Are you concerned that the technology in question may be used to compromise the privacy or presumed right of anonymity of law-abiding citizens who frequent public places? If so, why do you consider the use of this technology to be the tipping point? In the past, government agencies have installed cameras to monitor public spaces. Presumably, a criminal or suspected terrorist could be identified via the camera's images - if the person reviewing the images knew what such individuals looked like.

We have already made compromises to our privacy in an attempt to preserve order in our society; our cars have license plates that could be used by law enforcement to assist in tracking down our vehicles should they carry suspected criminals or be used for illegal purposes; in certain professions, we have to surrender an exemplar of our fingerprints that could be used to confirm our identity at a later date; in most states, we have allowed our image to be linked to our identity via photo identification such as driver’s licenses, copies of which are kept in a databank operated and accessed by government. Obviously, the majority of individuals in our democratic society accept these privacy compromises, or they would not be allowed to be practiced.

Technological advances can be utilized by the criminal element as well as by those employed to protect us from that element. You can presume that if the good guys have an opportunity to employ to a certain bit of technology, the more well-funded of the bad guys can do the same. Should we forgo the use of facial recognition technology in the US because of privacy concerns, while accepting the possibility that such technology could be used in areas of the world against U.S. interests? Imagine a CIA operative in Iran being hobbled in his ability to monitor if Iran is building a nuclear bomb that could be potentially used in the U.S., due to the use of facial recognition technology in Iran, while in the U.S., known terrorists run around undetected surveying the best place to plant such a bomb.

I respect your concern about the potential compromise of the right of privacy that this technology affords, but have to break some rather uncomfortable news to you – you already don’t have any. Let’s say that I have the ability to access any public and private databank currently operating in the U.S., much in the way that any law enforcement agency, with cause, may have. If I see you driving down the street in your car, I can grab your license plate number. Game over. With that, I can hit the DMV database and grab your name, address and an image of your face. As you probably used your social security number and birth certificate to secure that driver’s license, I have that info as well. Now, with a few clicks of the keyboard, I’m over at the Social Security Administration database, finding out the identity of your past and present employers who didn’t pay you under the table. Taking a little detour over to the IRS database, I can find out your income history, if you’re married and filing jointly, I have your wife’s name and SSN as well as the name of your dependents; I have info on any business that you may have owned, and the identity of any assets which you may have divested and reported a capital gain or loss – for starters. But the fun part comes when I run a credit check on you! Then I know about how much money you owe, and who you owe it to, and the account numbers of your credit cards. Wandering over to the credit card companies, I can find out about your purchase history, what when and where you bought it. Used VISA to buy a pair of shoes online? Now I know your shoe size. And God forbid that I bother to determine the name of your ISP carrier, and use that to find out if you’ve been hitting those naughty schoolgirl websites again.

So, concerned that facial recognition tech may be raping your rights to privacy? Let me give you some advice. Lie back and enjoy it.