Paravision Appoints Ethics Advisor, Publishes ‘AI Principles’ for Face Biometrics

Paravision has appointed a ‘Chief AI Ethics Advisor’ and published a set of ‘AI Principles’ that will offer ethical guidance for the further development of its facial recognition technology.

The new executive brings an impressive set of credentials to the role. Elizabeth A. Adams currently serves as the Race & Technology Fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, a role in which she is building on her previous work as an appointee of the City of Minneapolis’s Racial Equity Community Advisory Committee. She also serves as a consultant on the United Nations’ Roundtable 3D on Artificial Intelligence.

Paravision’s AI Principles, meanwhile, are premised on two central ideas: that AI technology should be trained ethically, and that it should be sold conscientiously. That means, for example, that a facial recognition system should be trained on an ethnically diverse dataset of subjects, and that it shouldn’t be sold to oppressive regimes. (Further details can be found on Paravision’s website.)

Speaking to FindBiometrics, Paravision CPO Joey Pritikin explained that the set of AI Principles “has been in the works for several months, and is part of an overarching company focus on taking an ethical approach to the development and use of AI and face recognition in particular.”

Adams, for her part, is likely to play an important role in ensuring that Paravision adheres to its ethical standards. As Paravision CEO Doug Aley explained in a statement, “Elizabeth’s leadership, her expertise in addressing AI racial bias and her vision for realizing a better future with AI will be an invaluable resource for Paravision.”

At a time of growing concern and scrutiny over the privacy and ethical implications of facial recognition technology, these latest developments may position Paravision as an industry leader in addressing these issues. That would complement its clear leadership on the technology side of things, with the company having shown a strong performance in the NIST’s Face Recognition Vendor Test last year.