Brightly patterned sweaters trick facial recognition into mistaking people for zebras

Facial recognition technology is a particularly invasive form of surveillance because individuals are recorded, identified and tracked without their knowledge or consent. But are people concerned? That depends. According to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, a small majority favors the technology when it's used for security purposes, like tracking who enters or leaves an apartment building or enhancing credit card security by using cameras to confirm a cardholder's identity. However, "57% of Americans oppose social media sites automatically identifying people in photos, and about half of Americans say they oppose companies automatically tracking the attendance of their employees."

For those who want a say in whether their image and presence are constantly recorded, Cap_able's sweaters and pants aren't perfect. They've been created to thwart specific facial recognition software, and eventually, algorithms will catch up and recognize Cap_able patterns as clothes, not zebras or giraffes. The brand's greater value may be as a conversation starter — a reminder of surveillance technology's pervasiveness and people's right to privacy.