The rapid growth of this technology has sparked a fundamental debate. Activists, politicians, academics and even police officers express serious concerns about the impact facial recognition has on the political culture based on rights and democracy
By: Birgit Schippers, Visiting Research Fellow, George Mitchell Institute for Peace, Security and Global Justice, Queen's University Belfast. Translation: Avi Blizovsky
Facial recognition technology is spreading rapidly. Software that identifies people by comparing images of their faces against a database of records is already widespread in China. It is now adopted in most parts of the world. Its use is common among police forces but also in airports, train stations and shopping centers.
The rapid growth of this technology has sparked a fundamental debate. Activists, politicians, academics and even police officers express serious concerns about the impact facial recognition has on the political culture based on rights and democracy.
Human rights concerns
As someone who studies the future of human rights, I share these concerns. Here are ten reasons why we should be concerned about the use of facial recognition technology in public spaces.
1) It puts us on the path to auto-tracking capability
CCTV is already common around the world, but for governments to use footage against a particular person they need to find specific footage that can be used as evidence. Facial recognition technology brings tracking to new levels. It enables real-time and indiscriminate automatic surveillance of people as they go about their daily lives, allowing the authorities to track every move of every person.
2) The technology operates without a clear legal or regulatory framework
Most states do not have specific legislation governing the use of facial recognition technology, although some lawmakers are trying to change this. This legal twilight zone opens the door to inappropriate use, such as obtaining our photos without our knowledge or consent and using them in ways we would not approve.
3) The use of facial recognition technology violates the principles of necessity and proportionality
It is a stated human rights principle, recognized by the United Nations, that surveillance should be necessary and proportionate. This means that surveillance should be limited to the commission of serious crimes rather than allowing unjustified interference with our freedoms and fundamental rights. Facial recognition technology does not meet these principles. This is a control technology that is a symptom of the state's lack of trust in its citizens.
4) Violation of our right to privacy
The right to objective privacy also applies in public spaces. This right protects the expression of our identity from surveillance by the state or private companies. Indiscriminately recording, storing and analyzing our images using facial recognition technology infringes on this right because it means we can no longer do anything in public without the state knowing about it.
5) Disturbing effect on our democratic political culture
Continuous surveillance can discourage people from attending public events. It can reduce participation in political demonstrations and campaigns for change and generally discourage non-conformist behavior. This disturbing effect is a serious violation of the right to freedom of assembly, association and expression.
6) Facial recognition technology denies citizens the possibility of consent
There is no detailed and specific information regarding the actual use of facial recognition. This means that we are not given the option to consent to the recording, analysis and storage of our images in databases. By denying us the possibility to consent, we are denied choice and control over the use of our images.
7) The identification is often inaccurate
Facial recognition technology ensures accurate identification. But many studies have highlighted how the algorithms trained on datasets are racially biased and identify people of color, especially women of color. Such algorithmic bias is particularly worrisome if it results in wrongful arrests, or if it causes public agencies and private companies to discriminate against women and people of certain ethnic backgrounds more than others.
8) Abuse of automation
If the people using facial recognition software mistakenly believe that the process can be computerized without human intervention, it can lead to poor decisions. This "automation bias" should be avoided. The results produced by the machine should not determine how government agencies or private corporations treat people. Skilled human operators must practice proper control and legal decision-making.
9) Secret biometric databases in the hands of governments
The databases that contain our facial images should turn on red lights. They imply that private companies and law enforcement agencies are sharing our photos to build watch lists of potential suspects without our knowledge or consent. This is a serious threat to our individual rights and civil liberties. The security of these databases and their vulnerability due to the actions of hackers is also a cause for concern.
10) Facial recognition technologies can be used to target vulnerable groups
Facial recognition technology can be used for general surveillance of everyone, but it can also be deployed selectively, for example to identify immigrants and refugees. The sale of facial recognition software to agencies such as the US Immigration Service (ICE), which is under heavy criticism for its practices in dealing with immigrants, should be of concern to anyone who cares about human rights. The use of mobile devices with a facial recognition application by police forces raises the possibility of ethnic bias on the street or towards certain racial profiles on the street.
Discussions are much needed
With so many concerns about facial recognition technology, we desperately need an open and principled debate about its impact on our rights and civil liberties. Without regulation of these systems, we risk creating dystopian police states in previously democratic countries.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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It is interesting because there is a device with a microphone and cameras from both directions and indicates a place where you entered our bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, work, a restaurant, on the way, you just entered a shopping center and you receive a rating request
In some voice help programs you should explicitly request that they run even on an inactive screen
But there is at least software that I know of from one of the mobile giants that if you have activated it once now it also works in inactive screen mode without warning so their software listens to the microphone all the time
In sarcasm maybe she monitors your snoring, in addition to everything you are interested in and checks she knows and saves every photo for those who have a watch she also monitors our biological indicators in the future she will probably know more about us than we do, probably if she had offered something like this to someone about 30 years ago he would have We are horrified by the idea but if the years are like a honey trap we lose our sensitivity to our privacy,
In the public space, even years ago, governments already had a photo of our face, they call it a passport ID card
There were cameras in many public places, but due to technological limitations it was difficult to carry out effective and quick surveillance,
The other side is that if the increased power of the individual to harm there is also increased monitoring that society creates to protect itself
And the same monitoring tools in a democratic country with really sensible regulation will be used for a worthy purpose, which is first of all the protection of human life, but like everything in a dictatorial country, it will be a tool for imposing terror on the individual and abilities
The narrowing of individual freedoms that did not exist in the history of the human race will strip the individual of any ability to think independently, he will be a small insignificant cog in the big machine in both the public and private spheres,
But of course there will be a cost to that society which is not at the level of the individual but in the capacity of the state something of course that is also important for dictators because people will be afraid to think differently this also has a difficult economic and security meaning and more... It is worth noting that even without technological means, the individual's ability to be independent in his thinking is always at risk. This can even be from fashion trends that really terrify the individual. What was normal, natural and attractive beauty suddenly becomes abnormal and repulsive. It is amazing what a huge effect this has on the individual, another place where the private space A victim is within the political camps, which is saddening because it seriously hurts even very educated people and indoctrinates them into black and white thinking where there are things you must love and there are things you must hate, which is of course all that the other camp likes.
The situation today is completely crazy, the renters of the phone, the smart watches and the television, the cameras that are everywhere in the cars, collect information, whether it is voice (yes, also at home in the living room in the bedroom) and whether it is pictures or video, the software updates collect the information and pass it on to the state authorities and commercial companies.
That is, there is no privacy today, and it seems to me that most people are quite indifferent to the issue... The 1984 vision is coming true
naive. Maybe, but...
Can I do what I want in the public space?
Yes - as long as I don't harm and/or destroy the environment.
can i say what i want
Yes - as long as I don't harm and/or destroy the environment.
Do I think/behave/act according to the accepted rules in my environment?
So then - take a picture of me, tag me, give me a like and even a hug.