OTTAWA — A coalition pushing for better regulation of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance technologies says proposed federal privacy legislation is in"dire need of significant amendments."
The coalition says the technology can prompt biased or flawed results, creating a risk of false identifications. "AI is neither artificial, nor is it intelligent, and its use is largely unregulated," Sharon Polsky of the Privacy and Access Council told a news conference Wednesday. The coalition is concerned about a lack of discussion on the bill's"troubling implications for facial recognition," said Daniel Konikoff, interim director of the privacy, technology and surveillance program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
The government says the artificial intelligence elements of the bill are aimed at protecting Canadians by ensuring high-impact AI systems are developed and deployed in a way that identifies, assesses and lessens the risks of harm and bias. Last month Champagne wrote the House of Commons committee on industry and technology, which is studying the bill, to say the government was prepared to work with MPs to develop amendments to define classes of high-impact systems.