Once only thought of as a sci-fi fantasy, Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) is rapidly becoming a reality. Today, you can unlock your smartphone with a simple facial scan.
Facial recognition software analyses the characteristics of a person’s face, such as the shape of their cheekbone or the width of their nose. It scans them against a collection of digital images to identify or ascertain their identity.
The sole purpose of facial recognition technology is to identify human faces. The technology can also predict changes in a person’s appearance over time.
Besides unlocking your smartphone, FRT has a wide range of benefits for governments, private organizations, and individuals. But there are concerns too, leading to major facial recognition controversies around the world.
In this article, we look at the pros and cons of facial recognition technology to help you understand the impact of this revolutionary tech in society.
Pros
Eliminates Time Fraud
Time fraud is one of the most common violations of work ethics. Imagine when reporting for work, every employee has to go through a face detection device before checking in.
Face recognition software will allow companies to track their workers’ attendance and eliminate time fraud. Employees don’t have to clock in with plastic cards or prove their identities at the entrance, just scan their faces on the face detection device, which saves companies a lot of time.
Non-Contact
Unlike other popular biometric technologies such as fingerprint scanning, facial recognition is a non-contact process. Just scan your face on the facial recognition device, and you are good to go.
You don’t have to touch anything. Your employees don’t have to worry about smudges, germs, or any other potential problems associated with fingerprint scanning. This is especially useful considering that physical contact is one of the major transmission means of the coronavirus.
Improved Security
Security is, by far, the biggest benefit of using facial recognition technology. As an organization, setting up a face detection system will significantly improve your security measures.
Facial recognition technology gives your company the ability to track every person that comes into your premises. It will capture any person that doesn’t have permission or access and notify you about the potential breach.
Tracking is also useful during a pandemic. It tells people if they had likely come in contact with an infected person.
Also read:
– Apple And Google Say Security First As They Add New Privacy Feature To Coronavirus Tracing Software
– Facial Recognition App Clearview, Raises Privacy Concerns In The United States
– EU Considers Banning Facial Recognition Over Privacy Concerns
Cons
Image Size and Quality
Face detection systems require high-quality digital cameras and advanced software to function accurately. These systems capture faces in photos or video screenshots and then compare the relative size of the face image to the size of the captured image.
The picture quality has a great impact on the whole face detection process. It’s very difficult to get a clear identity when the size and quality of the enrolled image don’t match what you have in the facial database.
Storage and Processing
Facial recognition is an AI-based technology that heavily relies on machine learning to function efficiently. You need to keep feeding the system data for it to learn. You also need to store a massive amount of data for future usage.
Ultimately, you’ll run into storage and processing problems. High-quality images and HD videos require significant storage space. Processing the videos and images requires a cluster of computers. You need to be prepared.
Privacy Concerns
There is no doubt that facial recognition technology can help improve safety and security in our cities, towns, and neighbourhoods. However, there are concerns that the indiscriminate use of face detection tech in public spaces undermines the right to privacy.
In the United Kingdom, human rights campaigners such as Big Brother Watch and Liberty UK are leading the fight against the use of FRT in the militarization of policing in public spaces.
Facial recognition technology has immense potential. It can be used to track down criminals and enhance security. It can also be used for mass surveillance, violating the privacy of millions of innocent people. Good or bad, there’s no stopping the technology.
The demand for biometric surveillance systems such as facial recognition will continue to rise. The best we can do is push through legislation to ensure that any facial recognition tech used by government agencies is transparent and accountable.
Written by D. Cadelina.
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