TECHNOLOGY

Ethics and Errors of Facial Recognition Technology

Published

2 years ago

May 24, 2022

The sheer potential of facial recognition technology in various fields is almost unimaginable.

However, certain errors that commonly creep into its functionality and a few ethical considerations need to be addressed before its most elaborate applications can be realized.

An accurate facial recognition system uses biometrics to map facial features from a photograph or video. It compares the information with a database of known faces to find a match. Facial recognition can help verify a person’s identity, but it also raises privacy issues.

A few decades back, we could not have predicted that facial recognition would go on to become a near-indispensable part of our lives in the future. From unlocking your smartphone to making a digital transaction for an online (or offline) purchase, the technology is well and truly ingrained in our daily life today. An incredible application of AI’s computer vision and machine learning components, facial recognition systems work in the following way: trained algorithms determine the various distinctive details in a person’s face, such as the number of pixels that can fit between their eyes or the curvature of their lips, amongst other details interpreted logically to recreate the face within the system. This recreation is then compared with a wide array of faces stored in the system database. If the algorithms detect that the recreation mathematically matches a face present in the database, then the system ‘recognizes’ it and carries out the user’s task.

Apart from executing this entire exercise in a matter of nanoseconds, today’s facial recognition systems can do their job competently even in poor lighting, image resolution, and angle of view.

Like other AI-powered technologies, facial recognition systems need to follow a few ethical principles while being used for various purposes. These regulations include:

1. Impartiality in Facial Recognition

Firstly, a facial recognition device must be developed in a way that the system completely prevents, or at least minimizes, bias against any person or group based on their race, gender, facial features, deformities or other aspects. Now, it is well documented that facial recognition systems cannot be 100% fair in their operations. Therefore, companies that build the systems supporting this technology generally spend hundreds of hours eliminating all traces of bias found in them.

Reputed organizations such as Microsoft generally employ qualified experts from as many ethnic communities as possible. During the research, development, testing, and design phase of their facial recognition systems, the diversity allows them to create massive datasets to train the AI, data models. While the huge datasets reduce the bias quotient, the diversity is symbolic too. The selection of individuals from all over the world is useful to reflect the diversity found in the real world.

Organizations must travel the extra mile to remove bias from facial recognition systems. To achieve this, the datasets used for machine learning and labeling must be diversified. More than anything, a fair facial recognition system will be incredibly high on output quality as it will work seamlessly in any part of the world without an element of bias.

To ensure fairness in a facial recognition system, developers can also involve end customers during the beta testing phase. Testing the competence of such a system in a real-world scenario will only enhance the quality of its functionality.

2. Openness Regarding AI’s Internal Workings

Organizations that incorporate facial recognition systems in their workplaces and cybersecurity systems need to have all the details about where the machine learning information is stored. Such organizations need to understand the limitations and capabilities of the technology before implementing it in their daily operations. The company which provides AI-based technology must be completely transparent with their clients regarding these details. Additionally, the service provider must also ensure that their facial recognition system can be used by customers from any location based on their convenience. Any updates in the system must be made only after receiving valid approval from the client.

3. Accountability Towards Stakeholders

As specified earlier, facial recognition systems are deployed in several sectors. Organizations that manufacture such systems must provide accountability for them, especially in cases where the technology could directly impact any person or group (law enforcement, surveillance). Accountability in such systems means the inclusion of use cases to prevent physical or health-based injuries, financial embezzlement or other issues that may be caused by the system. To bring an element of control into the process, a qualified individual is put in charge of the system in organizations to make measured and logical decisions. Apart from this, organizations that incorporate facial recognition systems in their daily operations must resolve customer grievances related to the technology on an immediate basis.

4. Consent and Notice Prior to Monitoring

Under normal circumstances, a facial recognition system must not be used to snoop on individuals, groups or otherwise without their consent. Certain bodies, such as the European Union (EU), have a standardized set of laws (GDPR) to prevent unauthorized organizations from monitoring individuals within the governing body’s jurisdiction. Organizations possessing such systems must comply with all the data protection and privacy laws of the land.

5. Lawful Surveillance to Avoid Human Rights Violation

Unless authorized for the same by a national government or decisive governing body for purposes related to national security or other high-profile situations, an organization cannot use a facial recognition system to monitor any person or group. Basically, the technology is strictly prohibited from being used to violate the victim’s human rights and freedom.

