In the US, tireless opposition to state use of facial recognition algorithms has recently won some victories. Outside the US, however, the tide is heading in the other direction.

Here in Australia, despite pushback from the Human Rights Commission, the trend is towards greater use. The government proposed an ambitious plan for a national face database (including wacky trial balloons about age-verification on porn sites). Some local councils are adding facial recognition into their existing surveillance systems. Police officers have tried out the dystopian services of Clearview AI. Should Australia be using this technology? To decide, we need to answer fundamental questions about the kind of people, and the kind of society, we want to be. Read More