Here's another minefield of an issue that has civil rights groups across the globe all worked up into a lather: the use of facial recognition software like Clearview AI, which uses huge amounts of legally-obtained data "scraped" from the Internet and some clever coding to identify individuals
The Toronto police force is the latest to call a halt to use of the technology, pending a thorough review. And again, while some people seem to be able to see the issue clearly in black and white, it's by no means obvious to me.
I can't see any reason why individuals or commercial companies should be able to use it in the pursuance of profit or even less worthy goals. Ditto autocratic governments like China in pursuance of dodgy racial policies. But the police and security forces of a civilized democratic country? Is it any different, any worse, thsn using CCTV security cameras or DNA analysis in crime solving and prevention (yes, I know that civil liberties organizations tend to object to those too, but I have always taken the view, perhaps naive, that, if I am not engaged in criminal activity, I have nothing to hide from a camera).
Am I being too naive, or are they being too paranoid?
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