Despite being programmed to follow these regulations without any exception, facial recognition systems can cause problems due to errors in their operations. Some of the main problems related to the technology are:

6. Verification Errors while Making Purchases

As specified earlier, facial recognition systems are incorporated in digital payment applications so that users can verify transactions with the technology. Criminal activities such as facial identity theft and debit card fraud are quite possible with the presence of this technology for the purpose of payments. Customers opt for facial recognition systems for the purpose because of the sheer convenience it offers for users. However, an error that can take place in such systems is when identical twins use them to make unauthorized payments from each other’s bank accounts. Worryingly, duplication of faces allows financial embezzlement despite the security protocols present in facial recognition systems.

7. Inaccuracies in Law Enforcement Applications

Facial recognition systems are used to identify criminals out in the open before capturing them. While the technology is undeniably useful as a concept in law enforcement, there are some glaring issues in its working. There are a few ways in which criminals can abuse this technology. For example, the biased AI concept provides inaccurate results to law enforcement officers as, on occasions, the systems cannot distinguish between men of color. Generally, such systems are trained with datasets containing images of white men. As a result, the system’s workings are error-ridden when it comes to identifying people from other ethnicities.

There have been several instances wherein organizations or public bodies have been accused of unlawful surveillance of civilians with advanced facial recognition systems. The video data collected by continuously monitoring individuals can be used for several devious purposes. One of the biggest complaints with facial recognition systems is the generalized output it provides. For instance, if an individual is suspected to have committed a felony, their picture is taken and run alongside the pictures of several criminals to check whether the individual had any criminal record or not. However, the stacking of data together means that the facial recognition database maintains the picture of the man alongside seasoned felons. So, despite the individual’s relative innocence, his or her privacy is invaded. Secondly, the person may be seen in a bad light despite being, by all accounts, innocent.

As we can see, the main issues and errors related to facial recognition technology stem from a lack of advancement in technology, a lack of diversity in datasets, and inefficient handling of the system by organizations. In my opinion, AI and its applications have infinite scope for application in real-world requirements. The risks around facial recognition technology typically take place when the technology works in the same way it is supposed to work despite differences in real-world requirements.

It can be expected that, with further technological advancements in the future, the problems related to the technology will be ironed out. The problems related to bias in AI’s algorithms will eventually be eliminated. However, for the technology to work perfectly without any ethical breaches, organizations will have to maintain a strict level of governance over such systems. With a greater degree of governance, the facial recognition system’s errors can be resolved in the future. As a result, improvements in the research, development, and design of such systems must be carried out to achieve positive solutions.

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TECHNOLOGY

Canonical releases low-touch private cloud MicroCloud

Published

1 hour ago

November 28, 2023

Max

Canonical has announced the general availability of MicroCloud, a low-touch, open source cloud solution. MicroCloud is part of Canonical’s growing cloud infrastructure portfolio.

It is purpose-built for scalable clusters and edge deployments for all types of enterprises. It is designed with simplicity, security and automation in mind, minimising the time and effort to both deploy and maintain it. Conveniently, enterprise support for MicroCloud is offered as part of Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro subscription, with several support tiers available, and priced per node.

MicroClouds are optimised for repeatable and reliable remote deployments. A single command initiates the orchestration and clustering of various components with minimal involvement by the user, resulting in a fully functional cloud within minutes. This simplified deployment process significantly reduces the barrier to entry, putting a production-grade cloud at everyone’s fingertips.

Juan Manuel Ventura, head of architectures & technologies at Spindox, said: “Cloud computing is not only about technology, it’s the beating heart of any modern industrial transformation, driving agility and innovation. Our mission is to provide our customers with the most effective ways to innovate and bring value; having a complexity-free cloud infrastructure is one important piece of that puzzle. With MicroCloud, the focus shifts away from struggling with cloud operations to solving real business challenges” says

In addition to seamless deployment, MicroCloud prioritises security and ease of maintenance. All MicroCloud components are built with strict confinement for increased security, with over-the-air transactional updates that preserve data and roll back on errors automatically. Upgrades to newer versions are handled automatically and without downtime, with the mechanisms to hold or schedule them as needed.

With this approach, MicroCloud caters to both on-premise clouds but also edge deployments at remote locations, allowing organisations to use the same infrastructure primitives and services wherever they are needed. It is suitable for business-in-branch office locations or industrial use inside a factory, as well as distributed locations where the focus is on replicability and unattended operations.

Cedric Gegout, VP of product at Canonical, said: “As data becomes more distributed, the infrastructure has to follow. Cloud computing is now distributed, spanning across data centres, far and near edge computing appliances. MicroCloud is our answer to that.

