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The retail industry is changing fast. Malls are shutting down across the country and brick-and-mortars are continuously closing up shop. At this point, companies can either get mad and blame Amazon or employ new strategies to target a younger demographic of digitally-native consumers and online shoppers. That’s what Nike is doing, and it’s brilliant. Through its new sneaker subscription for kids, the footwear giant is building a direct-to-consumer connection with a new generation of customers, some of whom are not even old enough to tire their own shoes.

On Monday, Nike unveiled the Nike Adventure Club subscription plan, which is aimed at children from two to 10 years old, reports CNN. The plan gives parents three different tier options for their kids. They can sign up for four pairs of sneakers a year for $20 a month, six pairs for $30 a month, or 12 pairs for $50 a month. They will also have the option to choose from a selection of about 100 sneakers.

In addition to saving parents time and dreaded trips to the shoe store, children will get a kick out of the fun, kid-friendly boxes, which are decorated with animation that can be colored-in and filled with games and activities. Nike’s subscription box will also include a sizing chart to help parents measure their children’s feet.

On top of being a convenient and consistent revenue generator, the subscription service gives Nike the opportunity to establish brand loyalty with a (very) young market. According to Forbes, subscription services have grown by more than 100% each year from 2013 to 2018, ballooning into a billion-dollar business and one of the fastest-growing consumer trends. Subscriptions have also changed the way people shop for everything from clothing to meals to razors. But, for Generation Z, who grew up with on-demand TV and next-day delivery, subscription services are the norm. So it makes sense for Nike to target this base by tapping into the subscription market.

“Solving the need for parents with kids aged 2-10 years means that we are going to start building relationships through kids,” the scheme’s manager for Nike, Dave Cobban, said, reports Reuters.

Lastly, the Nike Adventure Club gives the sneaker company the ability to capitalize on the U.S. kids’ $10 billion shoe market. “In providing footwear, we’re always trying to answer, ‘What do kids want?’” Nike Adventure Club’s director of product experience and retention, Dominique Shortell, said in a press release. “But an equally important question is, ‘What kind of experience are we providing for their parents?’ We want to make shopping for footwear as convenient as possible for them.”

If all goes well, don’t be surprised if Nike rolls out a sneaker club for adults.

On a scale from one to Godzilla is coming!!! how scared are you of Amazon’s burgeoning, soon-to-be-ubiquitous object recognition software? Don’t lie about where you fall on the scale: Amazon’s AI now knows when you’re afraid. (Insert a million screaming-face emojis here.)

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In a recent Amazon Web Services (AWS) post, which comes via CNBC, the behemoth corporation announced that its object recognition software, dubbed Rekognition, now has “improved accuracy for emotion detection,” which includes a spate of emotions like calm, confused, disgusted, surprised, angry, sad, and happy. And now added to that list: fear. In the post, Amazon tacked that one individually on the end of the list, noting that it’s a new identifiable emotion.

For those who haven’t heard of the Big Brother-esque Rekognition software, it’s basically a system of neural nets trained on big data (i.e. a ton of photographs and videos) to identify and label objects such as text, activities, “inappropriate behavior,” people, and faces. And if you think Big Brother-esque is a bit of a stretch to describe Rekognition, keep in mind that it’s already being deployed by law enforcement to identify people’s faces. Which isn’t necessarily a bad application in itself, but let your imagination run wild and things could quickly evolve into a Philip K. Dick novel.

While fear was specifically noted by Amazon as a new emotion that Rekognition can identify, it’s actually only one addition to a number of improvements the AI is making. Along with identifying emotions, Amazon says that Rekognition is now also better at spotting gender and age range. Combined with the aforementioned list of other objects that Rekognition can identify, it’s clear that Amazon wants this software to be able detect and label absolutely any type of image you throw at it.

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There’s no explanation of how exactly Rekognition’s neural nets identify all these emotions, but obviously it’s spotting patterns in the way faces are contorted when reflecting different emotional states. Although, as CNBC notes, a lot of experts say that changes in a face don’t necessarily reflect a change in emotion — a pattern Rekognition could probably be able to verify or discard in the near future.

What do you think of Rekognition’s ability to identify emotions such as fear? Do you think facial contortions reflect emotions, or are you one of those people who always looks angry even when you’re happy? Let us know in the comments!

Feature image: Warner Bros

The post Amazon’s Rekognition AI Can Now Identify Fear appeared first on Nerdist.

(A version of this post originally appeared at Melancholyball.) Because there are so many Marvel movies, and of each it’s worth the trouble to ask, what are we fighting about, REALLY? IRON MANLebowski’s armorproves men in suits aren’t readyfor clean energy. INCREDIBLE HULKHulk need bigger Hulkto fight: literal toxicmasculinity. IRON MAN 2Russians are betterat whips, […]

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A new study from researchers at Rutgers University-Newark, highlights the overarching impact excessive use of force has on the male population in the United States, particularly when it comes to Black males.

The viral and visual deaths of Black males like Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Laquan McDonald, Michael Brown, and many others, has continued to shine light on a devastating truth Black communities and communities of color know all to well.

The research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed that “1 in 1000 Black men can expect to be killed by police.” Black men are two-and-a-half times more likely to be killed by law enforcement over their lifetime than white men.

The study reveals that choke holds, use of a chemical agent, a weapon, and other uses of force by cops are the sixth-highest cause of death for males between the ages of 25 and 25. Pointing to the heartbreaking marker that many Black males adhere to, after being continuously told that they won’t make it to reach age 25.

Researchers also pointed out the disproportionate rate for African-American women, American Indian/Alaska native communities and Latino men, who all face a higher risk of dying at the hands of police officers who use excessive force.

The threat of death for all he above mentioned groups is highest between 20 and 35 but declines with age.

Researchers used data compiled from the National Vital Statistic System’s mortality files and by Fatal encounters, a database ran by journalists who document police-involved deaths through the use of public data and media coverage.

According to the study’s researcher’s the numbers “may be an undercount.”

The study suggests that local municipalities do more to create social welfare and public health programs. But most importantly the study recommends that police officers restrict the use of armed officers in the midst of crisis situations, which include wellness checks.

“There’s clear evidence that shows the harmful and distinct ways police violence expands inequality,”  said Frank Edwards, the lead researcher of the study and an assistant professor at the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University in a statement to NBC News. “Policing plays a key role in maintaining structural inequalities between people of color and white people in the United States.”