Hawaii will utilize facial recognition in airports

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    Hawaii (KITV) — Installation will begin as a pilot program next week.

Hawaii Governor David Ige announced Wednesday the state will use facial recognition to fight the spread of COVID-19. Department of Transportation Spokesperson Tim Sakahara said it will only be used in airports, and the renderings will be destroyed after 30 minutes.

Sakahara said it is “Not your typical facial recognition,” and it will be used alongside thermal scanners to detect people in airports with fevers.

The American Civil Liberties Union Hawaii affiliate, however, is concerned.

“[The state’s use of facial recognition] should not be permitted,” said ACLU Hawaii Executive Director Joshua Wisch.

“Most facial recognition systems carry racial bias which means they frequently misidentify faces of people of color,” Wisch explained.

Wisch told KITV4 he believes there was a “dangerous” lack of community input prior to the utilization of this technology.

IBM made headlines recently for announcing their plan to stop offering recognition software.

“A number of other agencies across the country are pulling back from this technology. The fact that we are leaning into it is bewildering,” said Wisch.

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