Does your organization need facial recognition technology as part of your security system?
According to Forbes, facial recognition software is already being used to:
- put Snapchat and Instagram face filters on your face (using object recognition)
- identify your friends in Facebook photos
- unlock your phone
- create CG characters in movies
- verify identity
- identify imposters and screen passengers at airports
- prevent crime in retail spaces
- tailor advertising to you individually
- find missing children / individuals
While there are security-related benefits to facial recognition, there are also hurdles with the technology. For example, the technology tends to have high rates of racial bias as well as insufficient rates of accuracy. Furthermore, many current (and future) applications are used without the permission of the public, causing serious privacy issues.
So, is the cost (both financial and social) of the technology worth it for your school or business? The technology doesn’t come cheap – companies selling facial recognition software make millions in revenue each year.
As we’ve talked about on this blog before, while we firmly believe in security technology, we find that improving your organization’s policies and procedures (and making sure your people are properly trained) can go a long way towards keeping your people safe. See these posts for more on this:
Read This Before You Budget for Security
Include Everyone in Your Emergency Training
Yes, technology is good, and technology is important to keep your people safe. If you have unlimited funds, facial recognition software may be appropriate. But don’t rely on technology like facial recognition software to keep your people safe.