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[bud23]

We already knew about its racial bias problem

and now things are getting scary

No federal law controls this technology, no court decision limits it. This technology is not under control - Alvaro Bedoya, Georgetown Law

Approximately half of adult Americans' photographs are stored in facial recognition databases that can be accessed by the FBI, without their knowledge or consent, in the hunt for suspected criminals. About 80% of photos in the FBI's network are non-criminal entries, including pictures from driver's licenses and passports. The algorithms used to identify matches are inaccurate about 15% of the time, and are more likely to misidentify black people than white people.

The FBI first launched its advanced biometric database, Next Generation Identification, in 2010, augmenting the old fingerprint database with further capabilities including facial recognition. The bureau did not inform the public about its newfound capabilities nor did it publish a privacy impact assessment, required by law, for five years.

Unlike with the collection of fingerprints and DNA, which is done following an arrest, photos of innocent civilians are being collected proactively. The FBI made arrangements with 18 different states to gain access to their databases of driver's license photos.

Last year, the US government accountability office (GAO) analyzed the FBI's use of facial recognition technology and found it to be lacking in accountability, accuracy and oversight, and made recommendations of how to address the problem.

A key concern was how the FBI measured the accuracy of its system, particularly the fact that it does not test for false positives nor for racial bias.

Inaccurate matching disproportionately affects people of color, according to studies. Not only are algorithms less accurate at identifying black faces, but African Americans are disproportionately subjected to police facial recognition.

”If you are black, you are more likely to be subjected to this technology, and the technology is more likely to be wrong," said Elijah Cummings, a congressman for Maryland, who called for the FBI to test its technology for racial bias – something the FBI claims is unnecessary because the system is ”race-blind".

Welcome to the dystopian future, folks

Source

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...ition-database-fbi-drivers-licenses-passports

 

[Ashes]

Why am I not surprised?

 

[Pagusas]

Why would anyone be surprised by this? It always amazes me how most of the time the government seems 100% incompetent, then you hear stories like this and think "maybe hollywood is right about how crazy advanced/out of control our goverment is"