{"id":8139,"date":"2020-10-23T08:26:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T08:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/?p=8139"},"modified":"2020-10-22T04:34:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T04:34:25","slug":"your-ai-doorbell-knows-whos-at-the-door-before-you-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/your-ai-doorbell-knows-whos-at-the-door-before-you-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Your AI Doorbell Knows Who\u2019s at the Door Before You Do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We have become accustomed to digital doorbell systems that double as security monitors, so that we can view who is at our front door. However, advances in AI technology have enabled companies to integrate facial recognition into its systems so that your doorbell knows whose knocking before you do. Google\u2019s Nest system<\/a> has already incorporated facial recognition technology<\/a>. Google\u2019s Nest Cam IQ, Nest Hello video doorbell, and Nest camera within the Nest Hub Max, use \u201cfamiliar face detection<\/a>\u201d so that users can \u201cteach\u201d the camera to be able to \u201ctell the difference between faces you know and don\u2019t know.\u201d Google\u2019s Nest devices progressively begin to recognize people\u2019s faces and give alerts to notify the user whether there is a familiar or unfamiliar face at the door. An individual\u2019s \u201cface data<\/a>\u201d is saved in the device\u2019s video history so that it can recognize the face in the future. Presently, Google\u2019s Nest device only saves the facial information that the user designates belongs to someone who is familiar and the Nest app deletes the information regarding the facial information that the user marks as unknown. Google encourages users to get an individual\u2019s permission before saving someone\u2019s facial data. Further, Google tells users that local laws may require such permission, however, it does not have a system in place to require one\u2019s permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdding facial recognition to a digital doorbell system moves away from providing household security and into a new realm of ever-present, always watching intrusions of privacy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Google\u2019s facial recognition technology in its Nest doorbells raises concerns about privacy. Although Google encourages its doorbell security system users to get someone\u2019s permission before saving his or her facial information, it does not have any measures in place to ensure that only consenting individuals\u2019 information is saved. Moreover, it is impractical to expect a user to retrieve permission from every person who frequently comes to the door. Would individuals even understand the extent of the facial tracking and indefinite nature of granting permission? Additionally, the possibilities for misuse are endless. All too frequently, racial profiling drives digital doorbell users\u2019 reports of \u201csuspicious\u201d activity. In one instance, police stopped an African American real estate agent<\/a> because digital doorbell users believed it was \u201csuspicious\u201d <\/a>for him to ring their doorbell. Having the added ability to save and track the faces of individuals increases the potential for privacy invasions. The familiar and unfamiliar face distinction enhances these concerns. The change of a postal worker could needlessly put a digital doorbell user on high alert because it is not the usual \u201cfamiliar\u201d face. Adding facial recognition to a digital doorbell system moves away from providing household security and into a new realm of ever-present, always watching intrusions of privacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazon plans to take facial recognition beyond recognizing the friends of your family and friends. In 2018, it filed for two facial recognition patent applications<\/a> to use Ring devices in order to automatically alert the police<\/a> when it recognizes a \u201csuspicious\u201d individual. The facial recognition technology would determine if the Ring audio or video contained either a known criminal, which includes, convicted felons, sex offenders, or individuals on a \u201cmost wanted\u201d list, or an apparent \u201csuspicious\u201d person; then the device could automatically send the video to law enforcement. The American Civil Liberties Union has condemned use of facial technology<\/a> in such a manner, stating that \u201cAmazon is dreaming of a dangerous future.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If Amazon\u2019s plans for its Ring doorbells actualize, your doorbell could recognize what Amazon has vaguely described as a \u201csuspicious\u201d individual and alert the police all before you even know who was at the door. Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, which are interconnected devices that communicate with one another and require no human intervention, already have the ability to make decisions and take action without your knowledge. For example, IoT enabled cars<\/a> and washing machines can and order parts it recognizes as necessary without your permission.<\/a> But, when IoT automatic action moves beyond self-ordering a car part and into automatically calling the police, there is significant cause for concern. Individuals would be automatically profiled based on criminal status without reporting from an actual person. Such a system would eviscerate any privacy one has in approaching a doorstep. Furthermore, it is unclear whom the Ring doorbell will recognize as \u201ccriminal\u201d or \u201csuspicious.\u201d Will the Amazon Ring doorbell automatically alert the police when your friend, who has outstanding parking tickets, knocks on your door? Such an absurd circumstance could become reality with round the clock video doorbell surveillance coupled with automatic police reporting. Privacy rights are already eroding with the constant facial recognition capabilities of devices like Google\u2019s Nest doorbells, but civil liberties would be seriously attacked if Amazon were to pursue this as the future of doorbell security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie Long<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have become accustomed to digital doorbell systems that double as security monitors, so that we can view who is at our front door. However, advances in AI technology have enabled companies to integrate facial recognition into its systems so that your doorbell knows whose knocking before you do. Google\u2019s Nest system has already incorporated …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8139"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8139"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8142,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8139\/revisions\/8142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}