A relatively small and unknown company has created facial recognition software that goes far beyond searching through government databases. It can pull up pictures from your social media accounts and from the internet meaning they can date back for many years.
The software has been used successfully by multiple law enforcement agencies, some of whom have commented on its usefulness in aiding with the identification of suspects that, in the past, would likely have been unidentifiable.
It is not yet available to the general public. However, the New York Times analysed the underlying computer code for the facial recognition application and found that it, “includes programming language to pair it with augmented-reality glasses; users would potentially be able to identify every person they saw. The tool could identify activists at a protest or an attractive stranger on the subway, revealing not just their names but where they lived, what they did and whom they knew.” As such, the privacy implications are vast.
That being said, views on these privacy implications are heavily varied. Investor, David Scalzo has said, “I’ve come to the conclusion that because information constantly increases, there’s never going to be privacy. Laws have to determine what’s legal, but you can’t ban technology. Sure, that might lead to a dystopian future or something, but you can’t ban it.” On the other end of the spectrum, Woodrow Hartzog, Professor of Law and Computer Science said, “I don’t see a future where we harness the benefits of face recognition technology without the crippling abuse of the surveillance that comes with it. The only way to stop it is to ban it.”
Perhaps the question should not be focussed entirely on whether we ban this technology or not. Before leaping to the conclusion that such technology should be banned completely, is it not important to at least consider whether we can effectively regulate it and more importantly, how we can regulate it in a way that allows us to reap the benefits whilst protecting, respecting, and balancing fundamental rights?
Read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/technology/clearview-privacy-facial-recognition.html
Police forces in Canada have confirmed that their officers have used this program! The Calgary Police Service have used a different facial recognition software program to compare CCTV footage to their mugshot database in the past, but have now recently admitted that several officers have used Clearview AI on their own initiative. The Toronto police have also admitted that their officers have used it too, and the Edmonton Police Service is conducting an investigation into their officer’s alleged use of it as well.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-police-admit-using-clearview-ai-facial-recognition-software-1.5480803