IBM stops work on facial recognition over human rights concerns

The backlash to facial recognition among governments is extending to corporate heavyweights. IBM chief Arvind Krishna has sent a letter (via Axios and CNBC) to Congress revealing that the company has exited its "general purpose" facial recognition business. The company "firmly opposes" use of the technology for surveillance, racial profiling and "violations of basic human rights and freedoms," according to Krishna. Instead, he suggested that now was the moment for a "national dialogue" on not only how facial recognition should be used, but whether or not it should be used at all. The CEO contended that AI was a "powerful tool" for law enforcement, but that its use had to be kept in check with audited tests for bias.