Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, today released the following statement in response to artificial intelligence researchers, including experts at Google, Facebook, Microsoft and a recent winner of the prestigious Turing Award, calling on Amazon to stop selling its facial recognition technology to law enforcement agencies:
"World-leading artificial intelligence researchers and tech industry scientists are sounding the alarm about law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology. The Massachusetts legislature must heed that warning. Face surveillance may conjure images from dystopian fiction, but this technology is already being deployed right here in Massachusetts, despite research revealing the technology exhibits significant racial and gender biases.
"It’s time for Beacon Hill to enact a moratorium on face surveillance technology, until the legislature can implement checks and balances to protect the public’s interests. As a nationwide leader in both technology and liberty, Massachusetts must demonstrate leadership by ensuring that rapid technological progress doesn’t get out ahead of our civil rights. World-renowned artificial intelligence experts and civil liberties advocates agree: it’s time to hit pause on unregulated government use of face surveillance and other biometric monitoring technologies.”
