It?s about civil rights and the erosion of privacy in the public realm Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are often marketed as wondrous and futuristic technologies that will help us live more convenient lives. But beyond the idealistic marketing hype the reality is far more malignant.
?AI? isn?t just asking Siri for directions or telling Alexa to turn on your lights; it?s already being used?and has been used for decades?to decide who receives medical care, who attends which schools, and who receives housing assistance.
It can also be used to identify people and people and make predictions about their behavior, a type of AI known as facial recognition.
Facial recognition software is already widespread. Customs and Border Protection uses it to screen non-U.S. residents on international flights and TSA plans to expand this to all international travelers. The New Orleans police department, in partnership with Palantir, was using facial recognition in its predictive policing program for six years before the public knew about it. It?s estimated that half of all American adults are in some sort of facial recognition database. And at AI Now?a symposium held October 16 about the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, organizing and accountability, presented by an NYU research institute of the same name?panelists warned that facial-recognition technology has troubling implications for civil rights, especially amid current debates about who has access to ...