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posted by janrinok on Tuesday March 15 2022, @06:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the are-we-for-or-against-Clearview-now? dept.

Ukraine reportedly adopts Clearview AI to track Russian invaders:

Ukraine is reportedly using Clearview AI technologies to track "people of interest" during the Russian invasion.

On March 13, Reuters reported that the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine had adopted the firm's facial recognition engine.

Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That offered the US company's assistance to Kyiv, and according to the news outlet, the AI tech is being used to "potentially vet people of interest at checkpoints, among other uses," for free.

The startup has not offered the same to Russia, of which President Putin calls the war a "special military operation."

Clearview offers facial recognition technologies to law enforcement for criminal investigations. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded the company a patent in January for using publicly-available data -- including mugshots, social media profiles, and news sites -- to match "similar photos using its proprietary facial recognition algorithm."


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Why Facial Recognition Technology Has an Uncertain Future with Small Business 19 comments

Clearview AI's co-founder Hoan Ton-That recently defended his startup's use of controversial facial recognition software:

If you're skeptical about whether your company will ever use facial recognition technology as a business tool, you're not alone. Perhaps the most prominent facial recognition technology provider in the world, Clearview AI, has attracted significant criticism and raised ethical concerns even as it has been used by law enforcement.

In a live interview with the Washington Post last week, New York-based Clearview AI's co-founder and CEO Hoan Ton-That addressed questions about the ethical and legal implications of his software, which became first known to many Americans when a billionaire used it to identify his daughter's dinner date, and for the involvement of far-right individuals in the creation of the company. Pressed on questions about the legal and ethical choices his firm has made while creating a searchable database of 20 billion facial images, Ton-That repeatedly brought up examples where the use cases of Clearview AI's technology would look better in the public eye, mentioning its use in helping catch criminals in child pornography and child abuse cases. Ton-That also pointed to the use of Clearview AI's technology by the Ukrainian government to identify dead Russian soldiers, for notifying their families of their passing.

While Clearview AI has some 20 billion facial images to feed its current product, the dataset is being used only by governments so far. "There's no non-governmental use of this dataset at this time," Ton-That said, adding that "we've developed as prototypes different versions of our technology for retail and banking."

Ton-That went on to say he welcomes regulation and his company will not do business with governments he described as "authoritarian."

Originally spotted on The Eponymous Pickle.

Previously:
Ukraine Reportedly Adopts Clearview AI to Track Russian Invaders
Italy Slaps Facial Recognition Firm Clearview AI With €20 Million Fine
Facial Recognition Firm Clearview AI Tells Investors: It's Seeking Massive Expansion
France Has Ordered Clearview AI to Delete its Facial Recognition Data
US Government Agencies Plan to Increase Their Use of Facial Recognition Technology
And many more


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @10:39AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @10:39AM (#1229284)

    It may not be costing Ukraine anything to use the software...but you know that Clearview is going to keep all the photos that get uploaded. More images for their training set.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Rich on Tuesday March 15 2022, @10:56AM

    by Rich (945) on Tuesday March 15 2022, @10:56AM (#1229287) Journal

    Now couple that with autonomous drones set to "kill". What about friendly fire, you say? Not worse than your average human unit.

    If in doubt, and if it has to be quick, the drones could kill anyone in enemy territory without a positive "friend" identification. But if the drones are supposed to be cautious when they don't recognize someone, they could use a taser-projectile-like probe to bring home DNA. That way you'd soon have a full bio-profile of the entire enemy population even if you don't have root at the genealogy services and could later save a lot of ammunition with better kill targeting, even interpolating appearance from genetics. But I'm probably not misanthropic enough to imagine what they are really brewing up in the labs.

    And given that about 5000 of such drones would fit into a shipping container is why I've been warning about the situation: Lingering, moving, solar-recharging, striking unpredictably, anywhere.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @01:41PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @01:41PM (#1229303)

    I applaud Russian efforts to keep the world free from Clearview and wish Putin success in his special military operation.

    • (Score: 2) by Username on Tuesday March 15 2022, @10:07PM

      by Username (4557) on Tuesday March 15 2022, @10:07PM (#1229476)

      Yeah, I'm not sure if this article is astroturf that looks like propaganda or if it's just propaganda that didn't vet the the likeability of the company involved. I just know they did a really bad job.

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @03:27PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @03:27PM (#1229348)

    Just so I'm clear, this is the same Clearview that's facing global condemnation?

    https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/27/22455446/clearview-ai-legal-privacy-complaint-privacy-international-facial-recognition-eu [theverge.com]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @06:17PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @06:17PM (#1229399)

      Well, at least it is out in the open now that Clearview AI is a WEAPON.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @08:39PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 15 2022, @08:39PM (#1229440)

      Should be emphasized whenever an article about them is posted to the Front Page.

      Clearview AI is an alt-right front! [artificialintelligence-news.com]

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