IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2021 - 104

Soft Law Governance of Artificial Intelligence
The use of facial recognition in the public sector
has received a great deal of press lately, most of it
negative. Overall, there is concern about how state
and federal government agencies are using this
technology, distrust in the security of data, fear of
the loss of personally identifiable and private information,
a lack of understanding of how and where
the technology is used, frustration with being unable
to consent to data collection, and of course, a
deeply felt uneasiness with the thought that your
face may be being constantly monitored surreptitiously
[32].
The issue of data privacy in this context has
proved to be forceful enough to stop the implementation
of several facial recognition systems across
the country. For example, when the Lockport School
District in New York attempted to launch the technology
in schools, parents, teachers, and privacy
advocates protested, demanding a privacy assessment
to ensure that student data could be properly
collected, analyzed, and protected [32]. In response
to these growing concerns, a number of large technology
companies have voluntarily relinquished
some of the more problematic applications of facial
recognition technology [33].
Importantly, the IoT shares certain characteristics
with facial recognition technology-including the
potential for large-scale collection of personal data
without public awareness or consent-such that
these concerns will likewise permeate the implementation
of IoT. To illustrate, it is a combination
of facial recognition, biometric technology, urban
development models, and widespread, reliable
Internet connectivity that has allowed the development
of smart cities [34].
Smart cities
The IoT has helped transform smart cities " from
a futuristic ideal to a series of real-life initiatives that
have already been adopted by municipalities across
the world " [34]. These cities rely on IoT sensors to
collect and analyze data, bringing together vast
amounts of information for more efficient and sustainable
living [35]. A key ingredient to the success
of these initiatives is connectivity through the integration
of advanced technology. But to get increased
connectivity, cities need more sensors in the environment
and digital footprints that can vastly increase
tracking and the relaying of information about individuals,
raising data privacy concerns [35].
104
Most pertinently for consumers, with a smart city,
sensors are on all the time and the technology is
essentially uncontrolled, insofar as it collects personal
data without the need to obtain consent [36].
If such cities are created without built-in protections-such
as privacy by design implementations of
de-identification-the public will inevitably become
increasingly concerned with the lack of control over
information surrounding their movements, habits,
likes and dislikes, and daily occupations [37].
One clear example of the public making their
privacy concerns known with respect to smart cities
is Google's Sidewalk Labs experience: a 12-acre
Quayside project launched in the hopes of creating a
smart city on the Toronto waterfront [38]. Originally
seen as a tool for addressing affordability, transportation
issues, environmental sustainability, and urban
development, the project quickly became the center
of widespread public scrutiny [38]. Notably, people
feared data harvesting and a lack of transparency,
causing some to plead with officials to abandon the
project, calling it the " most highly evolved version
to date of surveillance capitalism " and a " dystopian
vision that has no place in a democratic society " [38].
In May 2020, Google pulled the plug on its Sidewalk
project for Toronto [39]. The failure of this smart city
project has been attributed to the " flagrant " underestimating
of privacy concerns, and the controversy
in Toronto spurred a debate regarding whether and
to what extent cities should give power over its citizens'
data collection to a technology company [37].
In short, the project exposed the challenges officials
face as they attempt to pursue technological innovation
with private partners while simultaneously trying
to protect their residents' privacy [40].
While Google will likely find a new space to
develop its smart city, it will continue to face privacy
concerns, which are of course not limited to
Toronto. As alluded to above, recent research has
shown just how immense data privacy concerns
have become in the United States and elsewhere,
suggesting the public is more concerned with their
privacy than ever before [41]. To illustrate, one Pew
study indicates that most individuals feel they have
little or no control over the way the government or
companies use their personal information, and the
majority of the public " are not confident that corporations
are good stewards of the data they collect "
[41]. Almost 80% of Americans say they are not
confident that companies will admit mistakes and
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2021

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