A topic I have had on my mind lately is facial recognition technology and its threat to our rights. Over the past decade facial recognition software has been drastically improved and although it has many great applications some fear it can also be used for more malevolent deeds. With recent leaks from whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden, we have evidence that shows agencies such as the NSA and the FBI, actively spy on their citizens and the store massive amounts of data on them. This should concern any citizen, especially since these programs were implemented without informing the public. Its is a clear breach on our rights and it should be addressed as soon as possible. Although I understand the counter argument to these leaks, the primary one being "well if you're not doing anything wrong you have nothing to hide". This is a silly argument, there is a reason our founding fathers have basic human rights written down in our constitution. The more leeway we allow, the more inclined the government is to abuse it. I believe the more important issue at hand is the principle. How much leeway should we allow the government before something is done about it? Every time I start to ponder this question I always think back to when I read 1984 by George Orwell. Although it's quite an exaggerated version of what is happening right now, I do believe that with enough ignorance we will slowly start building up to his dystopia. However, back to my point, facial recognition is easily one of, if not the most, frightening software in the wrong hands. Besides abuse from the government, it can also lead to privacy concerns with consumers. If advertisers start using facial recognition they could potentially give the consumer better advertisements, however to some consumers this could be considered an invasion of privacy so when should we draw the line? Should citizens start demanding laws that limit the use and application of facial recognition software? Its use is necessary for effective law enforcement especially when looking for a suspect on the run. It can also be used to detect identity fraud with documents such as passports and driving licenses. Furthermore, it has great application potential in business such as apps being able to detect a customer's traits (for example whether they're male or female) and being able to serve them more quickly. Like with most software, we should be concerned about privacy. Laws which limit its use to only suspects and that restrain gathering data from any citizen that just so happens to be in line of sight of a camera should be created and strongly enforced, preferably by a third party. Whether a politician will ever consider bringing up any of these issues I do not know. I believe it will come down to the citizens if we ever want to see any serious push for better privacy laws. For now though I will focus on the many benefits that will also come from these technologies.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130508213233.html
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2017
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