'As a person of mixed race,' such accuracy 'is especially important to me,' Ton-That has said. On the other hand, law enforcement officers say the systems have been used to solve crimes from shoplifting to child sexual exploitation to murder.Ĭlearview told Politico that it doesn't know of any instances where its technology led to a wrongful arrest, and the publication notes that Clearview's technology was found to be highly accurate in a recent audit by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology. Privacy advocates also worry about the potential for stifling dissent through, for instance, surveilling political demonstrations and protests. In particular, the systems have had trouble when it comes to recognizing people of color and women. 'Therefore, a strong need exists for an improved method and system to obtain information about a person and selectively provide the information based on predetermined criteria.'įacial recognition systems in general have been criticized for inaccuracy that's sometimes led to false arrests and other problems. 'In many instances, it may be desirable for an individual to know more about a person that they meet, such as through business, dating, or other relationship,' the patent application says, adding that traditional methods like asking questions, doing internet searches or running background checks can fall short.

Politico points out that Clearview AI's patent application contains language that suggests uses beyond police identifying suspects. On Saturday, the company told CNET in a statement that 'we do not intend to make a consumer grade version of Clearview AI.' Critics have said that apps or other consumer versions of such a technology could potentially let a passerby capture your image with a smartphone and then uncover personal data about you. And officials in Australia, Britain and Canada have called out the company over data privacy laws, as well.Ĭlearview CEO Hoan Ton-That has said the company's system is meant to identify criminal suspects and not as a surveillance tool and that Clearview is 'committed to the responsible use' of its technology, including working with policy makers on facial recognition protocols. But the approach has prompted cease-and-desist letters from Facebook, Twitter and others. The company says the pictures it gathers are publicly available and thus should be fair game.

Clearview AI's system, which is used by law enforcement agencies including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, has been criticized for feeding its database of billions of images by trawling social media sites and harvesting pictures of people without their consent.

Is murder set pieces controversy