Sydney Airport Starts To Begin Testing Facial Recognition Tech

The Sydney Airport in partnership with airline Quantas has announced it will be running a facial racognition technology trial.

The airport and the airline will be testing the “couch-to-gate” biometrics which, if successful, would mean that the passengers will be able to go through most of the stages of their trip through the airport without the need of a passport – they would only be using their faces, making the embarking process seamless.

The biometrics system has been endorsed by the Australian federal government which promised to deliver $22.5 million AUD in order to ensure that facial recognition technology will be widely available on all Australian airports.

Not everyone is excited at the prospect though – Dr. Bruce Baer Arnold made a statement to The Australian Financial Review where he makes note that:

“(Biometrics) can produce real harm. Data transparency has become an increasingly big deal post-GDPR, and it’s in this domain where potential issues lie. While most citizens are embracing the system, experts believe the country will eventually reach “a tipping point” where overwhelming amounts of personal data could be stored and used without alerting citizens.”

On the other side of the world, the U.S is not far behind either, as The Department of Homeland Security already has a Vehicle Face System in the works, which would allow them to identify people who enter and exit the US border with Mexico. This particular system will launch its trial run in August.