“Facial recognition technology is increasingly used for identity verification and identification, from aiding law enforcement investigations to identifying potential security threats at large venues. However, advances in this technology have outpaced laws and regulations, raising significant concerns related to equity, privacy, and civil liberties.
Facial recognition connects an image of a face to an identity or connects an image of a face to a database entry supporting identification or association with a prior event. Modern FRT uses an artificial intelligence (AI) model, typically deep convolutional neural networks, to extract facial features in each image, and then compares the extracted features (not the images themselves) between two images. It can either verify identity by matching a subject image to a record of a single individual (one-to-one matching) or identify an individual by matching the image to a record of an individual in a reference database (one-to-many matching).” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2024)
“Facial recognition technology is everywhere. We use it to unlock our phones, prove our identity before boarding a plane, and send money from our virtual wallets to buy groceries and baseball tickets. Because this technology is nearly unavoidable in today’s world, it is logical to assume that it is rigorously monitored and regulated. It is not. In fact, the technology is deeply flawed and mostly unregulated.
Technology does not exist outside of the biases and racism that are prevalent in our society. Studies show that facial recognition is least reliable for people of color, women, and nonbinary individuals. And that can be life-threatening when the technology is in the hands of law enforcement.” (https://www.aclu-mn.org/en/news/biased-technology-automated-discrimination-facial-recognition)
Facial-recognition systems have improved significantly in recent years. Governments and law enforcement agencies are now using them. Does use of facial recognition “violate [U.S.] Constitutional protections against unreasonable searches”? In addition, research with facial recognition has shown it to be “less accurate with older photos and with images of women, African Americans, and children.” Mistakes and deliberate abuse can happen.
Featured articles:
*Smith, M., & Seumas, M. (2022). The ethical application of biometric facial recognition technology. AI & Society, 37(1), 167-175. [PDF] [Cited by]
Smith, M., & Miller, S. (2024). Correction to: The ethical application of biometric facial recognition technology. AI & Society, 39(3), 1519.
“Biometric facial recognition is an artificial intelligence technology involving the automated comparison of facial features, used by law enforcement to identify unknown suspects from photographs and closed circuit television. Its capability is expanding rapidly in association with artificial intelligence and has great potential to solve crime. However, it also carries significant privacy and other ethical implications that require law and regulation. This article examines the rise of biometric facial recognition, current applications and legal developments, and conducts an ethical analysis of the issues that arise. Ethical principles are applied to mediate the potential conflicts in relation to this information technology that arise between security, on the one hand, and individual privacy and autonomy, and democratic accountability, on the other. These can be used to support appropriate law and regulation for the technology as it continues to develop.”
*National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2024). Facial Recognition Technology: Current Capabilities, Future Prospects, and Governance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. [PDF] [Cited by]
“Facial recognition technology is increasingly used for identity verification and identification, from aiding law enforcement investigations to identifying potential security threats at large venues. However, advances in this technology have outpaced laws and regulations, raising significant concerns related to equity, privacy, and civil liberties.
This report explores the current capabilities, future possibilities, and necessary governance for facial recognition technology. Facial Recognition Technology discusses legal, societal, and ethical implications of the technology, and recommends ways that federal agencies and others developing and deploying the technology can mitigate potential harms and enact more comprehensive safeguards.”
*Hickok, M., & Hu, E. (2024). Don’t Let Governments Buy AI Systems That Ignore Human Rights. Issues in Science and Technology, 40(3), 37-41. [PDF]
“Hickok and Hu talk about federal procurement provisions which could set expectations for data quality, model performance, risk assessments, and documentation. In the US, most artificial intelligence systems are procured by federal, state, or local entities the same way as traditional software; criteria focus on the cost of a project and a vendor’s past performance. Vendors are not required to, say, demonstrate that their solution can perform as needed in the real world. Systems developers need not prove the provenance or quality of their training data, share their models’ logic or performance metrics, or lay out design decisions, such as the trade-offs they made and the risks they foresaw and accepted. Vendors can even claim trade secrecy to deny requests for such information, foreclosing critical assessment and independent validation. Although robust regulations are unquestionably important, mandatory mechanisms embedded within the federal procurement process could go a long way to enhance accountability and avoid societal harm, both before and after other regulations are in place.”
For additional sources, see —
https://sciencebibliographies.strategian.com/facial-recognition-technology-and-privacy
For additional research about the technology of facial recognition and privacy/ethical concerns, please see Science Primary Literature.
Questions? Please let me know (engelk@grinnell.edu).
**This is an update to a post that originally appeared on January 25, 2020**
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