Ukraine is using facial recognition technology to identify Russian invaders killed on their soil, experts say, a complicated and unprecedented path for software already seen as problematic. topic, experts said on Thursday.
The country is embroiled in using details gleaned from the process to try to track down and notify the families of those killed, in what Ukraine says is an attempt to breach its war information filter. Russia.
While this kind of artificial intelligence could provide closure for families denied by the fog of war or Kremlin secrecy, the potential for mistakes is substantial and consequential.
“If you are a Russian parent who has been told that your child has been killed then that is not the case,” said Jim Hendler, director of the Institute for Data Research and Applications at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Indeed, that would be a complicated moral dilemma. status.
US-based Clearview AI, often criticized by privacy advocates, says it has given Ukrainian officials free access to its service to match images from the internet with images uploaded by a user trying to identify someone.
“Ukrainian officials who have received access to Clearview AI have expressed their enthusiasm and we look forward to hearing more from them,” said Hoan Ton-That, the company’s co-founder and CEO. company, said in a statement.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on Wednesday that his country is using “artificial intelligence” to search social networks for profiles of Russian soldiers using images of their bodies. , then report their deaths to loved ones.
One of the purposes, he added, was to “dispel the myth of a ‘special operation'”, referring to Moscow’s assertion of the invasion and designated war as such.
Ukrainian authorities did not respond to AFP’s request for more information about Fedorov’s statement.
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The Kremlin’s last published official figure was less than 500 soldiers killed, but this number has not been updated for weeks, and NATO officials estimate the number of dead, wounded, missing or dead. without active Russian troops amounted to 40,000 people.
News of the soldiers’ deaths and their funerals has appeared in local Russian media, with reports saying that officials have told families roughly where those who died have been. Hidden down but some other details.
Facial recognition comes into the fray as the technology faces significant and lingering suspicions, ranging from invasion of people’s privacy to criticism that it can cause errors in identifying people of color. .
Experts note that facial recognition can be particularly difficult when used on the dead, especially after battlefield wounds make people look very different than they would in a smiling, well-lit photo light from a wedding, for example.
Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law.
However, he noted that long after the war ended, many families remained unaware of what had happened to loved ones who had gone to war and were never seen again, and noted the convenience potential benefits of technology in such cases.
He added: “We can envision a situation where the ability to reduce the number of people missing in action would actually be helpful, although he notes that facial recognition may not be the right solution. well suited.
In a letter offering its services to the Ukrainian authorities, Clearview – built with images from public websites and touted as a tool for law enforcement – argued that it would be really helpful.
Earlier this month, the company was fined 20 million euros (nearly $22 million) by Italy for its software, claiming its database includes about two billion images from VK, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, and can help identify the dead without information such as fingerprints.
As for its ability to accurately identify the deceased, Clearview claims to work “effectively regardless of possible facial injury”, although AFP was unable to independently verify that claim.
