WA Facial Recognition Trial Raises Ethical Questions

WA Police have described the results of Australia’s first live facial recognition trial as a success, with more than 900,000 faces scanned, 209 alerts generated and 79 arrests made. But while the numbers point to the technology’s ability to identify people of interest, they do not necessarily tell the full story about whether the technology has been used fairly or ethically. In a new article for The Conversation, Curtin University AI ethics expert Dr Adam Andreotta says the bigger question is what happens when the technology gets it wrong and who carries the burden when it does.

“Success should not be measured by how often a system gets things right but by how innocent people are protected when it gets things wrong.

Dr Andreotta says the results also leave important questions unanswered about privacy, transparency and social inequalities.

“A system may reduce offending and improve public safety while also raising important issues about accountability and fairness.”

Fiona Bartholomaeus chats with Dr Adam Andreotta.