National

Some designers, researchers and activists are trying to fool facial recognition technologies with fashion.

What’s happening: The protests in Hong Kong have drummed up new interest in anti-surveillance fashion, according to designers Adam Harvey and Scott Urban.

The big picture: Data repositories contain millions of faces compiled everywhere from social networks to dating sites to cameras at restaurants — with no oversight of how they’re collected.

From sunglasses to hoodies, adversarial fashions are becoming increasingly popular as facial recognition use spreads — despite calls to ban the technology.

Privacy eyewear: Urban designs IRpair sunglasses, which prevent even your iPhone from recognizing you — and dupe infrared facial recognition technologies.

Camouflage makeup: Computer Vision Dazzle is an anti-surveillance makeup project by Harvey, which tricks facial recognition algorithms by using unusual makeup tones, concealing the nose and creating asymmetry. But the flashy makeup can make you more visible to other humans. 

False-face patterns: Harvey's Hyperface is a textile pattern that fools facial recognition software into detecting facial parts like eyes, mouths and noses on your clothing to focus on these “faces” rather than yours. 

Anti-paparazzi devices: CamoFlash, also by Harvey, triggers LEDs that overexpose paparazzi camera flashes.

Anti-drone hoodies and hijabs contain shiny fabrics that reflect thermal radiation, to “avert overhead thermal surveillance," designed by Harvey.

Patches on beanie hats designed by researchers from Moscow trick the state-of-the-art facial recognition system ArcFace.

Minimalist brass masks by Polish designer Ewa Nowak, called Incognito, deflect facial recognition software like the DeepFace algorithm used by Facebook.

But, but, but: Academics like Torin Monahan argue that designs like CV Dazzle normalize the surveillance state and contribute to the “harmful conditions they seek to change.”

At stake is the question of what is considered identity in this new era of surveillance, where travelers crossing the U.S. border are subject to facial biometrics collection and truck drivers are monitored with infrared facial recognition systems.

Azeem Azhar writes in his newsletter, Exponential View, "Is our future one where we have to disguise our real selves (and emotional states) in order to be true to them?"

What's next: There will never be a way to pull off of every system of surveillance, Urban says, even with innovations like privacy eyewear and clothing.

But Harvey disagrees. The point of his designs are "to show people that surveillance has its vulnerabilities."

"The challenge now," he says, "is looking at how people are looking at you."

Fooling facial recognition with fashion

One pair of sunglasses can prevent your iPhone from recognizing you.

Illustrated collage of a woman wearing an anti-tan mask.

Technology

Deep Dive - Surveillance

Future

Automation and AI

Some designers, researchers and activists are trying to fool facial recognition technologies with fashion.What’s happening: The protests in Hong Kong have drummed up new interest in anti-surveillance fashion, according to designers Adam Harvey and Scott Urban.

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Axios contacted editors at 120 U.S. college student newspapers and asked them, “What matters most to students today?”

What they’re saying: Race, diversity and inclusion were by far the most discussed issues among student editors across public and private universities, community colleges, liberal arts schools, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and religious universities in all 50 states.

Events like an image of a brutalized Dora the Explorer found in a course presentation at Vanderbilt University, racist notes left in public spaces at St. Olaf College and a student live-streaming white nationalist thoughts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have dominated the pages of student papers.

But the concern about race and inclusion reflects decades or centuries of history — not just isolated events. 

At the University of Virginia, where the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally riled the nation in 2017, students are still “trying to reckon with what it means to go to a school built by enslaved people and founded by a slave-owner,” says Gracie Kreth. 

The town and university continue to debate whether to remove a Civil War monument to Confederate general Robert E. Lee. 

At Georgetown University, Maya Gandhi tells Axios that campus conversation was dominated last semester by a referendum aimed to establish a fee for students that would benefit the descendants of 272 slaves sold by Georgetown in 1838.

Other issues of common concern include mental health services, sexual misconduct, gun violence and public safety.

