The Facts
A European Parliament (EP) committee is set to finalize its landmark Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act on Thursday before sending it for discussion between member states, Parliament, and the 27-member bloc's executive Commission.
Yet to be finalized is a proposal to ban the use of AI facial recognition technologies in public places, including matching faces with images from the internet. It would also ban using AI to identify emotional states based on facial expressions and predictive policing.
The Spin
Narrative A
The use of AI facial recognition could push mass surveillance to never-before-seen heights and risk severely violating human rights, discriminating against ethnic minorities and migrants, and ending privacy as we know it. It is imperative that the facial recognition ban makes it into the final draft of the bill with all applicable loopholes closed.
Narrative B
It would be wrong and reactionary to ban all forms of public biometric surveillance by making judgments based on technology still in its infancy. There are real steps that can be taken to address the public's fears, and it would be wrong to rob law enforcement of such a valuable tool. Dangerous criminals could be off the street and missing persons returned home in record time thanks to this technology.
