In The Face Of New Technology

Feb 1, 2004 12:00 PM, LARRY ANDERSON, Editor

Face recognition lately has been taking it on the chin. Several high-profile applications have failed, resulting in some bad press. Speaking out against the technology, not surprisingly, is the ACLU, which most recently came out swinging against use of the biometric application at a school in Arizona.

It's not surprising that the American Civil Liberties Union would be opposed to high-tech biometrics, but the basis of their objections seems a little odd. They're against face recognition because they say it doesn't work.

It seems to me there are two different and distinct questions that should be addressed: One is whether facial technology “should” be used, a question that calls for careful analysis of any ethical or privacy issues related to implementing the technology. A distinctly separate question is how effectively the technology does its job.

Mixing together ethical issues with effectiveness issues seems to assume there is no room for the accuracy and dependability of the technology to improve over time. Obviously, every high-tech product evolves and improves as researchers and product developers identify weaknesses and design around them. Is the ACLU suggesting that while the current false positive rate for facial recognition systems is too high for some applications, the technology would be acceptable to them if the false positive rate were to decrease? If the argument is privacy, wouldn't more accurate systems be even more threatening?

Maybe the ACLU is just kicking a technology when it is down by piling its objections on top of the technical challenges and perception problems — some might say growing pains — that face recognition technology is experiencing.

Face recognition is appropriate for a variety of applications, but it will never be applicable to every situation. When it works and when it doesn't are issues to be worked out by product developers and users — and in the course of its success or failure in the marketplace. If face recognition does the job often enough to create an economically viable market, it will succeed. If it doesn't, it won't. It seems the only role for the ACLU in this instance is to make noise from the sidelines.

We need thoughtful consideration of privacy and civil liberties issues as they relate to new technologies. I would oppose the use of face recognition in a court of law, for example, or as the sole basis for an arrest. It is more appropriate as a tool to make more things possible — to extend the efforts and capabilities of police and security professionals. How well it does that will ultimately decide its fate.

And if looking at faces is an invasion of privacy, maybe we should all be wearing masks.

YOUR THOUGHTS

We are looking for reader feedback. E-mail landerson@primediabusiness.com and tell us what you think!

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2012 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Targeting The Customer
• Electronic Pedigrees
• One Hero Among Many
• Who? What? When? Where? Why?
• More from September's issue