Long - simmer concerns over Amazon ’s facial recognition computer software came to a head today during the caller ’s one-year shareholder meeting , where activist investors put forward several agendum particular that would increase oversight of the software program and limit who could use it .
None of the proposals wield to meet the 50 - per centum threshold needed to exit , an Amazon interpreter confirmed to Gizmodo .
For the shareholder themselves , as well as for polite rights groups that have been kindle the warning gadget about bias , potential for abuse , and lack of foil with Amazon ’s Rekognition software , the failure to pass these resolution — which would have been non - binding had they been successful — was to be expected .
Photo: Mark Wilson (Getty)
Had they go through , the first firmness could have pressured Amazon to not betray Rekognition to governing and government government agency — doing so , these shareholdersstate , “ negate Amazon ’s opposition to facilitating surveillance”—unless it was plant not to “ do or contribute to actual or potential violations of civil and human rights . ” The second solution requested an autonomous revaluation of Rekognition ’s encroachment .
“ The fact that there needed to be a vote on this is an overplus for Amazon ’s leadership team . It demonstrates shareholder do not have sureness that company executives are properly understanding or addressing the civil and human rights impact of its office in facilitating pervasive government activity surveillance , ” Shankar Narayan , director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington , told Gizmodo in a statement . “ While we have yet to see the precise dislocation of the vote , this shareowner treatment should serve as a wake - up call for the company to regard with the real harms of side surveillance and to switch course . ”
That the voter turnout took place at all is more than a emblematical victory , too , as Amazon did not sit back lazily while groups like the ACLU , assailable MIC , and worker jointure like the UFCW agitated in favor of these agenda items . The fellowship , in fact , made a vigorous case with theSECto turf out these items from the shareholder meeting , though ultimately it did not get its way of life ( ararityfor a company of Amazon ’s size ) .
“ Today ’s annual meeting makes vindicated that this issue is not going to go away : Amazon ’s refusal to acknowledge and confront the potential harm of Rekognition is on-going evidence of corporate hauteur . The party has no internal mechanisms to tax the possible damage of Rekognition when the software is deployed by law enforcement and government agencies , ” Michael Connor , Open MIC ’s executive managing director compose in a statement . “ The company does not have an internal ethics panel to review its artificial intelligence technologies . And the company refuse to operate in substantive dialog with civil and human rights organizations regarding the risks give by Rekognition . ”
Independent study have concluded that Rekognition may havebiasesagainst women and mass of colour ; an ACLU subject field also see the softwarefalselymatch over two 12 members of Congress to photos in a mugshot database . Amazon countered the rigor of these field by claiming the “ confidence verge ” used by the investigator were inconsistent with what law enforcement customers would use in the field . Gizmodo later on reported that the Washington County Sheriff ’s power — the one law enforcement grouping confirmed to be using Rekognition — wasn’t using confidence limen at all .
Amazon declined to ply a comment on the record . net tallies on these vote are expected to be disclosed on Friday , and proposal that reach 3 - percent of the vote or high can be reintroduced .
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