AI facial recognition appears to be on the wane as lawmakers grow more interested and private companies shy away.
Facial recognition raises public concerns | NBC New York I-Team
Online privacy is a Wild West, where any company can collect and harvest all the information it wants, tie it to an individual, and then sell it or use it for, well, whatever. But facial recognition technology, which scans and identifies us in the real world, is slowly being regulated in the US and elsewhere. Why is this relatively new technology getting attention while online privacy violations continue to go unchecked?
"Facial recognition surveillance raises eyebrows among policymakers for a few reasons. The first is that it is often done indiscriminately and without informed consent. The second is that it poses a threat and has a chilling effect on freedom of movement and assembly," Paul Bischoff, a privacy attorney at Comparitech, told Lifewire via email. "Finally, there are few existing laws or regulations governing how and when facial recognition can be used."
In Australia, the government is investigating two retail chains this week for their use of facial recognition. Meanwhile, in the US, the government is getting involved in multiple states, and in February of this year the IRS caved to pressure to stop using facial recognition to verify identity. There is a clear trend: State lawmakers are going after facial recognition technology.