“Sexual misconduct is the issue most consistently discussed on campus,” University of Rochester’s Wil Aiken tells Axios, especially after allegations against a professor eventually led to the resignation of the school’s president in 2018. 

There were also issues unique to each school: 

Telescope construction: At the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, the biggest controversy is the plan to build the Thirty Meter Telescope atop dormant volcano Mauna Kea, which some argue is sacred land, according to Chavonnie Ramos.

DACA students losing funding: Joe Gidden tells Axios that Pima Community College has seen a decline in DACA students since the Arizona State Supreme Court struck down in-state tuition for DACA recipients last year.

Apathy: “Notre Dame has an apathy problem,” a columnist wrote in The Observer at the University of Notre Dame — setting off a campus-wide discussion. But “everyone here certainly cares about football, if that counts,” Kelli Smith says.

What’s next: When asked what the biggest concern was for the next generation of students, editors repeatedly raised the problem of rising tuition and student debt.

For the University of Oregon’s Michael Tobin, rising costs lead to existential questions like, “Is college really worth it? If I may not be able to get a job?” 

Climate change is equally concerning on campuses. Just yesterday, millions of students walked out for the global climate strike.

"Climate change has cast everyone in a sense of placeless-ness,” says Davidson College’s Katie Walsh. “Where are we to go, when perhaps there will be nowhere left to go?” 

Special report: Higher education's existential crisis

Universities' construction overhaul is ballooning

How a chatbot boosted graduation rates at Georgia State

What matters to college students today

Race, diversity and inclusion were by far the most discussed issues.

Photo illustration of students holding up newspapers

Photo Illustration: Sarah Grillo. Photo by Kevin Sullivan/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images

Education

Deep Dive - Future of Higher Education

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This story first appeared in an Axios Deep Dive

Axios contacted editors at 120 U.S. college student newspapers and asked them, “What matters most to students today?”What they’re saying: Race, diversity and inclusion were by far the most discussed issues among student editors across public and private universities, community colleges, liberal arts schools, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and religious universities in all 50 states.

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

Editor's note: This deep dive was originally published on Valentine's Day, 2019.

The gamification of courtship has gone global, from viral matchmaker shows in China to Tinder users who don't stop swiping even after finding love. 

The big picture: Apps are the new norm in dating. But the hyper-personalized and endless choices enabled by technology may actually be making it more difficult to meet “the one.” 

TV series like "The Bachelor," China's "If You Are the One" and Britain's "Love Island" have played off cultural courting traditions to create popular, dramatic and competitive game shows. 

In apps, the format of swiping can intensify pleasurable chemical reactions in the brain, and the “infinite scroll” persuades users to continue swiping into perpetuity. 

With almost endless options for partners, dating has become about "fast sex, slow love," Helen Fisher, chief scientific adviser for Match.com told Axios.

"The mechanics of the swipe feature: It's fun, it's a yes or no game."

Justin McLeod, CEO and founder of the dating app Hinge

By the numbers: Millennials spend 10 hours per week on dating apps, according to Badoo, the world’s most popular dating platform with more than 400 million users in 190 countries. 

And almost one in six singles (15%) say they feel addicted to the process of looking for a date, per a 2017 Match survey.

Why it matters: Part of playing the game is to make yourself as desirable as possible, which can lead to high, unmet expectations.

"We’re showing people this near perfect version of ourselves. It is highly tailored," Ohio State University's Jesse Fox told Axios. "You build up your hopes and expectations and then you meet — and it's awkward." 

Many dating app executives who spoke with Axios are wary to call the platforms a game. "People are trying to maximize to find the ideal," Bumble's in-house sociologist, Jessica Carbino, suggests, "which is the sort of market nature of love."

"People are able to go on more dates, find more people and, as a result, they're actually waiting longer to get married than ever before, but they're also, I think, choosing the best partner for them," McLeod said.

The bottom line: In 2017, 39% of U.S. heterosexual relationships and 65% of same-sex relationships began online. And apps aren't going away. 

For some, "it's a form of work, not just a game anymore," says Stephanie Tong of Wayne State University.

