As George Floyd’s death sparked protests in cities across the country, six federal agencies turned to facial-recognition software in an effort to identify people in images of the civil unrest, according to a new report from a government agency.
The agencies used facial recognition software from May to August of last year “to support criminal investigations related to civil unrest, riots, or protests,” according to a report released on Tuesday by the US Government Accountability Office, based on a survey of 42 federal agencies. The US Postal Inspection Service, for instance, told the GAO that it used software from Clearview AI, a controversial facial-recognition system, to help track down people suspected of crimes, such as stealing and opening mail and stealing from Postal Service buildings. Read More
Daily Archives: July 5, 2021
A Global Smart-City Competition Highlights China’s Rise in AI
FOUR YEARS AGO, organizers created the international AI City Challenge to spur the development of artificial intelligence for real-world scenarios like counting cars traveling through intersections or spotting accidents on freeways.
In the first years, teams representing American companies or universities took top spots in the competition. Last year, Chinese companies won three out of four competitions.
Last week, Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Baidu swept the AI City Challenge, beating competitors from nearly 40 nations. Chinese companies or universities took first and second place in all five categories. TikTok creator ByteDance took second place in a competition to identify car accidents or stalled vehicles from freeway videofeeds. Read More
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