Facial recognition, all the moves of ClearView AI
Clearview AI, the company that develops the controversial facial recognition software already used by the FBI and Department of Security in the United States, has announced that it is close to patenting the technology
Clearview AI remember?
The US startup is in the process of obtaining a patent for its facial recognition technology in the United States, according to Politico .
The software developed by Clearview compares the image in a database of over 3 billion photos taken from Facebook, Youtube and other online sites. The company leapt to the news in early 2020 after the New York Times investigation that law enforcement in the United States – from the local police in Florida to the FBI to the Department of Homeland Security – would make use of its "app" for facial recognition.
Critics are concerned that the company is patenting an invasive technology. Clearview AI can't even count on the support of Big Tech. Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter have all warned the company to stop scraping images from their platforms via facial recognition technology.
According to a Buzzfeed investigation, the Italian State Police would also have plumbed the Clearview Ai database. ( Here the Startmag insight into Facial recognition, did the Italian police use Clearview? ).
All the details.
CLEARVIEW READY TO PATENT ITS FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY
Politico reports that Clearview has received a "grant notice" from the US Patent and Trademark Office (Uspto), which indicates that officials will approve a filing for its system. The company only has to pay the administrative costs to obtain the patent.
HOW YOUR SOFTWARE WORKS
According to The Verge , the company's patent application details the use of a "web crawler" to capture images. It also specifies that “online photos associated with a person's account can help create additional records of facial recognition data points” that its machine learning algorithm can then use to find and identify matches.
THE FIRST PATENT FOR FACIAL RECOGNITION
This is the first facial recognition patent involving "large-scale Internet data". This is what Hoan Ton-That, Australian-born CEO and founder of Clearview AI claims, in an interview with Politico.
ONLY GOVERNMENT CUSTOMERS?
The company sells its tool to government customers (including law enforcement).
Ton-That argued that Clearview has no intention of selling to anyone other than government customers and that it was "important" to have impartial systems.
As The Verge recalls, last year, the company said more than 2,400 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, used its facial recognition software to identify suspects. In the aftermath of the January Capitol riots, Clearview AI said law enforcement use of its technology has dramatically increased.
WHAT A BUZZFEED INQUIRY HAD REVEALED
According to a Buzzfeed investigation last September, police departments, prosecutors, ministries and universities of at least 24 countries (25 with the United States) between 2018 and 2020 would have used Clearview AI. According to BuzzFeed data, the Italian Police also made use of the program, carrying out between 100 and 500 searches. Agents using Clearview can take the picture of a suspect or person of interest, upload it to the program, and receive possible matches within seconds. Last year the Interior Ministry confirmed that the State Police uses and manages the Sari Enterprise, an automatic image recognition system. So facial recognition for our law enforcement agencies since 2018 produced by a Made in Italy company. ( Here the in-depth analysis of Startmag).
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE PATENT
Going back to the granting of the patent, there is concern that the Uspto is actually blessing Clearview's technology, as Engadget points out. With its patented technology, the company will have a chance to grow despite widespread objections to the very existence of its technology.
THE FEARS
Critics argue that Clearview AI's facial recognition technology is an invasion of privacy and could negatively impact minority communities.
However, the patent left the door open for non-governmental purposes, such as learning more about a business partner or customer. Clearview is aware of the troubled path its technology may take, although it does not intend to go in that direction.
THE CAUSE OF THE ACLU
Last year the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-governmental organization oriented to defend civil rights and individual freedoms in the United States, had in fact sued the company for violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Since then Clearview stopped selling its technology to private companies and non-law enforcement entities.
EVEN THE BIG TECH IS CONTRARY
Finally, Clearview AI cannot even count on the support of American Big Techs. Last year , Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube sent warning letters demanding that the company stop scraping images and videos from their platforms. The practice violates each site's policies.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/riconoscimento-facciale-tutte-le-mosse-di-clearview-ai/ on Mon, 06 Dec 2021 11:46:15 +0000.