Developing Trustworthy Covid-19 Computer Vision Systems

Avoiding the bait and switch of safety turning surveillance

As we grapple with adjusting to a post-Covid-19 world, a universally recurring theme across governments, statutory boards, private sector research and international organizations has been leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) in response to the pandemic.

But the rapid rise of AI has produced a two-speed dynamic, where even as researchers and professionals flock to the field, the general public perceives technology to be outstripping regulation:

• The Stanford Center for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence reports that attendance at NeurIPS — the world’s largest AI conference — is up over 800% relative to 2012;
• Concurrently, 61% of respondents on Edelman’s Trust Barometer worry that “Government does not understand emerging technologies enough to regulate them effectively.”

And it is that gap where AI currently outstrips regulatory oversight that the public fear.

Facial recognition — silver bullet or dangerous weapon?

A key component in this debate are facial recognition systems: software that identifies individuals by comparing images of their faces against a database of records. If reading the above definition fills you with a vague uneasiness, you are not alone. The broad deployment of AI is a double-edged…