A report from the US government's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reveals the accuracy of various facial recognition algorithms. Higher numbers are better as they indicate a lower prevalence of false positives. The "N" values represent the number of individuals enrolled in each simulation of aircraft boarding. The N 42,000 simulation, for example, is designed to represent an airport security line where many people are expected. The "k" values give the number of images of each en- rollee in each gallery.

Pressure on US lawmakers to create federal regulations on facial recognition has been mounting. IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft stopped selling the technology to US police, and called on Congress to regulate its use. Amidst international protests against racism and police misconduct, news broke that Detroit police had wrongfully arrested a Black man based on a faulty facial recognition match. In response, House Democrats proposed a bill last week that would ban police from using facial recognition. Against that backdrop, industry groups have quietly lobbied to soften regulations and avoid an outright ban.

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WIRED recently highlighted unacceptable levels of bias in facial recognition in the article The Best Algorithms Struggle to Recognize Black Faces Equally. They cited the poor test scores of leading facial recognition vendors, as reported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in its July 2019 results. WIRED specifically called out Idemia but generalized their concerns. "The NIST test challenged algorithms to verify that two photos showed the same face, similar to how a border agent would check passports. At sensitivity settings where Idemia's algorithms falsely matched different white women's faces at a rate of one in 10,000, it falsely matched black women's faces about once in 1,000 -- 10 times more frequently. A one in 10,000 false match rate is often used to evaluate facial recognition systems."

Evidence continues to mount that facial recognition systems - some of which are already deployed by police forces worldwide - struggle to tell black people apart. Research conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US tested AI software from more than 50 companies across the globe. Experts from the government agency found up to a tenfold difference in error rate when it came to correctly identifying black women compared to white females. White men were found to present the least challenge when it came to correct identification. The finding builds on previous studies that have also noted serious discrepancies in facial recognition tools when it comes to images of people with darker skin tones.

Artificial Intelligence is one of the hottest topics in tech today, but how relevant is it in your everyday life? In our hyper-connected and tech-infused world, Artificial Intelligence plays a crucial role in bringing Augmented Identity (an enhanced, adaptable, strengthened and self-sovereign identity that creates a safer world for everyone) to life. If you were born in the 90s or before, you probably remember a time when air travel was a breeze. Sure, you had to pass through the metal detector, but back then there wasn't a winding line for everything -- the check-in line, the bag check line, the first ID checkpoint, the second ID checkpoint… the list goes on and we haven't even gotten anywhere near the airplane. In the post 9-11 world, people are generally willing to jump through hoops for the promise of ironclad security.