The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee will hold a virtual public meeting to hear from its Law Enforcement Subcommittee (NAIAC LE) on the benefits and drawbacks of using AI in law enforcement, focusing on facial recognition technology.
NIST said the NAIAC LE briefing will address AI as it relates to law enforcement and other agencies' need to identify individuals for a variety of reasons. NIST said “video and photo evidence obtained from surveillance camera footage, bystanders, social media, and other sources can provide valuable evidence about potential suspects, victims, witnesses, or community members in distress,” and that facial recognition technology (FRT) can enable law enforcement officials to identify these individuals more frequently, more quickly, and with greater accuracy.
But therein lies both the promise and the risk of facial recognition technology, NIST explained. “Unrestricted use of facial recognition could unintentionally or unwittingly subject more people to law enforcement investigations and could lead to misuse of the system in ways that violate constitutional rights and community norms.”
In preparation for the September 4 public briefing and meeting, NAIAC is inviting public comment on its July 2024 discussion draft document, “Discussion of a Framework for the Responsible Use of Facial Recognition Technology in Law Enforcement.” NIST stated that the discussion is intended to inform future recommendations from NAIAC LE to the full NAIAC Committee regarding the limited and responsible use of FRT.
“While some communities and civil rights groups oppose all use of facial recognition by law enforcement, public opinion is generally mixed, with 46% saying they think widespread use of facial recognition technology by police is a good idea, while 27% say it's a bad idea,” the NIST draft document states.
NIST has presented a framework that it says will “create a structure of legal requirements and best practices to guide the responsible use of FRT.” The four fundamental findings NIST cited as the backdrop for this framework are:
When used appropriately, FRT has the potential to improve the quality of law enforcement efforts, including both criminal investigations and community management functions. Unrestricted use of FRT poses significant civil rights and civil liberties risks, including concerns about accuracy and bias, risks to freedom of expression, and invasion of privacy. Current law does not adequately direct or limit law enforcement use of FRT, preventing them from reaping the benefits of the technology while avoiding its risks. If police agencies continue to use, or begin to use, FRT technology, they must do so subject to carefully considered guardrails.
NIST said the framework, outlined in detail in the draft document, offers “preliminary recommendations for future recommendations” as well as alternative recommendations.
“Due to the unprecedented nature of the FRT and differences of opinion among reasonable, informed individuals about how to deal with uncertainty and manage conflicts among competing values, consensus has not been and could not be reached on all major issues relevant to the FRT,” NIST explained. “As such, we have documented the issues that caused significant rifts among our members so that NAIAC can have an informed discussion of the competing interests involved.”
NIST identified a set of FRT uses that it says are primarily “surveillance” uses, stating that “for which we do not yet have a framework and a preliminary set of recommendations.”
The discussion draft states that “LEAs may not purchase FRT software from a vendor, use the results of a vendor's FRT software, or develop their own FRT systems unless the vendor or manufacturer:”
Use the results of NIST testing to demonstrate high accuracy across demographic groups in real-world use; Disclose enough information about the FRT system to allow an independent expert evaluation of the FRT system's performance for law enforcement's intended use cases; Provide instructions and documentation regarding the image quality and other relevant technical specifications required to maintain low error rates across demographic groups for any given system sold to law enforcement; Provide law enforcement users with the ongoing training, technical support, and software updates required to enable the FRT system to maintain high accuracy across demographic groups in real-world deployment contexts; Build the FRT technology to facilitate audits of who is using the technology and for what purposes; Demonstrate compliance with data security best practices.
NIST’s draft discussion framework further states that law enforcement agencies “should maintain and publish a comprehensive FRT acceptable use policy,” which must, at a minimum, include the following:
Permitted or prohibited uses of FRT, protocols and procedures to ensure consistent and lawful use, authorized users of FRT, rules for data collection and retention, and limitations on access to, analysis, or release of data.
NIST further states that FRT's “use in criminal investigations typically includes law enforcement using FRT to identify suspects from images captured at a crime scene,” but that “in contrast, when FRT is used to identify incapacitated individuals or restrict access to high-security buildings or areas, such use is not a crime.”
“However, there is no bright-line that clearly distinguishes criminal from non-criminal uses,” NIST explained, noting that “the most challenging example would be using FRT to identify crime victims or crime witnesses who may be reluctant participants in a criminal investigation or prosecution and who may become defendants in other criminal investigations.”
In these situations, NIST said it encourages law enforcement agencies to “consider the use of FRT along the spectrum from law enforcement to non-law enforcement along three broad categories: suspect, victim or witness, and non-law enforcement use.”
This public meeting will be held via web conference on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST.
Article Topics
Biometrics | Criminal ID | Facial Recognition | NIST | Police | US Government | United States
Latest Biometric News
August 22, 2024, 8:10 PM EDT
Countries that implement digital identity using the right platform can realize significant real-world benefits without having to build their own platform.
August 22, 2024, 7:10 PM EDT
Not surprisingly, US politicians have expressed concern about ammunition vending machines being introduced into grocery stores…
August 22, 2024, 6:29 PM EDT
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) has requested comment regarding the request for…
August 22, 2024 4:40 PM EDT
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's revised digital identity guidelines are due for final review…
August 22, 2024 4:20 PM EDT
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries should work to ensure interoperability of national digital identities, says Daniel Castro, vice-chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
August 22, 2024 2:48 PM EDT
More than 2.5 million Scots are now using MyAccount and Yoti’s reusable digital ID in an effort to streamline the process.