Microsoft is limiting public access to parts of its facial recognition technology, removing certain capabilities that detect controversial features such as a person’s age, gender and emotional state.

The tech giant said experts “inside and outside the company” have highlighted issues when it comes to the definition of emotions, the way AI detects it and privacy concerns around this type of capability.

As a result, various aspects of Microsoft’s facial recognition software will no longer be available to new customers, including the ability to detect emotion, gender or age. The features will be discontinued for existing customers within one year.

The decision is part of a broader push by Microsoft to tighten the uses of its AI products. The tech company has developed the “Responsible AI Standard”, a 27-page document that sets out requirements for AI systems to reduce their negative impact on society.

“We recognise that for AI systems to be trustworthy, they need to be appropriate solutions to the problems they are designed to solve,” said Microsoft chief responsible AI officer Natasha Crampton in a blog post.

“As part of our work to align our Azure Face service to the requirements of the Responsible AI Standard, we are also retiring capabilities that infer emotional states and identity attributes such as gender, age, smile, facial hair, hair, and makeup.”

New customers who apply for Microsoft’s facial recognition software called Azure Face will have to apply for access and explain how they intend to use the system, while existing customers have one year to apply and receive approval for continued access.

While the emotional detection won’t be available for public use, Microsoft’s principal group product manager for Azure AI, Sarah Bird, said the company recognises that “these capabilities can be valuable when used for a set of controlled accessibility scenarios”.

Concerns around facial recognition AI

In recent years, concerns have been raised about facial recognition tech in terms of surveillance, privacy, consent, accuracy and bias.

Last year, EU proposals for regulating AI were criticised by EU watchdogs for not going far enough when it comes to live facial recognition in public places. MEPs then called for a ban on biometric mass surveillance technologies, such as facial recognition tools, citing the threat these technologies can present to human rights.

Some companies have also been taking a step back on facial recognition. Facebook parent company Meta announced last November that it will delete face recognition data from more than 1bn users collected over a decade, and those who opted in for the face recognition feature will no longer be automatically recognised in photos and videos on the platform.

Despite the concerns raised and the EU’s plans to address facial recognition, the technology is still being deployed in new areas. Last month, The Irish Times reported that The Garda Síochána is expected to get new powers to use facial recognition technology for criminal identification.

A controversial company that is focused on facial recognition technology is Clearview AI, which has been facing criticism and pressure from watchdogs around the world.

In February, it was reported that the company told investors it is on track to have 100bn facial photos in its database within a year. This would be enough to identify “almost everyone in the world”, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

In 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illnois filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging it violated the privacy rights of citizens. The ACLU said the case was filed after a New York Times investigation revealed details of the company’s tracking and surveillance tools.

That lawsuit reached a settlement earlier this month, when Clearview AI agreed to a new set of restrictions, including a permanent ban in the US on making its faceprint database available to most businesses and other private entities.

Despite being hit with a £7.5m fine in the UK for multiple data protection breaches and regulatory pressure around the world, the company’s database appears to be growing exponentially based on its claims, growing from 10bn in February to 20bn in May.

Dr Kris Shrishak of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties recently told SiliconRepublic.com that it may be difficult for regulators to enforce rulings against Clearview AI as it is headquartered in the US and does not appear to have offices in other countries. He said it would be easier to have “enforcement teeth” if a US authority cracked down on the technology.

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