Tech policy expert weighs in on Milwaukee facial recognition tech debate

Source Domain: www.wuwm.com

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the Milwaukee Police Department’s use of facial recognition technology. It all came to a head at a Feb. 5 Fire and Police Commission meeting, when MPD confirmed they had been using the technology without a policy or the public’s knowledge.

Less than 24 hours later, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman issued a moratorium on further use of the technology. The ban will continue at least until MPD develops a formal FRT policy with the Common Council and Mayor’s office.

“Despite our belief that this is useful technology to assist in generating leads for apprehending violent criminals, we recognize that the public trust is far more valuable,” Norman said in an email to city officials.

Katie Kinsey presented at the Fire and Police Commission meeting on Feb. 5. She’s chief of staff and tech policy council at the Policing Project at NYU, and she spoke with WUWM’s Jimmy Gutierrez about concerns surrounding FRT.

Listen to the full conversation with Katie Kinsey here.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Jimmy Gutierrez: What are the concerns around facial recognition technology and what are you all finding?

Katie Kinsey: I think sometimes people don’t know that there are law enforcement agencies that have been using FRT for over 20 years. Certainly, the technology has advanced in that time. The facial recognition of 20 years ago might not look exactly the same as today. But it’s an AI-powered technology that agencies have used for a while.

I think our biggest concerns are that it can be hard to even make a recommendation — even as an expert who’s concerned with the civil liberties and civil rights impact of this technology. It can be hard to tell communities that the benefits of this technology outweigh the costs, because there has been so little transparency around how law…

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