For a better understanding of how facial recognition works, we turned to the experts of Forbes Technology Council. Below they share 12 features of facial recognition technology everyone should know about.
3 reasons you can’t fight facial recognition
Facial recognition technology examines facial features to recognize and verify individuals. Although there are serious limitations, policy issues and privacy concerns that need to be addressed, the technology has the potential to help simplify travel, streamline financial transactions, diagnose conditions, identify threats and provide identification to a billion people globally who currently lack it. - Aleksandar Velkoski, National Association of REALTORS
Posting our photos on the internet has long become our habit, which means that we willingly give all the needed information to the AI behind the technology. Given this notion, anonymity is becoming a thing of the past, and we have to make our peace with the fact that broad use of facial recognition will soon become a new normal for all of us. - Daria Leshchenko, SupportYourApp Inc.
Once upon a time, the idea of facial recognition may have been something we associated with the worlds of science fiction movies. However, the technology is already in widespread use, across both private and public spaces.
Improving security systems and identifying criminals are often cited when arguing in favour of facial recognition, as well as getting rid of unnecessary labour or human interaction. However, there are also plenty of other examples.
The technology has also been used to locate missing children. Sometimes it is combined with advanced ageing software to predict what children might look like based on photos taken when they disappeared. Law enforcement uses facial recognition with live alerts which can help them track potential matches after being pinged by the system.
Facial recognition software has been used as a preemptive measure against shoplifting. Business owners use the software and security cameras to identify suspects against a database of known thieves, and it has been argued that the mere presence of facial recognition cameras has an effect as a deterrent for would-be offenders.
By examining subtle facial traits, facial recognition software can, in some cases, determine how specific genetic mutations caused a particular syndrome. The technology may be faster and less expensive than traditional genetic testing.
As with any technology, there are drawbacks to using facial recognition, such as the violation of rights and personal freedoms that it presents, potential data theft and the risk of overreliance on inaccurate systems.
For example, the aforementioned example of facial recognition being used to catalogue potential shoplifters has led to problems for companies such as Southern Co-operative, which recently faced a legal complaint for its widespread use of FR CCTV in its shops.
Facial recognition law has lagged behind potential use by bad actors in recent years, which has prompted calls from rights groups for stricter biometrics regulations, to extend to technologies such as live facial recognition.
In 2018, civil liberties organisation Big Brother Watch published evidence that facial recognition technology utilised by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) was incorrectly identifying innocent people as criminals 98% of the time.
Following on from the imperfection of facial recognition, there are inherent dangers in false positives. Facial recognition software could improperly identify someone as a criminal, resulting in an arrest, or otherwise cause them reputational damage if they were to be included on, for example, a list of shoplifters.
As facial recognition technology improves, its flaws and the risks associated with it could be reduced. Other technology is also likely to be used in tandem with facial recognition technology to improve overall accuracy, such as gait-recognition software.
This will then be transformed into something called a faceprint, which each person will have a unique version of. Once done, the facial recognition system is then able to use this for a variety of use cases.
A study published in June 2019 estimates that by 2024, the global facial recognition market would generate $7billion of revenue, supported by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% over 2019-2024.
Privacy and civil rights concerns have escalated in the country as face recognition gains traction as a law enforcement tool, and on 6 May 2019, San Francisco voted to ban facial recognition.
In Europe, at the end of August 2019, Sweden's Data Protection Authority decided to ban facial recognition technology in schools and fined a local high school (the first GDPR penalty in the country).
This article describes an issue that prevents you from logging on by using facial recognition. This issue is caused by a conflicting Group Policy setting (using facial recognition to unlock the device continues to work with the conflicting policy setting).
Windows Hello is a feature in Windows 10 that lets users log on and unlock their devices by using a preconfigured PIN, a fingerprint (if the device supports it), and facial recognition (if the device supports it).
The photos are being matched through biometric facial recognition technology to photos that were previously taken of the passengers for their passports, visas, or other government documentation. All is moving smoothly until the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assisting the passengers are alerted that they need to check one of the travelers.
One of the many examples that illustrates this occurred at JFK in May 2016, when a traveler with a U.S. passport arrived on a flight from Accra, Ghana, and presented herself as a returning U.S. citizen. All of her biographical information was processed successfully, but the CBP officer who interviewed the woman had a suspicion she might be an imposter. The officer referred the traveler to a booth equipped with the facial recognition technology where her photo was taken and compared to the photo in her passport. The match score was very low and she was referred for further inspection.
Using facial recognition technology for tracking employees in the workplace is largely unregulated in the U.S. While the GDPR in the E.U., a few states and industry organizations have provided leadership, experts believe face-scanning will receive attention from lawmakers in the near-term.
The use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement and government agencies has garnered widespread criticism in the U.S. and around the world. Large-scale data mining operations that scan and catalog faces from publicly available images on the internet have also drawn fire. In perhaps its most extreme form, China has adopted face-scanning systems to track its citizens, including its Uyghur Muslim community. Human rights groups have accused China of interning dissident members of this population en masse in government-run re-education camps. The U.S. government has claimed these actions constitute genocide.
Use of facial recognition technology goes well beyond clocking hourly workers in and out. Some employers scan faces to monitor worker productivity. Others use the technology for security. Still others use it to create image databases that can be leveraged for internal purposes or sold to third parties.
Twenty-three U.S. states currently have passed or are considering legislation that pertains to facial-recognition technology. But current laws focus mainly on uses by government agencies like law enforcement or for consumer protection purposes. Just three states regulate face-scanning systems in private contexts.
Alikhani also is quick to mention that the circumstance under which the facial recognition technology is used is also highly important under the GDPR. Entities are essentially prohibited from monitoring individuals by scanning faces if it is not specifically necessary or can be accomplished by other means.
Precedent in this regard has already been set. In 2019, the Skellefteå municipality school board in Sweden launched a pilot program in which they used facial recognition technology to take attendance. The Swedish Data Protection Authority (DPA) fined the municipality SEK 200,000 (equivalent to $29,000). Despite the fact that the municipality had obtained parental consent in advance, according to the Swedish DPA, the municipality had violated numerous GDPR requirements. Chief among these: there were other, less-intrusive ways by which they could take attendance.
But at the same time, an opt-in industry group does not have any regulatory teeth. Some members have attracted criticism for uses of facial recognition technology, including systems used to surveil employees.
Amid the race and gender biases of existing facial recognition systems, their use has threatened to become a social, or ESG, compliance issue. (The acronym stands for environmental, social and governance topics.)
In 2019, Nijeer Parks was wrongfully arrested after being misidentified by a facial recognition system. Despite being 30 miles away from the scene of the alleged crime, Parks spent 10 days in jail before police admitted their mistake.
Biometric identification is a technology that identifies and authenticates individuals based on physical characteristics. A biometric identification system includes fingerprint identification, iris and retina, facial recognition, gait, or voice. The biometrics market is growing as the technology is being hailed as the new generation of defense for law enforcement against hackers. The biometric market is expected to be worth $32.7 billion by 2022.
With more and more companies asking to store a digital copy of your face for identity verification, you might wonder if facial recognition is something you can trust. After all, you can always change a password if it's exposed in a data breach, but you can't exactly get a new face.
Synthetic ID fraud, which involves creating an entirely new identity, is the fastest-growing type of financial crime, according to a recent Experian report. This new identity may even include a fake "face" that's able to fool facial recognition technology businesses are using. Facial recognition technology might be an easy and convenient way to keep your personal information private, but what other measures can you take to protect your identity? 2ff7e9595c
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