11/9 Essay: Read this November 2nd article on a change in use of facial recognition technology by Meta (formerly Facebook) (hat tip to Arthur). What are your general thoughts on government and private company utilization of technologies that are able to recognize a face and/or match a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces? What advantages or benefits could/do such technologies provide? What role (if any) should a government play in regulating their use by individuals or companies?

Facial recognition has been advancing throughout the years, and I have never stopped to really think about its implications. I always thought it was a helpful tool, for example for police to use to identify people or even just as a faster way to open my phone. However, the article talked about how Facebook was using facial recognition technology and suggesting tags for people when they were going to post a picture. I think this is too much and overstepping. This technology is assuming who certain people are and could be inaccurate. The article mentioned that it was less accurate depending on race, gender, and age. I think in this sense, this technology should be removed from Facebook, as it has been in certain places, but it is still important and crucial in other aspects of life. This technology is beneficial for all law enforcement, and it could be cool if they could start using it in hospitals if someone came in without an ID and was unconscious. I understand people want privacy, but for medical and legal reasons, being able to identify people helps to save lives. I’m not familiar with how the government regulates companies or individuals use, but I don’t think anyone/everyone should be able to identify people, even companies. I think legal, medical, and any other officials who could use facial recognition technology to help keep people safe should have access to the technology. I’m not sure if that really includes the government or not, but maybe the government could regulate that in general this technology can’t be used for certain things.