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Facial recognition technology will change the way we live
- Facial recognition technology is projected to go mainstream in 2018, driven by significant advancements in machine learning and the integration of the technology into the latest iPhone models, with millions of devices expected to feature this capability.
- The technology is anticipated to become a primary method for unlocking smartphones and accessing bank accounts, with software capable of generating accurate face prints from photographs and identifying individuals from millions of entries in under one second, achieving approximately 99% accuracy in controlled environments.
- Applications are expected to expand beyond consumer devices to include covert surveillance, retail tracking of shopping habits and targeted advertising, monitoring of church attendance, and school oversight of teachers.
- China is identified as a leading example of widespread implementation, utilizing a government image database of 700 million people (half its population) for security operations, public transit payments, theme park access, and monitoring minor infractions such as stealing toilet paper.
- New capabilities include the ability to infer sensitive personal attributes, such as sexuality, from facial features alone, raising significant concerns regarding the erosion of privacy, freedom, and the potential for bad actors or authoritarian regimes to identify specific groups among large datasets.
- The shift toward ubiquitous face recognition, often occurring without user knowledge, is expected to fundamentally alter concepts of privacy, fairness, and trust, leading to a regulatory environment in 2018 focused on repressing harmful uses while permitting beneficial applications.