Now that it’s showing up in search, I will announce what I’ve done. Although I shouldn’t have done it.
I created my own Meta AI character on Instagram.
I was nosing around in my Instagram settings and discovered I could create an AI bot. So I did. You may or may not be able to create your own: see https://help.instagram.com/1675196359893731 for instructions.
“His” name is N. P. E. Bredemarket. Regular Bredemarket blog readers know that NPE stands for non-person entity.
When a car pulls up to you, do you want to look inside?
Here’s another question: when a car pulls up to you, and you’re a law enforcement officer, do you want to look inside?
And here’s a third: if you’re driving a car, how much window tint should the car windows have?
The answer to that third question varies on a state-by-state basis, which also affects the effectiveness around the second question.
I’ll use my state of California as an example. According to the “Window Tinting Laws By State” page on Geoshield’s website, the Visible Light Transmission (VLT) percentage on car windows depends on which car window you’re talking about.
For the front side windows, the minimum VLT value is 70%.
For back side windows and rear windows, any VLT value is allowed.
For the windshield, the minimum VLT value is 100%, except on the top 4 inches of the windshield.
But VLT percentages vary on a state-by-state basis. In Arkansas, front and back side windows have a minimum VLT of 25%.
And I would bet that if someone in California drives to Arkansas with “excessive” back side window tinting, they can get in trouble…if the highway patrol officer notices.
So if you’re a criminal, and you don’t want a law enforcement officer to see you, it’s safest for you to sit in the back seat. If you’re a rich criminal, you’re probably being chauffeured anyway, so this should be easy.
By the way, how many of you figured out why I’m asking these questions?
“The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said that Mitre, which has run the CVE Program since its launch in 1999, can continue to do so until early March 2026.
“This is a temporary solution. Clearly, the U.S. government wants to get rid of CISA paying for the CVE program. Someone else needs to seize the funding and governance reigns, and the opportunity to do so allows for creating a less U.S.-centric endeavor.”
If a new funding mechanism can ensure technical program continuity—while at the same time providing the $30 million business continuity by shielding the program from the chaotic whims of one country and one person—then this could be a long term solution.
The cybersecurity ecosystem has a little over 10 months to figure out how to fund the CVE program beginning in 2026.
Which means that nothing of substance will get done for the next 9 months. (How’s that TikTok sale going?)
Well, maybe North Korea will volunteer to fund the program…
I wanted to write a list of the biometric modalities for which I provide experience.
So I started my usual list from memory: fingerprint, face, iris, voice, and DNA.
Then I stopped myself.
My experience with skin goes way beyond fingerprints, since I’ve spent over two decades working with palm prints.
(Can you say “Cambridgeshire method”? I knew you could. It was a 1990s method to use the 10 standard rolled fingerprint boxes to input palm prints into an automated fingerprint identification system. Because Cambridgeshire had a bias to action and didn’t want to wait for the standards folks to figure out how to enter palm prints. But I digress.)
So instead of saying fingerprints, I thought about saying friction ridges.
But there are two problems with this.
First, many people don’t know what “friction ridges” are. They’re the ridges that form on a person’s fingers, palms, toes, and feet, all of which can conceivably identify individuals.
But there’s a second problem. The word “friction” has two meanings: the one mentioned above, and a meaning that describes how biometric data is captured.
No, there is not a friction method to capture faces. Squishing
If you have to do something to provide your biometric data, such as press your fingers against a platen, that’s friction.
If you don’t have to do anything other than wave your fingers, hold your fingers in the air, or show your face as you stand near or walk by a camera, that’s frictionless.
More and more people capture friction ridges with frictionless methods. I did this years ago using MorphoWAVE at MorphoTrak facilities, and I did it today at Whole Foods Market.
So I could list my biometric modalities as friction ridge (fingerprint and palm print via both friction and frictionless capture methods), face, iris, voice, and DNA.
But I won’t.
Anyway, if you need content, proposal, or analysis assistance with any of these modalities, Bredemarket can help you. Book a meeting at https://bredemarket.com/cpa/
I had previously designated a payment card to use with Amazon One (Card #1). When I went to check out and provided my palm, I was asked to insert this card.
The reader said there was a problem with this card, so I inserted a different card (Card #2) and the payment processed on that card.
After my purchase I went back to my Amazon One app…which still showed Card #1 as my purchase card.
So I figured I should pre-investigate what was necessary to enroll in the Amazon One palm vein system once I arrived at the store.
My first discovery was that Amazon One has its own app, separate from the Amazon app. I don’t know how many apps Amazon has, but if Amazon and Meta ever merge (Amameta?), I will need a separate phone just for its apps.
So I downloaded Amazon One, linked it to my Amazon account, and waited for the instructions on how to enroll my palm at an Amazon location…
…only to find that Amazon One wanted to take pictures of both my palms, right there on my smartphone. Just like any contactless fingerprint app.
Enrolled in Amazon One.
So I am now enrolled, and I have confirmed that my local Amazon Fresh accepts Amazon Go.
Um…that is not East Foothill.
However, as even non-locals will realize, this is NOT 235 East Foothill, but WEST Foothill. So much for geolocation. (And the location of the Madonna of the Trail statue is wrong also, but I digress.)
Facial recognition firms, let’s talk about Requests for Information from the Department of Homeland Security. I wrote about one in 2021, so I figured I’d write about another one that was just published today.
But before I do, let me just say that…um…I’m experienced in responding to Requests for Information (RFIs) from the Department of Homeland Security…and that’s all I can say.
And this new RFI is intriguing.
The RFI with Notice ID RFI-LVPZTPCD was issued by U.S Customs and Border Protection today (April 30) and is due in one month (May 30). The description includes the following:
“CBP is seeking a solution for capturing facial images of vehicle occupants in an officer-manned primary zone at an inbound vehicle point of entry (POE).”
Today’s CBP RFI-LVPZTPCD envisions the use case in which people are entering the U.S. in a car…and are NOT getting out of the car. But you still have to capture their faces at a sufficient quality level, which is easier said than done. Heck, in May 2022 it took me several tries to capture a passport facial image at CVS when I WASN’T in a car. Now add distance, odd camera angles, and possibly an intervening car windshield, and you’re in for big challenges.
I wonder how many facial recognition vendors are planning to respond to this RFI…and how many need the experienced proposal help that Bredemarket can provide.
I know one biometric firm that often responds to Department of Homeland Security RFIs, but this firm does not have a “Land Vehicle Primary Zone Traveler Photo Capture Device.” So while this firm has used Bredemarket’s proposal services in the past, it won’t respond to this particular RFI.
I know another biometric firm with a keen interest in land vehicle primary zone traveler photo capture devices, and perhaps this firm may respond to this RFI. But this is the firm that didn’t renew my consulting contract in the fall of 2024, and I haven’t heard from them since.
Of course, there are other facial recognition firms out there, some of which may have outstanding solutions to the CBP’s problem.
And in case you haven’t heard, Bredemarket has an opening for a facial recognition client, and can provide winning proposal development services.
Bredemarket 