Essay on Facial Recognition: The Debate Over Its Use in Law Enforcement

The technology of facial recognition is relatively new. It is being introduced by agencies of law enforcement around the globe to identify individuals of interest. Together with the application of automated biometric software, the system of facial recognition can verify or identify an individual through comparison and analysis of shapes, proportions, and patters of their facial contours and characteristics. There is an ongoing all-out debate regarding the application of facial recognition technology for law enforcement. Major law enforcement agencies believe that using software to analyze people's faces is essential in ensuring an effective policing. However, there are many drawbacks to facial recognition. The purpose of this essay is to persuade the reader that facial recognition should not be legal.

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Despite the ubiquity of face recognition and technology enhancement, data obtained through the face recognition technology is prone to errors. In a privacy impact assessment by the FBI in 2017, it admitted that this system is not sufficiently reliable in accurately locating other images of similar identity, leading to a higher percentage of misidentifications (Mann, Monique, and Marcus 121). Even though the FBI claims that its system can search for actual candidates in the 50 leading profiles 85% of the period, it is only in cases where the actual candidate is in the photo gallery (Naker, Sharon, and Dov 88). Otherwise, the system may produce different possible matches, hence creating untrue positive outcomes. Individuals who are not the actual candidates may become suspected of crimes that they did not commit. This system is inaccurate as it shifts the typical burden of proof from the law and makes people try to prove that they are innocent. Besides, as people increase in the database, face recognition becomes worse. Very many people around the world look alike. The accuracy of matching decreases with the increase in the likelihood of similar faces.

Moreover, the software of face recognition is particularly evil in identifying African Americas. A study conducted by Mann, Monique, and Marcus (121) showed that the accuracy rates for African Americas were lower than those of other populations. For many years, artificial intelligence experts and civil rights organizations expressed more concern that when police use facial recognition technology, they often target a particular color (black), unlike how they target white people, thus fueling racial profiling. Also, face recognition misrecognizes young people, women, and other ethnic minorities at higher rates. Most criminal databases in the United States include a varying number of immigrants, Latinos, and African Americas due to the police's racially discriminatory practices. Thus, face recognition technology has an unequal effect on people of color. Some people claim that individuals who verify the identification of computers may thwart false positives. However, according to Watney (63), individuals without specialized training may make wrong decisions on whether a photo of a candidate matches the actual person. Unluckily, only a few systems review specialized personnel and narrow down the search to the potential matches.

Like nuclear and biological weapons, facial recognition technology threatens fundamental human rights, and the future of humanity that is inevitable harms outweigh any potential benefits (Watney 63). Most towns and cities have an exponentially increasing number of cameras installed everywhere, from vehicles to children's toys to doorbells that are even police friendly. The application of computer algorithms in analyzing photographs and footages may render the privacy of humans inexistent. In this world, everywhere people go, what they do, everyone they interact with, and everything that they buy, is recorded and it can be monitored and evaluated for unimaginably horrible reasons. Through biometric tracking, the entire population is monitored automatically. Such a dragnet method of collecting and analyzing data is not suitable for safety perfect. It is perfect for social control and oppression.

To identify digital facial features in photos, videos, or real-time, facial recognition technology that uses statistical measurements is required. Facial recognition technology helps fight crime since it's a powerful tool, though several cities choose to ban its use due to privacy levels. Defenders of law enforcement argue that facial recognition technology allows them to do their work faster, which is true. However, the automation and speed facilitated through power surveillance of artificial intelligent shifts the effect of the surveillance on the society. Having the ability to do something faster, using less financial and human resources, changes its natural existence. In such a case, the fourth amendment gets meaningless in the contemporary world where everything is being recorded by private companies and gives the government simple tools for requesting and analyzing footage from an increasing and privately governed organization.

In conclusion, technology pervades every part of peoples’ daily lives. In the law enforcement system, technology has not only numerous advantages, but also various questions and drawbacks. Looking at the positive side, some of the innumeracy technology has benefited law enforcement include creating evidence that the agencies can rely on, facilitating effective investigations, and assisting in data accumulation that can enable law enforcers to react faster excellently. However, this technology should not be legalized since it affects the privacy of people in different ways. It is up to lawmakers and courts to airstrike the required equilibrium between privacy rights and the need for information. For many years to come, this debate will continue to play in public discussions as well as in courts. Local, federal, and state officials of law enforcement should be mindful of this question when creating rules that ensure the protection of citizens' privacy, while at the same time ensuring that law enforcement incredibly uses surveillance investigatory and tools for fighting crimes. Meantime, technology will continue evolving and advancing in ways that people can't anticipate. Determined policing and watching of the behavior of human beings enriches elites, breeds conformity, and benefits tyrants. Lining up and getting faces scanned to take part in society threatens privacy, humanity, and the ability of people to be themselves. The mass surveillance problem cannot be solved by ending facial recognition temporarily or forever. Data-driven policing will continue through other means apart from facial recognition and outside of law enforcement's traditional bounds unless substantial changes within the industry and several government regulations are put into place.

Works Cited

Mann, Monique, and Marcus Smith. "Automated facial recognition technology: Recent developments and approaches to oversight." UNSWLJ 40, (2017): 121.

Naker, Sharon, and Dov Greenbaum. "Now you see me: Now you still do: Facial recognition technology and the growing lack of privacy." BUJ Sci. & Tech. L. 23, (2017): 88.

Watney, Murdoch M. "Law Enforcement Use of Artificial Intelligence for Domestic Security: Challenges and Risks." ECLAIR 2019 European Conference on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Academic Conferences and publishing limited, 2019.