Okay, so I’m sure you’ve heard about the iPhone X and its state of the art facial recognition lock, meaning if a stranger with a different face tries to unlock your phone, they would be unable to do so. The commercials have been appearing everywhere since Apple released the phone in late 2017. It seems like facial recognition is fairly new to the market, but apps prior to the Apple facial recognition lock emerged on the market to revolutionize both dating and security. (They both fit well together, right? Let me explain.)
In 2016, Russian Entrepreneurs Artem Kuharenko and Alexander Kabakov created a digital platform called FindFace in order to identify faces with just the snap of a picture. People active on VK (the equivalent of a Russian Facebook) are now able to snap pictures of someone they find interesting or don’t know and the algorithm is 99% accurate. If one found someone attractive and were not able to identify them or had no window of time to meet them, FindFace would do all of the work for you, thus connecting you to them on VK. FindFace, however, sparked so much controversy due to the fact that some people simply just do not want to be found or identified, especially among those involved in government or private careers.
On the other hand, one of the positives aspects of FindFace allows authorities to identify faces off of security cameras and tapes which might benefit the justice system. It could be extremely easy to identify runaway thieves and those who commit a serious crime. It would keep people more accountable for their actions.
So the question at hand: if Apple has introduced facial recognition locks and other countries are developing advanced facial recognition technology, will the government be using this technology soon? Will it also turn into a way to familiarize yourself with a person from afar? What will be some of the ethical consequences for entrepreneurs that develop this technology?
This is an interesting topic and one that has both huge pros and cons. On one hand, you have a brand new tool which could change security for the better and save lives. On the other, you are giving up huge amounts of privacy and are losing more and more of your right to anonymity. So not only does Apple have to determine if these features are desired by the consumer, they also must decide if these features are beneficial to the human race. That’s a pretty heady decision for any company to make.
This is an important question you’re addressing and a concerning one. How far will will technology go and when will it be too much of a breach of privacy? Even with devices like Alexa from Amazon, companies are always listening!