(Originally published Dec 20, 2018)
Amazon applied for a patent that decides whether the face in your peephole belongs to a “suspicious” person.
“Generating Composite Facial Images Using Audio/Video Recording and Communication Devices” uses facial-recognition technology to compose an image of the face of the person at your door. The image would be sent by smartphone to a homeowner. If that homeowner decided the face to be “suspicious,” they could then save that image to an “authorized list” of “suspicious persons.” In a story today, the Washington Post interviewed a civil-liberties attorney who specializes in technology. The attorney, Jake Snow of the ACLU of Northern California, “warned that the patent application shows the technology could be used to create ‘a massive, decentralized surveillance network.’” Fear sells, and it looks like Amazon wants to sell it to you.