Major retailers in the US are already using facial recognition cameras to spy on shoppers, a campaigning group has warned.
The tech - usually associated with authoritative regimes like China - is being used both to identify shoplifters and serve ‘personalized’ adverts.
Caitlin Seeley George of anti-face recognition campaign group Fight for the Future told DailyMail.com its use has been ‘steadily spreading’ silently for several years.
Walgreens and Macy's are among the largest retailers to adopt the technology, deploying it in hundreds of stores across the country. And it is not just America - Britain is also adopting the tech.
Cameras are being used not just to catch persistent shoplifters, but also to monitor shoppers and analyze their emotions, so that stores can deliver personalized adverts on screens inside the store, George warned.
‘A lot of stores are saying they’re using it to identify shoplifters and as a tool to deter shoplifting,’ she said.
‘But it’s also being used for marketing purposes, they are gathering information on shoppers and seeing what they are buying and not buying - and using AI tools to analyse the emotions of shoppers and see what sort of ads to direct at them.’
The global market for facial recognition technology is forecast to hit $7 billion by 2024, according to research by analyst Thales Group.
No comments:
Post a Comment