Re: [106attendees] Facial recognition trial check-in at the Swissotel

[John C Klensin <[e-mail]>]

--On Sunday, November 17, 2019 18:17 +0800 Ross Finlayson
<[e-mail]> wrote:

>> p.s. For anyone impressed by applications of facial
>> recognition (whether "impressed" is positive or negative),
>> those of you were were not at the recent World Internet
>> Conference in Wuzhen China missed a truly memorable
>> experience.
> 
> You can't tease us like this.  Please elaborate.

The advance registration procedure for the conference required
fairly extensive documentation although probably not enough to
set off personal alarms for an international meeting with, e.g.,
important government functionaries present.   However, that
registration documentation also required a picture with very
specific rules about background, size, shape, and resolution --
much more specific than I'd used to for, e.g., passport or visa
applications -- and registrations that did not conform were
apparently held until the pictures were ok.  I didn't think much
of it at the time, however, once we checked in at the conference
and received badges (ones that contained not only that picture
but what appeared to be RFID chips) went through the usual metal
detectors and bad x-rays, additional trips in and out of the
meeting (at least for some of us - I didn't do a careful study)
caused pictures of us to show up on a large screen as we
approached the security portal and we were then waved past the
metal detectors and x-ray machines.  

I assumed before thinking about it just now that it was
triggered by facial recognition software and comparison to the
database of attendees but I guess it could have as easily been
reading of the RFID chip on the badge with facial recognition
used to compare the stored image and the face of the person
welking the badge (I assume by computer and AI, but maybe by
humans who were being extremely discrete about what they were
doing).

In any event, it was very impressive as a way to run a
conference, keep track of people and move them in and out, and
concentrate actual security resources on people and situations
that might have reasonable likelihood of being a threat.  The
contrast to, e.g., engaging in extensive security theater that
inconveniences everyone, causes long queues, and has high risk
of not catching anything important was quite striking.

At the same time, if one is inclined to worry about the amount
of tracking such a system would permit if anyone cared, saw the
opportunities for data mining and integration, and viewed it as
harbinger of things to come, well it could be rather scary.  For
example, I did not see any signs of the system being used to
track who was attending particular sessions, but it would not
have been hard to conceal the needed cameras or non-contact
badge readers.   And so on. 

So, as I said, a memorable -- and impressive-- experience.

best,
    john