Facial recognition technology has become a significant part of people’s lives; however, the ethics behind the technology are questionable. The technology does in fact make people’s lives easier and more convenient. One example is FaceID and how it eliminates the need of inputting your password each time you log in or make a payment. However, if a face can be used to unlock a device, it’s scary to think what else the technology is capable of. It’s unclear as to how exactly the government or private companies use facial-data, and I think it’s something that must be clearly explained and defined before implementation.
There are many advantages to facial recognition technology. For example, such technology allows for efficiency and simplicity for users. It also allows for better security. It’s much easier to hack or find out a passcode than to replicate a face. Third, addition of facial recognition technology into today’s society is not difficult. The technology does not require an additional purchase of a device or even downloading of a particular app. It’s free to the consumer, and can be incorporated into people’s routines very easily.
On the other hand, facial recognition technology comes with many disadvantages. One example is that such technology raises many ethical questions surrounding privacy. While people do have to give consent in order for an app like Facebook to use facial recognition, the extent of this technology’s usage is unclear to people. If the government and private companies continue to implement it into their operations, people’s privacy comes into question.
I think that the government should have a role in regulating the use of facial-recognition technology of companies. I can see how that may be difficult considering the fact that companies are always innovating and coming up with new products that may implement facial-recognition technology. The government can’t possibly predict and regulate every single action of private companies, so the logistics of such regulations need to be thought out. Nonetheless, I think that it’s important to limit private companies’ use of facial recognition data because of the various privacy concerns.