How Facial Recognition Tech Makes Things Easier for Security Services and Citizens

Facial recognition technology is often viewed as an invasion of privacy. It’s understandable to get a bit wary about an automated system that scans your face and runs it through several criminal databases for a possible match. However, this is by far one of the most comprehensive Homeland Security solutions out there. It not only makes providing security to sensitive buildings and areas much easier and effective, but it also makes things easier for you.

VFS (Vehicle Face System) Technology

To understand this, let’s talk about the controversial VFS (Vehicle Face System) technology. The new system would scan peoples’ faces while they are still inside their vehicles just before they are about to enter or exit the US. The system is still in its testing phase and it will be deployed in the Anzalduas-Texas border to confirm its biometric matching capabilities.

Since the announcement of this tech, it has spawned an immediate privacy concern. A lot of people believe that it’s “unethical” to deploy such a system as it invades the privacy of ordinary citizens. However, what most people don’t realize that technologies such as CCTV surveillance and background checking are already in place in all US border posts. Documents are checked and photographs of people entering or leaving the country are taken by existing systems. All this new technology does is speed up the process and reduce human error.

Promising to be one of the many comprehensive Homeland Security solutions, this technology will reduce border traffic by reducing the time spent on border security booths. Once successfully deployed, it will save time and effort that otherwise goes into background checking and taking photos of people entering and leaving the country. What does this mean for average citizens? For starters, the technology could end up replacing existing security systems and ensure passengers are not required to exit their vehicles when crossing borders.

What Happens When the Technology Works

While there is a degree of public outrage about facial recognition technologies, people often forget why it’s implemented in the first place. The AI can spot criminals with much more accuracy and reduce human error. Criminals can be apprehended once they are spotted in crowded areas before they can cause harm to others.

Back in August, a 26-year old man was apprehended at the airport for trying to illegally enter the country. Arriving at Washington’s Dulles airport, the man presented a French passport. He would have successfully entered the country if it wasn’t for the facial recognition system. Proving its real-world worth, the facial recognition tech detected that the man’s face did not exactly match the photo in the passport. After interrogation, his actual documents were recovered, and the man was deported.

Similar facial recognition technologies are currently being tested in 14 international airports in the US. Once they are deployed, they can reduce instances of racial profiling and random checks and make lives easier for people entering the country legally. Devoid of human biases, facial recognition techs treat everyone equally, irrespective of their racial backgrounds.