- Let me get a - [Robot Voice] Order confirmed, citizen number five, extra pickles, medium fries. Thank you for your order. - But I never told you what I wanted to order. - [Robot Voice] Order confirmed, thank you citizen. Next in line please. - Is it just me, or does facial recognition seem to be creeping more and more into our daily lives? I mean, my face is pretty much being scanned on the regular. Sometimes it's my choice. Like when I used a Snapchat filter, they rely on facial recognition technology. And I don't seem to mind because, well they're awesome. Facebook's auto-tagging makes uploading my photos super easy. And instead of remembering a passcode, the new iPhone X uses your face to unlock it. Oh and by the way, there actually is a KFC restaurant in China that scans your face and orders your food for you, so look out for that, I guess to become a thing. But for the most part the media focuses on the darker aspects of the technology. - Nearly half of American adults are in facial recognition databases. - The technology can single us out in real time as we go about our daily business. - It's mass surveillance for the physical world. - So that got me thinking, should we smile and welcome facial recognition? Or should we be worried that it's gonna be a major invasion of our privacy? Here's how facial recognition works. Computers map your face by analyzing dozens of different facial landmarks, like the depth of your eye sockets, the curve of your chin, and the size of your nose. Computers use artificial intelligence to analyze all this data. Basically, you have to train the computers on thousands of photos before they can accurately start identifying people by creating faceprints. Which are kinda like fingerprints in that they're unique to each person. Now there's a growing concern that facial recognition will be used by governments and law enforcement to monitor and track people. Now if we're talking about catching terrorists or identifying criminals, the technology might be a great tool to help keep us safe. But this same technology can also be used on us law abiding citizens. In the U.S., there are an estimated 60 million surveillance cameras, meaning there's a pretty good chance that our faces are being recorded every day. So theoretically, if the FBI, CIA, or NSA had access to that footage, they can track the movements of any person 24/7. They'd know where you work, where you shop, who you like to hang with. Like I don't want the government to know that I like to get my acupuncture done at 7:30 in the morning on a Tuesday. Now this may sound futuristic and sci-fi, but the governments are using facial recognition right now. In some U.S. airports, border agents are scanning the faces of foreign visitors and matching those scans to their visa applications. It could be a more secure way to track when people enter and leave the country. The government is also partnering with some airlines to use facial recognition instead of boarding passes. For U.S. citizens, the facial scans are checked against photos stored in police databases. Now you may be thinking, "I've never committed a crime, "my face isn't gonna be in a police database." Well police and the FBI have scanned millions of faces using drivers licenses and passport photos. A recent report out of Georgetown University reveals that if you're an adult in the U.S., there's a 50-50 chance that your photo is stored in a massive facial recognition database that law enforcement can access anytime it wants for pretty much any reason. You know the classic police lineup we see in the movies? The detective invites the witness down to the station to pick out the criminal who's standing in the line with a bunch of other people? These photo databases are basically digital police lineups, allowing law enforcement to compare one face to millions of others. Check out what's happening in Moscow, Russia's capital. The government is adding facial recognition technology to its network of 170,000 surveillance cameras located throughout the city. It's supposed to be used to identify criminals and boost security, but what if you're at a rally protesting the government? The police could use facial recognition to pick you out of a crowd, and maybe even punish you for your actions. And covering your face might not protect you. A new research paper demonstrated that facial recognition could correctly identify a concealed face 67% of the time. Yikes. In China, the government takes facial recognition to the next level. To curb jaywalking, which apparently is a big problem in the country, the Chinese government has resorted to public shaming. Jaywalkers get their photo snapped by government-owned cameras, and then 20 minutes later, their picture is up on a giant screen with their ID number and home address. Again, yikes. Now facial recognition is not just about safety or tracking down criminals, it's also about making money. When you and your friends are auto-tagged when you upload a photo to Google or Facebook, that's one more data point that companies can use to track what you do online, what you like, and what you buy. But that's the cost of free technology. It's right there in the terms of service that none of us ever read. We use a super useful tool at no cost, the tech companies mine every photo, status update, and tweet for info that online advertisers are willing to pay big money for. Facebook and Google alone are predicted to make $106 billion from advertising this year. That's nearly half of all the money made from digital advertising in the world. Big box retailers are getting into the game too. Walmart has filed a patent for facial recognition technology that can identify when shoppers are unhappy or frustrated. Which the company says will allow it to provide better customer service. But that same data can also be used to track purchases and predict what items you might buy in the future. So now we'd like to hear from you. Where would you draw the line? In what situation would you be comfortable allowing facial recognition? Whenever? Law enforcement only? Just private companies? Or pretty much never? Let us know in the comments below. And do not forget to subscribe. And if you wanna learn more about technology and privacy, check out this episode we did on cyber security to learn how to keep all your digital info safe. Till next time guys.