Introducing the "No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA"

     "No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA", sounds confusing? Don't worry, it's not, although it's a lot creepier than you think. Technically it's still a test, but all that's left after a series of 38592 revisions and updates is a simple test that looks a little like this:

    It seems easy, a little too easy, but it's more than just a simple checkbox and it takes more than just click that to prove to the system that the user, a human being, is in fact not a robot. It's hard to believe that a bot or computer can be dumb enough to not have the ability to click on a simple box, but on the other hand, is able to solve distorted word puzzles and calculate math problems with 99% accuracy in less than a millisecond. Google after taking CAPTCHA under its wing, saw this as a research opportunity, they had one advantage over any other company, website, or application, the answer? Data, and lots of it. Google is one of the most popular search engines has over 3.5 searches a day, and being that every time a user uses Google to search for something they are unwillingly and unknowingly agreeing to Google's terms and privacy conditions, to put it simply, the agreements that no one ever bothers to read. Every time a user makes a search, Google takes the data from the search, for example, if the user is looking to buy hydrocortisone for that terrible foot rash, Google uses machine learning to keep a record of the user's history. By using that foot cream data, Google is able to make suggestions to the user related to it, like suggestions for dermatologist-recommended lotion, which is claimed to make the user's experience more convenient.

    Using that same data gathering method, machine learning is able to differentiate just by user interaction, if you're a bot or human. The whole ordeal is, if a bot were to try to click on that box it would actually have a harder time trying to click it and may take multiple attempts clicking around it before being able to pass it. The test now is more than just a test, it's an attempt at gathering more and more data from users, which means the internet is getting farther and farther away from privacy.