China’s state media Science and Technology Daily Quoted Cai Xiaohong, a researcher with the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who criticized the widespread abuse of facial recognition technology. The problem prevails in shopping malls, scenic spots, and office buildings, where people unknowingly have their facial information collected.
It has been reported that China’s facial recognition market has been growing at an average annual rate of 50 percent over the past few years, and is expected to break $50 billion this year.
The theft of facial information, which cannot be changed or replaced, triggers multiple risks and problems in technology ethics, public safety and law. In December last year, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that real estate agents scanned the faces of a number of homeowners in Guangxi province in southwest China. These homeowners later found out that their properties had been transferred to others without their knowledge.
In other news that the official China Central Television reported, an artificial intelligence security research team at Tsinghua University revealed a security vulnerability of facial recognition. The team invented a special eyeglass that can break the algorithm of facial recognition devices, and were quickly able to unlock 19 cell phone models on the market.
Source: Central News Agency, March 7, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202103070051.aspx