A man with a facial disfiguration was left "disheartened" after AI recognition software failed to recognise him.<br /><br />Amit Ghose, 33, was born with neurofibromatosis type 1, a condition that causes tumours to grown along nerves.<br /><br />He lost his left eye when he was 11 and wore an eye patch while waiting for a prosthetic eye, leading to bullying at school.<br /><br />But despite those challenges, Amit says he's "always" embraced his disfigurement and has a "positive personality". <br /><br />Looking for some extra cash to fund his wedding, he decided to sign up as a Deliveroo rider.<br /><br />However, after filling in his details, Amit was prompted with an AI facial recognition software.<br /><br />This asked him to repeat a number of facial prompts - such as blinking and opening his mouth.<br /><br />The software then failed to recognise Amit, he claims, and rejected his prompts every time he tried - leaving him "frustrated."<br /><br />A Deliveroo spokesperson apologised and said the firm had put "an approach in place to resolve the issue".<br /><br />Amit, a regional manager for a law firm from Birmingham, said: "I've always embraced my disfigurement.<br /><br />"My confidence and my personality reflects a lot of positive energy. <br /><br />"But my confidence started to fade away after this. It's really interesting how AI is coming along but the personal touch and the empathy is lost.<br /><br />"It made me look in the mirror and question all of the things I advocate and talk about. Am I different? Am I normal?<br /><br />"It recognised my head turns but when I had to blink and open my mouth it rejected me.<br /><br />"It left me really left me disheartened and frustrated. Eventually they apologised and they unlocked it for me.<br /><br />"To me, that opens another layer of security concerns because now more and more companies are using this type of software."<br /><br />Amit also has worries about other AI related recognition software and often "fears" running into other issues.<br /><br />He said: "When I'm walking towards an AI passport gate as well I have fears about worrying if the gates will open. <br /><br />"There's so many cans of worms that this can open up.<br /><br />"I think AI software developers and engineers need to work with people with facial disfigurations to help develop it so that it becomes easier.<br /><br />"Let's get this right, because if AI is the way we're going to move forward, it needs to be as accepting as real humans are. <br /><br />"They need to recognise that there are people that face these challenges and they need to address them."<br /><br />Amit says his father is the "biggest reason" he's been able to accept himself. <br /><br />He said: "It's challenging in its own right but growing up with that in an Asian culture comes with its own challenges.<br /><br />"But my father really supported me throughout and never made me realise that I was different. <br /><br />"But what is different? Aren't we all different in our own ways? <br /><br />"My father was a great advocate of that and he treated me the same way as all my siblings. That really helped me build myself and allowed me to have confidence."
