Pros and Cons of Facial Recognition Technology
Facial recognition technology has evolved into one of the most prominent forms of security. It’s also used for social media, unlocking phones, and more. It seems futuristic and a great solution to verifying identities. However, it’s been the subject of controversy for many reasons. Here are two pros and two cons of facial recognition technology:
Pro: Protecting businesses from theft
Facial recognition systems can identify people who have been in and out of office, retail, and commercial buildings. Some offices have systems that require a facial scan up front, but if they don’t, police can use data to find who has violated your security and property.
Con: Threatens privacy and individual freedoms
This is a rather obvious controversy, but it still comes up often. When faces are scanned and stored, people don’t know what they’re being used for or who has access, and this can feel very invasive and even threatening to a person’s autonomy.
Pro: Improves genetic treatments
This is a little-known advantage of facial recognition technology is nonetheless very important to the future of medicine. Facial recognition technology can actuall examine facial features and movements to identify certain genetic disorders before symptoms become severe.
Con: Risk of identity crimes
Those who want to use facial recognition technology to break the law can do it easily. A poorly secured database with this information provides a wealth of information for an identity thief to use to totally derail an innocent person’s life.