“By packaging known infrastructure primitives in a portable and unattended way, we are delivering a simpler, more prescriptive cloud experience that makes zero-ops a reality for many Industries.“

MicroCloud’s lightweight architecture makes it usable on both commodity and high-end hardware, with several ways to further reduce its footprint depending on your workload needs. In addition to the standard Ubuntu Server or Desktop, MicroClouds can be run on Ubuntu Core – a lightweight OS optimised for the edge. With Ubuntu Core, MicroClouds are a perfect solution for far-edge locations with limited computing capabilities. Users can choose to run their workloads using Kubernetes or via system containers. System containers based on LXD behave similarly to traditional VMs but consume fewer resources while providing bare-metal performance.

Coupled with Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro + Support subscription, MicroCloud users can benefit from an enterprise-grade open source cloud solution that is fully supported and with better economics. An Ubuntu Pro subscription offers security maintenance for the broadest collection of open-source software available from a single vendor today. It covers over 30k packages with a consistent security maintenance commitment, and additional features such as kernel livepatch, systems management at scale, certified compliance and hardening profiles enabling easy adoption for enterprises. With per-node pricing and no hidden fees, customers can rest assured that their environment is secure and supported without the expensive price tag typically associated with cloud solutions.

Want to learn more about cybersecurity and the cloud from industry leaders? Check out Cyber Security & Cloud Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Tags: automation, Canonical, MicroCloud, private cloud

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TECHNOLOGY

AWS and SoftwareOne collaborate on RISE with SAP

Published

6 days ago

November 22, 2023

Max

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SoftwareOne Holding AG, a global provider of end-to-end software and cloud technology solutions, have partnered to help customers transition to RISE with SAP on an AWS cloud environment.

Called the Ready for RISE on AWS bundle, it combines SoftwareOne’s deep SAP advisory and implementation knowledge with AWS technologies to expedite a client’s SAP transformation journey.

The collaboration comes at a time when there is growing pressure on organisations to decide how to modernise their SAP environments driven in part by the end of mainstream support for SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) in 2027. Despite the imminent deadline, many organisations are still confused as to which path to take, including when to adopt RISE with SAP, SAP’s bundled offering of cloud solutions, infrastructure, and services that helps migrate SAP ERP to the cloud.

Ireneusz Hołowacz, Director of Application Development Center at GAVDI Polska, said: “A stable, efficient, and cost-effective environment for consultants and programmers is one of the most important priorities of our daily work. Thanks to the migration of our SAP systems to the AWS cloud with the help of SoftwareOne, GAVDI Polska has achieved all the goals set for this process.

In a survey recently conducted by SoftwareOne with Americas’ SAP Users’ Group (ASUG) – the full details of which will be revealed in January 2024 – showed that while 42% of respondents were familiar with RISE with SAP, 40% had heard of it but weren’t familiar with the details and 18% had never heard of it. Over half (52%) said they were still unsure how RISE with SAP would impact their existing relationship with cloud service providers.

“SAP customers have implemented some of the most comprehensive and complex enterprise systems in the industry and moving them to cloud services like AWS requires many important decisions to be made to optimise these investments,” says Joshua Greenbaum, Principal at EAC. “SoftwareOne’s extensive experience in the SAP ecosystem, combined with its unique capabilities around system rationalisation, cost containment, contracts and licenses, and cloud service management, among others, will provide customers deploying on AWS with the ability to make the most of RISE on SAP and other SAP offerings. Ready for RISE on AWS is an important offering for SAP customers at this critical moment in their business transformations.”

The Ready for RISE on AWS bundle will help clients understand their SAP transformation options and offer a comprehensive solution to organisations who consider RISE with SAP. It includes advisory data preparation, conversion services, data and AI, cloud innovation platform, supporting the entire journey to RISE on AWS. Clients will benefit from accelerated Return on Investment (ROI), optimal data management, and cost-saving strategies while laying the foundation for ongoing innovation and long-term business success.

Matt Schwartz, worldwide director, SAP Alliance & Partner Network at AWS, said: “As a valued AWS Premier Consulting Partner, AWS is working closely with SoftwareOne to offer SAP customers comprehensive assistance through each step of their journey to RISE with SAP on AWS. SoftwareOne’s ability to bundle Advisory, Data & AI, Cloud Platform, and Operations considerations can be of high interest to customers who are seeking to understand RISE with SAP as well as the cloud native and operation considerations that surround and support the RISE with SAP construct.”

PF Grillet, SAP Business Lead at SoftwareOne, said: “There are many choices available to SAP clients who know they need to modernise but aren’t sure of the best option, particularly given the business-critical nature of the applications.

