Now that all of us, it seems, we are going to let our faces scan by smart cameras, to see if we have a fever and, therefore, if we can have the dreaded coronavirus, a new component is added to the discussion about the convenience or not of the sensors facial recognition and its biases. The riots caused in the United States by the murder of George Floyd, at the hands of the police, has also heightened the debate on the use of this type of artificial intelligence software and its use, or rather misuse, racist.
And in this context, in that of the misuse of facial recognition as a racist bias, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has taken advantage of the situation to send a letter to the United States Congress, last week, in which he basically announces that he no longer will offer facial recognition technology for racist use. In the letter, the chief executive of the American firm states that in September 1953, more than a decade before the approval of the Civil Rights Act, IBM established a position in favor of equal opportunities.
The then president of IBM, Thomas J. Watson, Jr., told his employees: ” Every citizen of this country has the same right to live and work in the United States. The policy of this organization is to hire people who have the personality, talent, and background necessary to perform a particular job, regardless of race, color, or creed . “
Just 67 years later, Krishna has pointed out to Congress that technology can and should be accountable, increase transparency, and help police protect communities, but should not promote racial discrimination or injustice. As a result, IBM will no longer offer its general-purpose facial recognition or analysis software. IBM strongly opposes and will not tolerate the use of any technology, including facial recognition offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of human rights and basic freedoms, or any inconsistent purpose. with the values and principles of trust and transparency. “We believe that now is the time to begin a national dialogue on whether and how national law enforcement agencies should employ facial recognition technology,” says the IBM CEO.
Citizen safety
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that can help law enforcement keep citizens safe. But vendors and users of AI systems have a shared responsibility to ensure that bias is assessed, particularly when used in law enforcement, and that such evidence of bias is audited and reported.
National policy, Arvind Krishna says, should also encourage and promote uses of technology that bring greater transparency and accountability to surveillance, such as body cameras and modern data analysis techniques. But in addition, “training and education for in-demand skills is key to expanding economic opportunities for communities of color.”
Skills and training
And to do so, the IBM CEO believes there is a need to create more open and equitable pathways to acquiring marketable skills and training, and the need is particularly acute in communities of color. At IBM they see urgent demand for what they call “new collar” jobs, which require specialized skills but not necessarily a traditional four-year college degree. These jobs can still be found today in fast-growing fields, from cybersecurity to cloud computing.
Hopefully the example, or at least the intention, of IBM will be followed by other companies and multinationals, not just American ones. Why not also the Chinese, who are the true leaders in the development of applications that use facial recognition.
