Weekend Digest: The Facial Recognition Edition

For our weekend business and political readers:

I SEE YOU
Computers have learned to recognize faces.

Fast Company reports, “Thanks to deep learning, computers recently matched humans at facial recognition.”

Earlier this year Facebook created DeepFace, a facial recognition system almost as accurate as the human brain. In a standardized test involving pairs of photographs, a human being would get the answer correct 97.53% of the time; Facebook’s technology scored an impressive 97.25%. Most people thought that was as far as facial recognition breakthroughs would go in 2014. They were wrong.

Who eclipsed Facebook’s achievement and is this deep learning technology making artificial intelligence possible?  Find out at this link.

A REPORT CARD ON LINKEDIN
What grade would you give LinkedIn? Does it work for you?

Marketplace takes a look at this job hunting social media site through the experience of some of its users.

“Everybody uses LinkedIn,” says executive recruiter Dwight Scott.

So what does this mean for people who belong to LinkedIn because they’re looking for a job? Or because they have a vague understanding that belonging to the site might somehow helps them? I heard from a lot of workers who said they found jobs through the site – both by making new contacts and being contacted by recruiters. Claudine Halpern, who worked in management consulting for 35 years, says she’s used LinkedIn to get a lot of projects but is still reserved about the site.

“It’s a tool,” she says. “It’s not A+. Nothing is A+ without the work you do around it.”

For more LinkedIn insights on what some of its users think, follow this link.

WORLD CUP A ‘HUMONGOUS DEAL’ FOR ADIDAS
Why?  Because Adidas sponsors the tournament and Mashable reports Adidas “is pulling out all the stops to extend its brand reach.”

Its efforts start at Adidas Posto, a temporary command center and workspace the company has set up at the headquarters of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, Brazil’s most popular professional team, which is located in this glamorous ocean-side city and sponsored by Adidas.

During the World Cup’s one-month duration, social, digital, PR, marketing and event managers from the United States, UK, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, China and other countries will all run operations from the temporary mothership.

For an inside look at this amazing mothership “from still the world’s most iconic futebol brand,” kick to this link.

BLACK VOTERS IN MISSISSIPPI HELP SAVE A REPUBLICAN
Republican senator Thad Cochran barely survived his re-election bid this past week against a Tea Party challenger in the most unorthodox of ways. Black voters concerned about the ultra-conservative Tea Party candidate, Chris McDaniel, went to the polls and helped rally Cochran to victory.

Race relations have improved over the last 45 years, and African-Americans made a coordinated effort to keep Mr. Cochran in office out of concern that his challenger, Chris McDaniel, a Tea Party favorite, would be less inclusive.

The returns showed that Humphreys County, a predominantly African-American area, went for Cochran, 811 to 214.

Belzoni, Mississippi is a small town in Humphreys County. The New York Times has reaction to this historic vote from Belzoni’s first black mayor, who chronicles how his town has progressed from the horrors of the past.  Click on this link for the full story.

McDANIEL’S REACTION TO LOSS
After losing to Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, Tea Party challenger Chris McDaniel came out swinging in a fiery speech that was far from a consolation.

Tuesday night, Sen. Thad Cochran won the Republican Senate primary in Mississippi.

That did not make Chris McDaniel very happy, as his non-concession concession speech shows. Here are the highlights — in under two minutes.

Go to this link from The Washington Post for the blitz.

HILLARY SAYS HER RECORD ‘SPEAKS FOR ITSELF’
That’s “without help from anyone else — including her husband,” reports POLITICO.

The possible Democratic presidential front-runner made those comments in an interview with PBS’ Gwen Ifill, according to a transcript of the conversation. The wide-ranging interview, in which Clinton urged candidates to run on Obamacare, said she knows what a presidential bid entails.

The defense of her economic record comes as Clinton has been battered with criticism over comments she has made about her personal wealth, a dynamic that caused former President Bill Clinton to argue a day earlier that she is “not out of touch.”

“My husband was very sweet … but I don’t need anybody to defend my record,” she said according to the transcript, which was provided by PBS. “I think my record speaks for itself.”

For more on this story, plus reaction and analysis, follow this link.

NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD STUDENT VOTES FOR HIMSELF AND WINS
Although it only took one vote, his.

We’re going to give Rutgers undergrad Asad Asif a gold star for defying the millennial stereotype, because not only did he vote in New Jersey’s June 3 primary, he also took the initiative to write in the name of a candidate for the obscure, wide-open Old Bridge’s Ward 6, District 7 committeeman position.

The thing is, Asif wrote in his own name … and won.

So what party will Asif be affiliated with (he didn’t know when he voted)? What are the job’s responsibilities? And will he take it seriously? Find out at this link from The Washington Post.

LITTLE ROCK INCLUDED IN ICONIC CIVIL RIGHTS PHOTOS
KULfoto has included two shots from Civil Rights strife in Little Rock in a collection it calls, “The fight for Civil Rights in shocking images from the 1950s and 1960s.”

Take a look back at these incredible historical photos at this link.

FUNNY LOOKING CAP COULD SAVE A PITCHER’S LIFE
Actually, it’s really dopey looking, but its purpose isn’t.

Last night, San Diego Padres reliever Alex Torres became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to try a new padded cap designed by manufacturer 4Licensing Corporation called the isoBLOX Protective Cap designed to increase protection from balls traveling at 90 mph if struck in the front, and 85 mph on the sides where damage to the temples can occur.

But given the injuries that have occurred with line-drives batted back up the middle, only to find the pitcher’s head in the way, to horrific effects, no one should blame him.

Will more begin to use it? Take a look at the cap and get other pitchers’ reactions by clicking this link.