Concerns over child endangerment
PimEyes, a public search engine that uses facial recognition technology to match online images of people, has come under fire for its lack of safeguards for children. The New York Times states that the company has implemented an AI system for age detection to avoid searches involving minors, but the technology is still being developed.
Struggles with accurate identification
The New York Times tested PimEyes’ new detection system and found that it struggles to accurately identify children photographed at certain angles. Additionally, the AI does not always detect teenagers correctly. These shortcomings raise concerns about the potential endangerment of children.
Delayed implementation
PimEyes CEO Giorgi Gobronidze claims that he had planned to implement a protection mechanism for minors since 2021. However, the feature was only fully deployed after New York Times writer Kashmir Hill published an article last week highlighting the threat AI poses to children. Gobronidze states that human rights organizations aiding minors can still search for them, but all other searches will produce images that block children’s faces.
Inappropriate searches and privacy violations
In her article, Hill reveals that PimEyes has banned over 200 accounts for conducting inappropriate searches of children. One parent even discovered photos of her children that she had never seen before using the search engine. To access information about the origin of the image, the mother would have to pay a $29.99 monthly subscription fee.
A wider issue of privacy violations
PimEyes is not the only facial recognition engine facing criticism for privacy violations. Clearview AI, a similar face recognition engine, was exposed by The New York Times in January 2020 for being used by hundreds of law enforcement organizations with little oversight. Critics argue that these instances highlight a broader problem within the technology industry, where privacy is not prioritized and users have to actively opt out of having their privacy compromised.
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