Facebook to Stop Using Face Recognition Systems

Facebook told the press it will soon stop using any face recognition software to guess user faces in video and photo content on the platform. Supposedly, this is due to the recent concerns about the security, ethics, accuracy, and racial bias in face recognition software algorithms.

No Better Solution

Global regulators still don’t have a solution to the listed face recognition problems, but the technology has already faced a wave of criticism from tech experts for its negative impact on social media users. 

Before the recent announcement, Facebook users could optionally enable face recognition in order to get notified if anyone posts an image of them. However, it won’t be available anymore until the uncertainty about the use of artificial intelligence for face recognition is resolved by regulators. According to Facebook ​​vice president of artificial intelligence, the best solution, for now, is to “limit the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases.”

What Studies Say

The 2019 study of the US government revealed that AI faces recognition software is not as accurate in recognizing Asian and African-American as it is in recognizing Caucasian face features. The algorithms are the least effective in recognizing African-American women, says the National Institute of Standards and Technology. 

Other Market Leaders

Amazon and Microsoft, which are also large AI developers, have halted selling face recognition software to the police and other legal entities. The companies understand that they are under the scrutinizing eye of the government after the series of scandals around Facebook. What do you think about the use of face recognition? Let’s discuss this important topic below. Share the news with friends to know what they think too.