HOW DOES A PERSON TURN INTO SOMEONE ELSE?
A man walks into a bank in Ohio, pulls out a gun, and steals several thousand dollars. The description of the suspect: male, muscular, dark skin, broad nose, bald head. Facial-recognition software finds what looks to be the perfect match: Benjamin Brooks.* The suspect is arrested. But the program got it wrong, and of all the characteristics listed above, only the first two actually fit. Thanks to evidence provided by a woman a few days later, it became clear the bank robber was wearing a lifelike silicone mask (far right). And under that mask was Conrad Zdzierak (right). For around $ 800, he had bought a mask called “The Player” at spfxmasks.com. “The Ohio robbery is not an isolated incident,” says Rusty Slusser, owner of the online shop. “Unfortunately, there are some buyers who misuse our masks for criminal purposes.”