Google Promised Not To Sell Facial Recognition Technology

Google promised not to sell devices with facial recognition till it can issue policies to prevent people from abusing this controversial technology, according to is Thursday blog post.

In collaboration with other groups, Google is working to find out the problems involved with facial recognition technology, due to which a camera can identify a person by comparing his or her photo with an available database.

The tech giant also co-hosted the AI for Social Good Summit in Bangkok. Senior vice president Kent Walker of global affairs said that with facial recognition, just like other technologies with many uses, we should take careful consideration to make sure people using it follow the values and principles, as well as to prevent misuse and dangerous consequences.

Google has made this decision based on the current situation where many tech firms are working on new services. For instance, employees at Microsoft and Amazon have protested since they’re worried about the potential use of this technology when their companies work with law enforcement entities and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Back in July, Brad Smith, Microsoft President, stated that there was no cooperation between the company and the US government on implementing facial recognition. Plus, the company urged global governments to issue regulations on facial recognition technology.

Not only among tech firms but Taylor Swift has also used facial recognition recently to detect her stalkers. This action raised criticism in the public.

We can implement facial recognition in friendly ways like unlocking phones, or this technology can become particularly helpful in missing people cases. However, according to Google, it’s essential that they have a deeper understanding of the technology’s applications before letting other organizations use it.

In her statement, Nicole Ozer, director of technology and civil liberties at the American Civil Liberties Union of California, called Google’s decision a “strong first step.” She stressed that authorities will keep on pushing Google so that it cannot develop or sell face recognition products that evade our human and civil rights. They will, once again, urge Microsoft and Amazon not to give this technology to the government.

Both companies did not give any comments on this.

Sundar Pichai, Google CEO

This promise from Google follow its employees’ objection to the company using AI. Earlier this year, Google decided not to renew its contract with the Pentagon for project Maven that uses AI in analyzing drone footage. Also, Google’s AI Principles were released by its CEO, Sundar Pichai, detailing the company’s dos and don’ts regarding the use of AI.

Additionally, the search giant is under scrutiny for its potential use of AI in Dragonfly Project, which may build a censored search engine in China. Yet, at the testimony before Congress, Sundar Pichai denied planning to launch a search engine in the country at this time.