Facial Recognition AI was and is, a ground-breaking technology that would revolutionize Advanced Surveillance systems. The system isolates facial signatures, identifying the individual against a select database. The invention of this tech became a prime factor in the enhanced security that the public and the Government enjoys. From missing individuals to people posing a threat to society, Facial Recognition has proved its mettle in the service sector. So why is there a call to ban this versatile technology?
Why Ban Facial Recognition?
The unanimous agreement among activists is that it is “Invasive”. It could mean that anyone could use the tech to trace individuals.
There is potential for error when it comes to certain ethnicities. In a direct response to inaccurate racial profiling, Microsoft restricted the use of their facial recognition tech. Amazon and IBM also made this move earlier. Although a lot of firms have begun to rescind their facial recognition apps and software, careful study has to be done on how it can be implemented while mitigating the inherent risks.
Accuracy levels of Facial Recognition technology:
Tech Service providers have to provide the right information to allay the concerns of the public.
- A 10-year study, held by the NIST in the USA, revealed that the accuracy levels are 99.8% (2018).
- Despite the capability, governments don’t track the movements of every individual. They save operating costs by focussing on people already classified as threats.
- The Confidence threshold is a check developed within the AI by Deep Machine Learning. Even on a correct match, if the CT is below 99% it will return a negative. This is vital in eliminating false positive matches, making the tech even more reliable.
Impact of the Ban on Enterprises:
Despite the confidence-boosting data presented above, we need to accept that a complete ban is not out of the equation. The Top 2 industries that employ Facial Recognition Tech are Security and Banking & Finance sectors.
Right now, facial recognition is used as a secure access login tool for online banking, in international banks like HSBC and OCBC. Caixa Bank, in Spain, is experimenting with this tech in their ATMs. They will seek other means to secure their facilities
Enterprises that provide security tech need to identify viable alternatives with high market potential. Although the efficacy of the alternate tech is lesser, a possible ban leaves us with no choice but to develop them.
Security:
Behavioral Biometrics and Object recognition are proposed alternatives from leading International Security Service providers.
Advanced Voice recording, recognition, and Real-Time Translation capabilities have applications in both surveillance and security. Access to Secure Locations and Information could be shielded with Retinal and Fingerprint scanners. Retinal Scanner combined with Pulse detection is a fairly failsafe solution.
Tracking of individuals is also possible through Mobile GPS and the unique MAC number. License plates, Id’s, and any sort of paper trail that an individual leaves, is a potential vertical for surveillance R&D.
To reduce shoplifting and loitering, retailers get customers to sign in with digital signatures or fingerprint scanning. A Study by the Walgreens Boots Alliance claims that nearly 70% of clients are open to Fingerprint-based access and payment system.
Banking and Finance:
Older methods like passwords and security questions are prone to phishing. Service providers can delve into the feasibility of incorporating voice recognition, retinal, and fingerprint scanning in apps and premises.
Bank of America and JP Morgan already offer fingerprint sign-ins to millions, while Citigroup identifies credit card customers by their voice.
Besides these two, various industries are open to AI technology, to secure client experience. The Hospitality and Tourism sectors can provide restricted access to their customer base. In Marketing, Estee-Lauder’s Smashbox uses ModiFace to track Eye Movement on their Site, to identify areas of interest.
The opportunities in developing alternative solutions to Facial Recognition are emerging and highly exploitable. DRAUP offers AI-Driven Sales Solutions that are backed by accurate data on industry trends. Our insights are critical in identifying the crucial market opportunities across industry verticals for technologies like Facial recognition.
