Why NYC Should Embrace Facial Recognition Technology (FRT)

We live in an era where new technology is often equated with a dystopian vision of the future. Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) has been met with much trepidation, with recent City and State legislative proposals reflecting concerns about privacy and security enforcement. Many of these efforts propose either an outright ban or overly restrictive guardrails on FRT in residential and commercial properties.

While there are always genuine privacy concerns with any new product, I strongly believe that FRT has proven to be a tool that can protect people as owners are using it to safeguard their properties and ensure that only those who have the right to access can do so.

As property owners, our goal is to keep those not authorized for entry out of our buildings and ensure a safe environment for those who live and work in them, and there is no doubt that digital images will play a huge role in this effort. By using FRT to extract geometric information from still images or videos, algorithms can create a “faceprint”, which is just as accurate as a fingerprint.

While there are valid ethical concerns about the possible uses of FRT, building security seems to be a straightforward use case that is a benefit to our tenants.

As entities around the world utilize this technology to enhance public safety, New York City residents should not be denied this same opportunity. The real estate industry has a critical role to play in ensuring that the future of this new technology is thoughtfully regulated, and we have an obligation to work together to keep New Yorkers safe.