USA - Federal Trade Commission Bans Facial Recognition
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned Rite Aid from using facial recognition powered by artificial intelligence (AI) for surveillance purposes for five years following charges the retailer’s use of AI lacked appropriate safeguards and falsely tagged customers as shoplifters.
The FTC said the facial recognition system “generated thousands of false-positive matches” and that it “sometimes matched customers with people who had originally been enrolled in the database based on activity thousands of miles away, or flagged the same person at dozens of different stores” all across the country.
“We respect the FTC’s inquiry and are aligned with the agency’s mission to protect consumer privacy,” the company wrote. “However, we fundamentally disagree with the facial recognition allegations in the agency’s complaint. The allegations relate to a facial recognition pilot program the Company deployed in a limited number of stores.”
-www.foxbusiness.com, 19 December 2023
Arno's Commentary
Over 100 countries are actively using facial recognition—some more, others to a lesser extent. The most opposition to facial recognition in business is from central African countries, where much of it is outright banned. At this moment in time, China is the world leader in using facial recognition technology.
What is facial recognition? “…Uses technology and biometrics—typically through AI—to identify human faces. It maps facial features from a photograph or video and then compares the information with a database of known faces to find a match” (us.norton.com).
Facial recognition is offered as a secure and practical way for a person to identify themselves as a customer, for example. It is a security feature on virtually all new cell phones. If you want to get a quick look at your bank account, facial recognition is here to help!
Biblical significance? In order to identify all persons on planet earth, communication methods acceptable to the global family must be developed. That is well on its way. It is later than we think!
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
