The NEC Corporation has established a set of human rights principles to guide its business decisions when using biometrics and artificial intelligence. The newly published “NEC Group AI and Human Rights Principles” reflect a commitment to privacy at every stage of development, and are also intended to ensure compliance with international rules and regulations. With…
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has named Nuance Communications one of 2019’s “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality” in its Corporate Equality Index. The Foundation bills itself as America’s largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, with over 3 million members and supporters across the country. Its Corporate Equality Index…
The Biometrics Institute has issued seven ethical principles meant to serve as a guideline for how contemporary biometrics technology should be deployed. The list of principles begins with a bit of a tautology – “Ethical behaviour” – and goes on to include “Ownership of the biometric and respect for individuals’ personal data”, “Serving humans”, “Justice…
“…Microsoft has stated that it is not involved in a partnership with SenseNets, and that it has asked the company to remove the Microsoft logo from its website as it had been used without permission.” Microsoft is denying that its technology is being used in an intrusive and controversial Chinese surveillance program after being implicated…
Amazon is now calling for government regulation of facial recognition technology, even as it defends sales of its own such technology to law enforcement authorities. In a new post on the Amazon Web Services Machine Learning blog, the company’s VP of Global Public Policy, Michael Punke, writes, “We support the calls for an appropriate national…
The heart of Silicon Valley could become the first place where AI-driven facial recognition technology is banned, if proposed legislation is put into place. The proposition comes from San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Aaron Peskin. It would implement new requirements for police to obtain approval from the city’s Board of Supervisors before purchasing new…
The inaugural MIT AI Policy Congress recently convened in Massachusetts, bringing together leading researchers, industry insiders, and policy experts for a series of discussions about the future of artificial intelligence. Hosted by MIT’s Internet Policy Research Initiative (IPRI) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the conversation stressed the importance of collaboration and…
Respondents to FindBiometrics’ latest Year in Review survey tend to have shown a high level of comfort with – and enthusiasm for – biometric technologies, though that attitude took a notable dip when it came to the topic of how the government uses biometric technologies. Question 12 of the survey asked respondents to indicate how…
A proposed border law in the German state of Saxony has come under fire from local interest groups, in large part because of the planned use of facial recognition technology along the state’s Czech and Polish borders. “The planned border surveillance places large parts of Saxony under some sort of state of emergency, and it…
Microsoft’s top leadership continue to call for regulation of the facial recognition industry, this time with CEO Satya Nadella making the case in a talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “In the marketplace there’s no discrimination between the right use and the wrong use,” he said, regarding practices concerning the development and sale…
“By targeting three of the world’s biggest tech companies, the letters could help to focus attention on the issue.” A coalition of 85 advocacy and activist groups have signed open letters urging Amazon, Google, and Microsoft to pledge not to sell facial recognition technology to government authorities. Signatories include the American Civil Liberties Union, the…
Following a high-profile human rights complaint, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has committed to establishing and publishing a formal policy concerning its retention of biometric data from criminals. The case was brought forward by the country’s Human Rights Commission in support of a claim from an anonymous individual whose fingerprint and DNA data were…
NEC has joined the chorus of tech companies and other stakeholders calling for greater regulation of artificial intelligence and facial recognition technologies, with the company’s CEO, Takashi Niino, writing in a statement that his firm “welcomes greater industry collaboration and effective discussion for the future of facial recognition technology and business.” The statement comes after…
Facial recognition was secretly used to scan attendees of a Taylor Swift concert earlier this year, it has now been revealed. The technology was deployed at a kiosk set up at California’s Rose Bowl in May. The kiosk featured a display showing highlights from the pop star’s rehearsal, attracting the attention of Swift fans; and…
An AI research group based in New York University has issued a new paper calling for government regulation of artificial intelligence technologies. Called AI Now, the group is headed by employees from major tech companies including Google and Microsoft. Its latest publication, simply titled “AI Now Report 2018”, highlights the growing use of AI technologies…
“Commenting on the Cardiff University study, South Wales Police Deputy Chief Constable Richard Lewis said it offers “a balanced perspective” on the facial recognition system, with police use of facial recognition having become a controversial subject in the UK.” Facial recognition technology being used by South Wales Police has now come under academic scrutiny, with…
A case that could ultimately defang Illinois’ biometric privacy law is now underway before the state’s Supreme Court. It revolves around the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, a law passed back in 2008 that essentially requires organizations to obtain informed consent from individuals before collecting their biometric data. The biometric revolution in consumer…
At a time of heightened controversy around government use of facial recognition technology, Trueface is laying out its own ethical guidelines for ‘responsibly deployed facial recognition’. Writing in a Medium post, Trueface CEO Shaun Moore groups his firm’s ethos under three main headings. The first, and perhaps most important, is “Humanity First”, a reference to…
“In addition to counter-suing, Brackeen is also pressuring shareholders to remove the Board and reinstate him as CEO…” Brian Brackeen, the founder and former CEO of facial recognition specialist Kairos, is counter-suing the company after it ejected him from his role and filed a suit against him over alleged theft and breach of duties. As…