The Department of Homeland Security is looking for feedback on new applications of artificial intelligence and facial recognition that the American public may encounter.

Kathleen Deloughery, project manager for the Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Science and Technology, told Nextgov that the information collection request issued last week was part of a larger portfolio to measure the acceptance and adoption of technologies within national security.

"In order to ensure that you successfully deploy technology, you must understand the public's perception of the risks and benefits of new technology, especially in an environment where the public interacts with technology," she said.

As the Department of Homeland Security investigates the use of artificial intelligence and other biometrics, officials hope to gauge public perceptions of biometrics in order to better implement them on various platforms. 

The research discussed in the recent ICR will focus on AI facial recognition in several use cases, or where the technology will appear, such as airports or public buildings. Department of Homeland Security officials declined to specify what these technologies will do and where they intend to be implemented. 

However, Delochry did say that officials designing artificial intelligence technologies that interact with the public will consider survey feedback during the development process, especially concerns about privacy and civil liberties. 

The department has been working to expand the scope of public feedback on emerging technologies that it hopes to deploy. Earlier this year, the agency conducted a similar survey when it launched its new shoe scanning imaging technology, which will be deployed at TSA security checkpoints to gauge public awareness of the risks and benefits of the technology. 

Deloughery said that this public feedback helped the research team deploy and develop shoe scanner technology, and the new facial recognition technology is going through a similar process. 

Despite public outreach activities, concerns about personal privacy rights still exist, especially with regard to biometric technology and its data collection.

Caitlin Seeley George, director of the Internet privacy advocacy organization Fight for the Future, said that the implementation of biometrics in many public places by the Department of Homeland Security is rapidly increasing, especially because there is no policy to prevent the use of faces. Identification technology.

She also added that the department's investigation and management to capture the country's awareness of biometric technology may be inaccurate.

"I think for departments like DHS, they want to collect this information, but I don't think they actually care whether people support or oppose using it, or how much they know about it."

Regardless of the results of the artificial intelligence technology being developed by DHS, George reiterated that her organization's goal is to prohibit the use of facial recognition and other potentially invasive biometric technologies. 

"Broadly speaking, we absolutely oppose the use of facial recognition and other artificial intelligence technologies by the Department of Homeland Security to monitor people," she said. "They cannot use it without causing danger to the general public."

Given the skepticism about facial recognition biometric technology — the Department of Homeland Security acknowledges this in its ICR — officials may be concerned about survey respondents’ attitudes towards privacy and personal surveillance. 

"It is very important for the Department of Homeland Security to actively discuss with the public the technologies we will use and under what circumstances so that we can address people's concerns before they naturally arise," Deloughery said. 

Next story: Information Officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: The United States is lagging behind in information warfare. Artificial intelligence can help

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