A cottage industry of services to write profiles, tend to matches and get swipes is popping up. Some, like Relationship Hero, have coaches around the world, available 24/7 to text, call or even video chat through a user's dating woes. 

Now, Tong says, it isn't about projecting confidence face-to-face but about how to write a fancier profile. 

The new rite of passage: Young, busy and still single

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The loneliness epidemic: Singles turn to matchmakers for help

Online dating can expose users to privacy breaches

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Deep Dive: The gamification of courtship

"The mechanics of the swipe feature: it's fun, it's a yes or no game."

Deep Dive: Future of Dating

Editor&#x27;s note: This deep dive was originally published on Valentine&#x27;s Day, 2019.The gamification of courtship has gone global, from viral matchmaker shows in China to Tinder users who don&#x27;t stop swiping even after finding love.

Data: SurveyMonkey online poll with a margin of error of ±2 percentage points; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Most Americans have donated their time and their money to social causes and charities in the last year, according to an Axios-SurveyMonkey poll on philanthropy that breaks down the most popular charitable giving causes.

The bottom line: Education tops the list of causes Americans have supported, followed by human services and health — but they give less to the arts and international affairs.

The big picture: Education is the top cause for both millennials (46%) and Gen X (42%). Gen Z supports health causes most (47%), while Boomers support religion (41%) more than other causes. 

International affairs ranks last in giving for all age groups, with only 6% of Americans saying that they’ve donated to related causes in the last 12 months. 

What to watch: Jobs and the economy, health care and immigration regularly rank in the top priorities that Americans want 2020 presidential candidates to address. Americans’ giving practices overlap with these priorities to some extent, but how that will play out in the election remains to be seen.

Over 70% of both Republicans and Democrats have volunteered both time and money to social causes or charities in the past year. 

However, in terms of company involvement, those who identify as more liberal are more likely to think workplaces should support social causes, with 81% of Democrats believing it’s important, compared to 62% of Republicans. 

Methodology: These data are from a SurveyMonkey online poll conducted among adults ages 18 and older in the United States. Respondents were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over.

The survey was conducted November 22-26, 2019 among 4,473 adults, including 3,332 who are employed. The modeled error estimate for the full sample is plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.

Giving Tuesday poll: The causes Americans support

Many Americans donate time and money to education and health initiatives, but less to the arts and international affairs.

Business

SurveyMonkey

Most Americans have donated their time and their money to social causes and charities in the last year, according to an <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios-SurveyMonkey poll" data-vars-click-url="https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/axios-poll-philanthropy" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/axios-poll-philanthropy" target="_blank">Axios-SurveyMonkey poll</a> on philanthropy that breaks down the most popular charitable giving causes.The bottom line: Education tops the list of causes Americans have supported, followed by human services and health — but they give less to the arts and international affairs.

In an age where “ok boomer” is a rallying cry for young people fed up with older people who don’t understand them, stereotypes abound of millennials spending money poorly. 

The big picture: Labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci tells Axios that millennials don't behave differently than prior generations — they're just thrust into different circumstances. They’re less likely to be offered pensions or qualify for employer-sponsored retirement plans, so they start saving later in life and accumulate less compared to their predecessors. Two-thirds of millennials have no retirement savings at all. 

Why it matters: Millennials are better educated, more diverse than ever and they’re now the largest labor force in America. But they also have a lower net worth and make less than their parents did, and their ratio of wealth to income is projected to remain lower than Gen Xers and Boomers throughout their lives.

“I reject any idea that millennials are more or less worried or indulgent,” Ghilarducci says. “I don’t see anything like that in the data.” 

A Pew report also suggests that external factors — debt, flat earnings and increasing expenses — account for differences in their wealth compared to other generations.

The median net worth of millennial households was $12,500 in 2016, while Gen Xers had $15,100 in 2001 and boomers had $20,700 in 1983.

Yes, but: There is a small cut of the millennial population — known as “Super Savers” — who save a significant percentage of their income for retirement. 

