Major players pull out of selling facial recognition technology

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna today (June 9th, 2020) sent a letter to the United States Congress outlining that IBM has sunset its general purpose facial recognition and analysis software products. On June 10th, 2020, Amazon.com Inc said it was implementing a one-year moratorium on the use of its facial recognition software by the police following backlash over the use of racially biased surveillance technology amid ongoing protests in the United States. On June 11th, 2020, in a conversation streamed online with The Washington Post’s David Ignatius, Microsoft President Brad Smith said the company doesn’t currently sell its technology to police departments in the U.S. and has decided that it won’t until a national law is in place, “grounded in human rights,” that governs its use.

Responsible technology policies

In his letter to the US Congress, Arvind Krishna, IBM CEO outlined the need for responsible technology policies, saying:

‘Technology can increase transparency and help police protect communities but must not promote discrimination or racial injustice.

IBM no longer offers general purpose IBM facial recognition or analysis software. IBM firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any technology, including facial recognition technology offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms, or any purpose which is not consistent with our values and Principles of Trust and Transparency.

“We believe now is the time to begin a national dialogue on whether and how facial recognition technology should be employed by domestic law enforcement agencies.

Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool that can help law enforcement keep citizens safe. But vendors and users of Al systems have a shared responsibility to ensure that Al is tested for bias, particularity when used in law enforcement, and that such bias testing is audited and reported.

Finally, national policy also should encourage and advance uses of technology that bring greater transparency and accountability to policing, such as body cameras and modern data analytics techniques.’

Click here to download Arvind Krishna’s Letter to the US Congress.