The UK police are being accused of breaking ethical standards by using live facial recognition technology to help fight crime. A recent report by the University of Cambridge into trials of the technology by forces in London and south Wales was particularly concerned about the “lack of robust redress” for anyone suffering harm. It spoke of the need to “protect human rights and improve accountability” before facial recognition is used more widely.
The Cambridge team wants a broad ban on police using the technology, and they are not alone. UK civil liberties group Big Brother Watch has been running a “stop facial recognition” campaign as the government mulls how to regulate AI technologies. Meanwhile, 12 NGOs recently called on EU legislators to completely ban it, along with various other forms of biometric identification, in their upcoming AI Act.
