The facial recognition technology from Clearview is being used to identify soldiers who have died on the battlefield. In a recent interview, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that the military uses technology to identify dead soldiers and then send an alert to the fallen soldier's family. Clearview's facial recognition system works by comparing images of a subject against a database of billions of photos from the public web, including social media networks. The military uses the app to find soldiers social media accounts. As a courtesy to the mothers of those soldiers, we are giving out this information over social media to let them know that they have lost their sons and that they can come to collect their bodies. Russian relatives can request to collect the remains of a dead soldier through an online form created by the Ukrainian government. Fedorov gave more information on its identification process without naming Clearview.
In a statement sent to Gizmodo, Hoan Ton-That said he believed facial recognition could reduce uncertainty in times of war.
When there is no way to tell apart enemy combatants from civilians, war zones can be dangerous.
The U.S. facial recognition firm began giving its technology to Ukraine for free earlier this month. At the time, executives suggested that its technology could be used to screen travelers passing through security checkpoint and possibly help reunite refugee families.
If people know that facial recognition is out there, it could be a big deterrent for them.
The privacy expert Albert Fox Cahn is concerned about the possibility of misidentification because the details of the deceased soldier identification operation are mostly shrouded in mystery.
When facial recognition inevitably misidentifies the dead, it will mean heartbreak for the living, according to Fox Cahn. Privacy International has accused Clearview of exploiting the war for its own benefit.
Privacy International said that people in Ukraine are at their most vulnerable because of the controversial technologies that exploit personal data.
According to recent reports from the Washington Post, Clearview wants to expand its business beyond law enforcement. The company claims that it could house 100 billion images in its database by the end of the year.
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