I AM staring into the future of security… and it thinks I’m under 15 years old. Inside a giant hall are hundreds of stands with companies showing off their technology, from artificially intelligent video analysis to fingerprint scanners that could replace credit cards.
“The words ‘security’, ‘AI’ and ‘deep learning’ are everywhere, but ‘privacy’ is nowhere in sight”
“Deep learning”, “security” and “AI” are emblazoned on multiple banners throughout IFSEC, a large security conference at the ExCeL exhibition centre in London. Booths are laden with high-end security cameras, but, tellingly, the word “privacy” is nowhere in sight.
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Though the camera system that I am staring into, from Taiwan-based SkyREC, got my age wrong (I’m 26), its artificially intelligent software has successfully drawn a box around my face and identified me as a female, all of which is displayed on a nearby screen.
Retailers IKEA, Uniqlo and Timberland are using SkyREC’s cameras to track customers in their shops. The system follows people’s movements, including what items of clothing they touch, the paths they travel, where they linger and even how long certain objects, such as mirrors, are used.
It allows companies to monitor people in their stores, says Cate Xie of SkyREC. She shows me a heat map from a clothing shop, a CCTV still in which the most-touched items, including dresses and accessories on different racks, glow orange.
Many other companies are selling similar AI-powered cameras for surveillance. They can analyse and remember thousands of faces per second, track people’s entry into premises and flag when known thieves are spotted.
Though there are still teething problems, it is clear the tools are quickly improving. At one booth, run by computer chip-maker HiSilicon, an operator uses hand gestures to make an AI-powered camera focus on me. On a screen that shows the feed from the camera, a box pops up around me and, as I pace, this electronic eye shifts so I am always centre of frame. The operator makes an L-shaped hand gesture and the camera zooms in on my face.
Other booths display videos of crowds, with software picking out faces or superimposing digital lines to turn them into a mass of animated stick figures to track movement. Elsewhere, there are iris-recognition cameras as well as entry gates that let you pass when they recognise your face.
Attempting to stand out among the crowd, the UK’s National Security Inspectorate, a certifying body for security and safety industries, has brought a live owl for meet-and-greets. It isn’t clear why, but it is certainly making people stop and take selfies.
Before leaving, I am shown by French security firm Idemia how my fingers could soon replace my credit cards. To demonstrate how it works, I am asked to register by placing my hand under a scanner. The words “capture complete” pop up on a screen, along with what looks like impressively detailed ink fingerprints of four of my fingers.
Now, whenever I flash a finger under the scanner it instantly recognises me, allowing me to verify who I am. Finance giant Visa has trialled the technology for use as a payment method.
It is yet another example of the technologies on show here that promise to make our lives more convenient and secure, but also more closely tracked than ever.