“All of our services are centered around our customers and what is right for them. This includes supporting and optimising RISE with SAP in scenarios when it’s the right decision based on their requirements. Our extensive knowledge of and relationship with AWS means we can help them better prepare and achieve a seamless transition to S/4HANA using RISE with SAP on AWS with reduced costs and risks. This collaboration goes beyond preparing businesses for change; it’s making transformation and becoming innovation-ready a reality using AWS technologies.”

The offering includes SNP tooling to reduce a customer’s data footprint and accelerate migration. SoftwareOne will migrate selected data to an AWS data lake, accelerate innovation readiness and ensure SAP data is suitable for broader data analytics and AI use cases. Clients gain access to innovative tools like AWS’ Sagemaker for Machine Learning, continuous data management and optimisation within the AWS environment. The AWS innovation platform also includes Amazon Bedrock that helps organisations accelerate adapting Large Language Models and deploying GenAI use cases that leverage the extended data set.

“While the future innovation opportunities are exciting, clients need to balance these with a pragmatic approach to costs,” explained Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and WECA at SoftwareOne, “We integrate ‘Cost-Out’ recommendations into the core of our services, providing a more cost-effective solution for customers, like reducing the data footprint size and optimising storage and archiving.

“Our expertise in the complexities of SAP licensing further drives cost savings while our FinOps capabilities enable customers to optimise their AWS cloud spend and effectively manage their AWS cloud environment, ensuring full transparency in their budgets. The overall result is a significantly reduced time for RISE migration, which translates into a quicker time to value.”

Tags: AWS, partnership, SAP, SoftwareOne, transition

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TECHNOLOGY

Appian unveils winners of its International Partner Awards

Published

7 days ago

November 22, 2023

Max

Software firm Appian has announced the winners of its 2023 International Partner Awards at the Appian Europe conference in London.

The awards recognise partners who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, innovation and excellence in leveraging the Appian Platform to deliver transformational business value to clients through end-to-end process automation.

Christopher O’Connell, VP of Partners & Alliances, said: “These exceptional partners have successfully delivered excellent business outcomes with our European customers by implementing process automation with the Appian Platform.

“This year’s winners have showcased unwavering commitment, innovation, and transformative power by partnering with Appian. We’re proud to recognize their achievements at the 2023 Appian International Partner Awards. Their dedication and passion for excellence exemplify the values we hold dear at Appian, and we look forward to further collaboration in the journey of innovation and transformation.”

The winners are as follows:

Delivery Award – EY

EY Italy is the proud recipient of the Delivery Award, which acknowledges their unwavering commitment to excellence and project delivery for an Italian energy customer. EY Italy’s innovative project management, attention to detail, and seamless integration of the customer’s unique needs into the solution led to transformative outcomes. Their deep understanding of Appian’s capabilities and passion for delivering exceptional value has accelerated project timelines and enhanced the overall quality of deliverables.

Innovation Award – KPMG UK

KPMG’s end-to-end Customer Due Diligence (CDD) service reduces the average case handling time and improves the first-time resolution of cases, allowing global banking institutions to focus back on the core parts of their business. KPMG leverages the Appian Platform to implement continuous improvements and customer data insights throughout the lifetime of the engagement. KPMG ensures a customised and rapid implementation of the CDD service, tailored to each client’s specific business needs. KPMG has built over 5,000 reusable Appian objects and with their onshore/offshore Appian delivery capability has reduced end-to-end platform build time by 40%.

Growth Award – Minsait, an Indra Company

Minsait receives the Growth Award for their remarkable expansion of the Appian practice. In the past year, they increased the number of globally certified practitioners by over 25%. Minsait’s commitment to education is evident through its internal training practice, which has successfully educated more than 200 students, and its collaboration with local universities to certify 100 additional consultants in 2024. To support their growth, Minsait has established a Centre of Excellence, extending their expertise across Europe, LATAM, and the Philippines.

Transformation Award – PwC Spain

PwC is the recipient of the Transformation Award for their remarkable project at one of the top 10 insurance companies in Europe. PwC’s comprehensive transformation involved decommissioning the customer’s legacy platform and migrating all applications (which serve over 25,000 users) to the Appian Platform. This transformation enables the customer to handle complex workflows, develop new applications, and adapt to future business needs with agility.

Partner of the Year for EMEA Channel Sales – VASS

VASS is recognised as the Partner of the Year for EMEA Channel Sales in acknowledgement of their outstanding contributions to Appian’s growth and success in the region. As a leading provider of transformative digital solutions and consulting in 22 countries on four continents, VASS has achieved the highest annual contract value (ACV) in the region through close partnership and collaboration as an Appian reseller.

Tags: Appian, awards

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