A film screening of ‘Coded Bias’ and a discussion with Robert Williams, a man who was wrongfully arrested based on facial recognition technology.
Join the Irish Council for Civil Liberties to hear from Robert Williams, a man who was wrongfully arrested and detained for a crime he did not commit due to faulty facial recognition technology (FRT). Robert’s arrest by police in Detroit is the first documented case of someone being arrested after being misidentified by FRT.
Robert will be speaking at an event on Wednesday 5 June at 6.30pm in The Workmans Club. The event will feature a film screening and panel discussion on the topic of facial recognition technology.
Doors will open at 6.15pm. The film will start at 6.30pm and be followed by the panel discussion.
Film screening: Coded Bias
Coded Bias is a documentary which explores the fallout of the discovery by Joy Buolamwini, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that FRT does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the US to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all.
Panel discussion
In 2020, Robert Williams was arrested in front of his wife and children for a crime he didn’t commit. The crime was robbery, but at the time it was committed he was driving home from work.
Robert is a Black man from Detroit in America and his is the first documented case of a person being wrongfully arrested and detained based on FRT.
On 5 June, he will tell his story alongside Nate Wessler, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who represents Robert in his lawsuit against the Detroit Police Department. Nate will discuss other FRT misidentification cases in the US and the strong legislative pushback against this dangerous technology in several US states.
Olga Cronin, Surveillance and Human Rights Senior Policy Officer with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties will speak about the Irish government’s plans to give Gardaí access to FRT. If the tech is introduced here, it will be a complete step change in Irish policing, in the ability of Gardai to conduct surveillance on people in Ireland and in the relationship between Gardaí and the public they serve.
Niamh O’Mahony, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Governance at Football Supporters Europe (FSE), will speak about FSE’s opposition to the use of football fans as test subjects for unproven and unregulated technologies and its call for an immediate end to the deployment of FRT at football matches in the UEFA region.
The conversation will be moderated by Karlin Lillington, journalist and columnist with The Irish Times.
This event is organised by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, with the support of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO).
About facial recognition technology
Facial recognition technology is highly intrusive, biased, racist and inaccurate. It discriminates against women and people of colour, and further embeds structural inequalities in society. In countries where it is already in use, it is responsible for people being wrongfully arrested and detained – with life-changing consequences. While flawed, it is also a very powerful technology that can enable mass surveillance, as demonstrated in its use against Palestinians and Uyghur Muslims.
The Irish government plans to allow Gardaí to use FRT and is currently drafting legislation – the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill 2023 – for this purpose.