his history, there’s a good chance he may oversee equivalent playlists at Spotify, including the influential RapCaviar. It also won’t be shocking if he presses for exclusives that would normally go Apple’s way. Spotify needs whatever edge it can get to keep growing as a public company, and that’s likely to involve recruiting the best talent the streaming music business has to offer.

Source: Variety

Google launches digital skills training for Arabic speakers

As part of Google’s focus on supporting digital literacy and STEM advocacy, the company has launched Maharat min Google (“Building Capabilities with Google”). This program is aimed at helping women and young people in the Arabic-speaking world “get ready for future job opportunities, advance their careers, or grow their businesses.” The examples Google cites are training for social media, video, online marketing and e-commerce.

According to the World Economic Forum, digital skills aren’t widely available in Arab-speaking countries, yet one in five jobs will require them by the year 2020. Google is hoping to close that gap with this latest initiative, especially because many young women in the region outperform young men in STEM fields according to the World Bank. However, employment rates for women are low because of social expectations and gender norms.

Google hopes to alleviate some of this disparity through Maharat min Google. It will consist of free courses, tools and in-person training to job seekers, educators, students and businesses. The organization is also partnering with INJAZ Al-Arab, with a $1 million grant to help the non-profit continue its work in helping students (especially women) with hands-on training for digital skills. What’s more, Google is working with the MiSK foundation to provide training for 100,000 people in Saudi Arabia (50,000 of which will be women).

This certainly continues Google’s work in building digital skills and STEM advocacy. It’s interesting that the organization has chosen to focus on the Arab-speaking world. It’s nice to see that the company truly understands the meaning of “global” and isn’t solely in a US/English speaking mindset when it comes to the people it helps.

Source: Google