Comment: More black eyes for facial recognition
Some years back, when working for a short spell in Los Angeles, my evening visits to various bars with work colleagues should have involved me taking my passport for age verification. However, I didn’t want to run the risk of losing it so in each venue I suggested their demand for ID was a breach of civil liberties and they should just serve me my beer.
In those more relaxed times the server would invariably call the manager over and ask me to repeat the line. They would then roll around laughing and pour me a beer while my colleagues rolled their eyes. I didn’t believe a word of what I was saying but it was effective.
I was reminded of this experience when reading about the flack Asda has received from pressure group Big Brother Watch over its use of facial recognition to deter shoplifting and aggression to its shop-floor employees. They claim the supermarket has received over 5,000 complaints while Asda says it is less than 100.
The use of any such technologies invariably triggers outrage from privacy advocates who highlight that it effectively treats everyone as a suspect and that the facial recognition technology often makes mistakes in identifying persistent offenders that are held on retailers’ blacklists. The result being that innocent people can be wrongly flagged as criminals.
Never Miss a Retail Update!The levels of accuracy these systems can achieve is clearly a crucial issue and undoubtedly their capabilities today – with the ability to use AI – are a quantum leap on from the earlier days of the technology. Such has been the confidence in the solutions from companies including FaceWatch and FaiceTech that a number of retailers have looked to introduce it into some of their stores.
Along with Asda, we have had Co-op, Waitrose and Morrison’s dipping their toe into the rough waters of facial recognition. There has invariably been a severe backlash led by groups such as Big Brother Watch but with today’s improved technology and the record-breaking levels of shoplifting it is not surprising that retailers are desperate to use the capabilities of their CCTV cameras hooked up to sophisticated software powered by AI.
Liz Evans, chief commercial officer for non-food and retail at Asda, has stated: “The rise in shoplifting and threats and violence against shopworkers in recent years is unacceptable and as a responsible retailer we have to look at all options to reduce the number of offences committed in our stores and protect our colleagues.”
If there was a vote among shoppers about them being okay with supermarkets using facial recognition it would be an interesting exercise. When the case for using it is laid out versus the potential downsides then for retailers and all shopworkers it is an incredibly compelling argument. There is no doubt about the power of cameras. You only have to watch one of those true crime programmes on Channel Four and Five to see how many criminals are ultimately caught out by CCTV footage showing their movements.
It would be a shame if Asda and all the other retailers, who would like to implement such technologies, are deterred from doing so by the pressure from privacy campaigning groups. They undoubtedly have valid points to make but are they truly strong enough to justify derailing retailers’ efforts to address their massive problems in stores and protect their employees and customers?
The worry is that regardless of the validity of their arguments the campaigners can so easily garner lots of headlines about the end of the world scenario we face at the hands of facial recognition. Retailers are sadly holding a weak hand in this ongoing game of trial by media headlines.
