Jan 17, 2021
That Viking Looks Familiar…
Due, at least in part, to their sheer numbers, which eclipsed those of the Capitol Police, only fourteen of the insurrectionists on January 6th were apprehended; most got away or were even politely shown the door. But just about all of them were photographed, if not by the plethora of Capitol security cameras, then by each other or themselves. Indeed, many of them proudly posted their pictures and videos on various online platforms, perhaps hoping to get arrested as a form of civil disobedience, perhaps in expectation of a Presidential pardon, or perhaps under the impression that they simply would not get caught.
Enter facial recognition software company Clearview AI, whose product stands head and shoulders above its counterparts in the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division because it doesn’t rely on driver license pictures or any other photographs provided by governmental agencies. Instead, it accesses a database of more than 3 billion photographs scraped from public websites and social media, providing the user with links whenever there’s a match. Privacy concerns adhere to the software, as it enables police and private clients alike to track individuals who aren’t even suspected of having committed a crime. Indeed, a 2020 New York Times article about Clearview features the headline, The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It. The FBI neither confirms nor denies that it’s utilizing Clearview. But according to company executives, the use of it went up by more than 25% in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection.
Like all facial recognition tools, Clearview AI measures various dimensions of the face, such as the space between the eyes, and compares those measurements to faces in its database. After nearly a year of most Americans wearing masks, the Department of Homeland Security claims that its use of such tools resulted in correct identification of 93% of unmasked persons and 77% of masked individuals. Fortunately, most of the insurrectionists scoff at the notion of wearing a mask, and weren’t covered up that day. So far, more than another hundred of them have been charged, though the man they were trying to keep in power, well, remains in power, and is likely to do so for the next few days, during which he can easily pardon them and all those for whom the authorities continue to search.
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