ICE’s Shiny New ‘AI’ Facial Recognition App: False Positives Ahoy! – Source: securityboulevard.com

Liberty’s existential threat, or sensible way to ID illegal  immigrants?

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are using a new phone app: Mobile Fortify puts “instant, AI powered” facial recognition in their hands. What could possibly go wrong?

A major risk is inaccurate recognition. In today’s SB  Blogwatch, the French want their statue back.

Your humble blog­watcher curated these bloggy bits for your enter­tain­ment. Not to mention:  Dua Weeknd.

MDCCLXXVI

What’s the craic? Joseph Cox reports: ICE Is Using a New Facial Recognition App to Identify People

“Constant fear and critique”
ICE is using a new mobile phone app that can identify someone based on their fingerprints or face by simply pointing a smartphone camera at them, according to internal ICE emails, [which] say Mobile Fortify is using two government systems. The first is Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Traveler Verification Service, [where] CBP takes photos of peoples’ faces when they enter the U.S. … The second is the Seizure and Apprehension Work­flow, … bring­ing together information related to searches and seizures.
…
Now, that system is being used inside the U.S. by ICE to identify people in the field. [It] shows how biometric systems built for one reason can be repurposed for another, a constant fear and critique … of facial recognition.
…
ICE did not respond to a request for comment. CBP declined to comment.

Is it necessarily a bad thing? Anthony Kimery has concerns: App pushes biometric policing onto American streets

“Raises fundamental questions about due process”
Mobile Fortify marks a profound shift in ICE’s operational methodology of using traditional fingerprint-based stationary checks to using mobile, on-the-go biometric profiling that echoes the type of border surveillance previously confined to airports and ports of entry. … Facial recognition, though, [is] notably less reliable than fingerprints.
…
Agents using ICE-issued mobile devices can now photograph a subject’s face or fingerprint, triggering a near-instant biometric match against data sources that include … DHS’s broader Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) database, which contains biometric records on over 270 million individuals. [It] suggests a capability that is poised to extend biometric surveillance far beyond designated checkpoints and into neighborhoods, local transport hubs, and any environment in which ICE officers operate.
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[It] fits into a broader ICE strategy of integrating AI-driven biometric data mining with field operations [and] raises fundamental questions about due process and constitutional protections. … Oversight, meanwhile, remains minimal. DHS has yet to issue formal rules clarifying who may use Mobile Fortify, which populations it targets, how long biometric data may be stored, what legal authorities justify its use, or what audit controls apply. … ICE is hurtling toward a frontier that its current policy and oversight structures appear unprepared to regulate.

Hurtling? Oh, please. Here’s Jake Laperruque, from the Center for Democracy and Technology, via Autumn Billings: More government agencies are using facial recognition

“Dangerous to use facial recognition in this manner”
Facial recognition isn’t a magic all-purpose tool, and as ICE itself acknowledged, is less reliable than traditional identification methods. It’s bound to produce errors.
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With this AI surveillance tool deployed on our streets, American citizens are going to end up improperly targeted, arrested, and detained in ICE detention centers. … It’s dangerous to use facial recognition in this manner.

Dangerous? cowdung argues it’s “not a problem with the tech:”

This is not a problem with facial recognition, but rather a problem with how it is used. Facial recognition gives you some “best matches” and then the user is supposed to look at the photos and decide if this is the same person or not. (Systems used for police say “this doesn’t constitute probable cause”) But users can be lazy and let the machine do the thinking for them. That’s on the user, not the tech.

Fair point, I guess. But u/Charming_Motor_919 thinks the problem is broader than that:

The problem with things like facial recognition in law enforcement is that whether it’s accurate or inaccurate, it still poses ethical and philosophical concerns:
— If it’s inaccurate, there’s the likelihood of falsely identifying someone for persecution.
— If it’s accurate, it’s another cog in the machine that is a surveillance state.
Neither is good.

Too much? amy_petrik reminds us why it might be important:

Here’s the thing: If I flew to Japan, overstayed the visa, took a job under the table, just hung out living there, … have a Japan anchor baby, live there without any … immigration paperwork whatsoever, and enjoy the free healthcare, … I would not be surprised that, … I would naturally be deported.

But they’re using the immigration desk photos! Spidey Craig eyerolls furiously:

Duh. What do you think they do with those photos every time you go through customs?

Zoom out. Gaear Grimsrud offers this colorful metaphor:

So facial recognition is only a problem when used by ICE? It’s not like every single one of us was already under surveillance on every street corner and highway every day. … The paste is out and the tube is empty.

Meanwhile, mspohr sounds slightly cynical:

Cops aren’t particularly concerned if they identify the “right” person. As long as they have someone identified as a criminal, they are happy.

And Finally:

Falling hearts, open forever

Previously in And Finally

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