Facial recognition technology has been in use by the government for nearly fifty years, but it is only within the last several years that much of the population has become more aware and concerned about its use in everyday life. no longer is facial recognition simply a tool for the government or local authorities to use to help identify criminals and potential threats but facial recognition is being used more and more in everyday life. Everything from your social media accounts to your access at your ATM machine, office or even your home can work on facial recognition, calling into question for many as to whether this particular type of technology is really good or bad for society overall.
The Good About Facial Recognition
There are many positive things about facial recognition that help to make it a very functional and efficient tool in the world today. Of course, government agencies and police departments may rely heavily on facial recognition technology to help them identify people of interest in crimes. This has led to the apprehension of many potential terrorists and elusive criminals over the years. Beyond the use of the government, facial recognition can be a great security measure for a number of businesses and applications in your life. Many buildings use this as a high-level form of security to entry to sensitive parts of the business. Computers have begun to incorporate facial recognition as a way of signing on to a computer instead of having to type in and remember a password.
The Bad of Facial Recognition
While there are good applications for this technology, many people are also concerned about its use in everyday technology. You have likely noticed facial recognition used in social media such as Facebook when you upload a picture and others are automatically tagged in the photo based on the system recognizing them. Many people are worried that this type of technology infringes on the rights to privacy, revealing them in photos that they may not have authorized and that can be seen by others without their permission. Others fear that the technology itself has become so prevalent that it can easily be used by those that have criminal intent in order to help them gather information quickly and easily to commit fraud or identity theft. Both of these issues are real fears that need to be addressed.
While Internet companies may make more use of facial recognition to help them with target marketing and there are real world practical applications by the government and others for better security and safety, there are legitimate concerns regarding this technology and how it may be used to invade the privacy of the individual. More and more companies make use of this technology and it is growing all the time, creating even more conversation regarding the regular use and viability of facial recognition as technology continues to move forward and people have concerns about their own privacy and safety.