NY Police Chief argues facial recognition improves safety without infringing rights
Policing has changed a significantly over the past few decades, and biometric facial recognition has become a highly valuable tool…
Amazon
Subsidized Ring doorbell cameras could give police public surveillance network
Police departments all around the U.S. are offering people free or discounted Ring doorbells, in some cases funded by taxpayers,…
Amazon patent describes speech recognition prior to hearing Alexa wakeword
Rather than listen for a “wakeword,” a new patent application from Amazon suggests Alexa could simply record all speech, allowing…
Amazon patent filing describes computer vision parcel theft protection system for smart home devices
Amazon has invented a system for detecting and recording package theft and alerting homeowners, based on smart home devices such…
UK Home Office rumored to push AWS as host of combined biometrics database
The UK Home Office is considering bids from several companies for its combined database of biometrics from police and immigration…
Oregon police using Amazon facial biometrics with suspect sketches and dead bodies
Police in Washington County, Oregon have used facial biometrics technology in attempts to identify dead bodies, unconscious suspects, people who…
Amazon secures delivery contractor accounts with biometric facial verification
Delivery drivers for Amazon Flex are new required by the company to verify their identity by taking a selfie for…
Group of researchers calls for Amazon to stop selling biometric Rekognition to law enforcement
A group of 26 “concerned researchers” have called for Amazon to stop providing its biometric Rekognition service to law enforcement…
SEC ruling sets up potential legal clash between Amazon and shareholders over biometric sales
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ruled that an Amazon shareholder’s proposal to release more information about the…
Tech giants and civil society seek to institutionalize AI ethics
As artificial intelligence becomes more controversial, tech giants are putting together councils and review processes to ensure ethical uses of…