Saving "was a way for us to just get more control" in response to the last recession, Millennial Money creator Grant Sabatier tells Axios. 

According to a survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, 71% of millennials join employer-sponsored 401(k)s or similar plans, if they are offered.

And 38% of millennials contribute more than 10% of their income to these plans. They save more than Gen Xers (32%) and similarly to boomers (39%).

A recent study from financial firm Principal examines the habits of “Super Savers” — defined as those who save 90% or more of the IRS maximum or 15% or more of their income for retirement.

Their big sacrifices? 41% limit travel, 41% own “modest” homes and 43% drive older cars.

Jerry Patterson, senior vice president at Principal, tells Axios that family is one of the biggest influencers: 80% of super savers had parents who saved, and only 5% had parents who lived paycheck to paycheck. 

Ghilarducci's data also suggests that many young people with large bank accounts “aren’t more prudent than others,” but benefit from inheritances, trust funds and not having student loans. 

The bottom line: For millennials, having a lower net worth than their parents is part of their financial reality. 

Even with many millennials managing to save more for retirement, on a larger level, “it’s meaningless until there are real solutions,” Ghilarducci says, like better retirement plans, cheaper education or even salary raises. 

One thing most experts agree on is that saving a little, and early on, can still go a long way. “We’ve found that up to about 8%, there are very low opt-outs,” says Patterson. “You’ve got to build that nest egg.”

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The millennial retirement savers

Their ratio of wealth to income will be lower than Gen Xers and Boomers throughout their lives.

Illustration of piggy bank with sunglasses. Dollar bills sticking out of the piggy bank.

Deep Dive - Retirement

In an age where “ok boomer” is a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="rallying cry" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/style/ok-boomer.html" data-vars-content-id="e8ae48e7-0b93-4577-a7b7-d360759295a8" data-vars-headline="The millennial retirement savers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/style/ok-boomer.html" target="_blank">rallying cry</a> for young people fed up with older people who don’t understand them, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="stereotypes abound" data-vars-click-url="https://www.creditkarma.com/insights/i/fomo-spending-affects-one-in-four-millennials/" data-vars-content-id="e8ae48e7-0b93-4577-a7b7-d360759295a8" data-vars-headline="The millennial retirement savers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.creditkarma.com/insights/i/fomo-spending-affects-one-in-four-millennials/" target="_blank">stereotypes abound</a> of millennials spending money poorly. The big picture: Labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci tells Axios that millennials don&#x27;t behave differently than prior generations — they&#x27;re just thrust into different circumstances. They’re less likely to be offered <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="pensions" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/companies-are-racing-to-dump-their-pension-plans-679828fc-65df-401f-956d-8b57eb1f5438.html" data-vars-content-id="e8ae48e7-0b93-4577-a7b7-d360759295a8" data-vars-headline="The millennial retirement savers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/companies-are-racing-to-dump-their-pension-plans-679828fc-65df-401f-956d-8b57eb1f5438.html" target="_self">pensions</a> or <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="qualify" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nirsonline.org/2018/02/new-research-finds-95-percent-of-millennials-not-saving-adequately-for-retirement/" data-vars-content-id="e8ae48e7-0b93-4577-a7b7-d360759295a8" data-vars-headline="The millennial retirement savers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nirsonline.org/2018/02/new-research-finds-95-percent-of-millennials-not-saving-adequately-for-retirement/" target="_blank">qualify</a> for employer-sponsored retirement plans, so they start saving later in life and accumulate less compared to their predecessors. Two-thirds of millennials <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="have no retirement savings" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nirsonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Millennials-Report-1.pdf" data-vars-content-id="e8ae48e7-0b93-4577-a7b7-d360759295a8" data-vars-headline="The millennial retirement savers" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nirsonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Millennials-Report-1.pdf" target="_blank">have no retirement savings</a> at all.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Jessie Li

Stories

Deep Dive: The gamification of courtship

Giving Tuesday poll: The causes Americans support

The millennial retirement savers

What matters to college students today

Fooling facial recognition with fashion