Forbes reported that Microsoft has received numerous complaints from human rights organizations for investing in an Israeli startup company using face recognition technology in the West Bank.
According to TheMarker magazine last month, AnyVision, which uses the Israeli security forces its own biometric identification technology, received $ 74 million in funding from a group of investors including US technology giant Microsoft in June. .
Amos Toh, a senior forensic expert at Human Rights Watch, said the use of the technology "in a dangerous political context could be a problem" in reference to Israel's occupation of the West Bank.
"I think Microsoft should actually consider the human rights risks associated with investing in a company that provides this technology to an occupying power," he said, adding that "it is not just a privacy risk but also a privacy risk associated with a minority group that has suffered repression And persecution for a long time. "
Forbes also cites a maze by cyber security businessman Matt Soich, describing what Microsoft has done as a "scandal".
The US Civil Liberties Union also criticized the investment. Shankar Narayan, the technology director, told Forbes that he had met Microsoft on face recognition technology. At that time, it seemed to him that the company was open to the idea of restrictions on its use.
However, he said, "This specific investment is not a big surprise to me, there is a clear gap between speech and action in the case of most major technology companies, and Microsoft in particular."
The researcher told Forbes that he had questioned the extent to which the Microsoft Advisory Board - on ethical issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence - had considered investing in Annie Vision.
The Forbes article refers to the policy set out by Microsoft President Brad Smith of six principles, adopted by the company in December on fairness, transparency, accountability, non-discrimination, notification, approval and legal monitoring.
| Microsoft Advisory Board on ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence (French) |
Annie Vision and her association with the Mossad
Last June, Annie Vision announced that it had raised $ 74 million from Microsoft, Qualcomm Satellite Speed Venture, Patner and Bush Corporation had put money on startup.
Annie Vision says facial recognition can enhance public security, which he promotes to the US government through lobbying groups such as the Franklin Square Group in Washington.
In addition to its use in the West Bank, the Israeli company sells its "Better Tomorrow" program in Russia, where the Annie Vision technology was installed at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow.
The article mentions the close relations between Annie Vision and senior Israeli security officials, including former Mossad chief Tomer Bardot as an adviser, and the company's president, Amir Kane, who headed the Department of Defense Security from 2007 to 2015.