What is Clearview AI？

Mandy

June 19, 2023

What is Clearview AI？

Clearview AI is an American company that specializes in facial recognition technology. It provides software to various entities such as companies, law enforcement agencies, universities, and individuals. The company’s algorithm can match faces to a database of over 20 billion images that have been indexed from the internet, including social media applications. Clearview AI was founded by Hoan Ton-That and Richard Schwartz and has been in operation since 2017.

Features of Clearview AI

Clearview AI has a highly accurate and bias-free facial recognition algorithm, which has been awarded a U.S. patent.
The platform is ranked #1 in the US and Western World out of 650+ algorithms tested by NIST.
Clearview AI is scalable, offering pricing that allows agencies and organizations to effectively support their missions.

The platform is secure, with U.S.-based development and high certification for data security and cybersecurity policies and procedures.

Benefits of Clearview AI

Clearview AI helps in drastically reducing crime, fraud, and risk, making communities safer and commerce secure.
The platform delivers identity intelligence solutions that are precise, scalable, proven, and secure.

Clearview AI’s facial recognition platform is unbiased, protecting families and making communities more secure.
The platform helps law enforcement disrupt and solve crime, and enables financial institutions, transportation, and other commercial enterprises to verify identities, prevent financial fraud, and identity theft.

The Applications of Clearview AI

Clearview AI offers a mobile application called “Clearview Mobile” that provides instant, highly accurate facial identification search results. This application allows you to quickly and easily search identities from your mobile device for highly accurate and near-instantaneous facial identification results and insights.

Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology has been proven in the field for contactless identity checks for:

Traffic Stop Safety
Homeless or Lost Persons ID

Person of Interest ID
Alzheimer’s & Dementia Patient ID
Injured or Hospitalized Victim ID

Clearview AI’s technology has over 99% accuracy in the field for all demographics and offers bias-free recognition. Its mobile-forward interface optimizes home screen access for rapid field identification. Moreover, it can search your agencies’ private galleries and Clearview AI’s 30+ billion image database to gather intelligence and insights.

How Clearview AI works？

Clearview AI works by using a facial recognition algorithm to match faces to a database of images indexed from the internet. The algorithm is highly accurate and bias-free, and has been trained on the largest and most diverse dataset. When a face is scanned using the software, the algorithm searches the database for potential matches. These matches are then provided to the user, along with links to where the matching images can be found online.

How to use Clearview AI？

Gain access to the Clearview AI software. This is typically done through an organization such as a law enforcement agency or a company.
Scan a face using the software. This can be done using a variety of devices, such as a smartphone or a computer with a webcam.

The software’s algorithm will then search the database for potential matches.
Review the matches provided by the software. These will include links to where the matching images can be found online.

Pros and Cons of Clearview AI

Pros

Clearview AI offers a highly accurate and bias-free facial recognition algorithm.
The platform is scalable and secure, with U.S.-based development and high certification for data security and cybersecurity policies and procedures.

Clearview AI helps law enforcement agencies and other organizations in identifying individuals, preventing financial fraud, and identity theft.

Pros

The use of Clearview AI raises significant privacy concerns, as the software can potentially be used to identify individuals without their knowledge or consent.
There are concerns about the sourcing of the images in Clearview AI’s database, as many of these images have been indexed from the internet without the consent of the individuals in the images.

Clearview AI is not publicly available, limiting its accessibility to the general public.

Is Clearview AI available to the public?

Clearview AI is not open to the general public. The software is primarily sold to law enforcement agencies, although it has also been used by companies, universities, and individuals. The use of Clearview AI has raised significant privacy concerns because the software can be used to identify individuals without their knowledge or consent. Additionally, there are concerns about the source of the images in the Clearview AI database, as many of them are indexed from the internet without the consent of the individuals in the images.

Is Clearview AI banned in the US?

Facial recognition software and surveillance company Clearview AI has been permanently banned from selling its facial fingerprint database within the United States. The company is also barred from selling its database to the state government and law enforcement agencies in Illinois for the next five years.

This is a historic victory for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU filed a lawsuit against Clearview in 2020, alleging that the company obtained people’s facial recognition data without consent to conduct business.

“By requiring Clearview to comply with Illinois’s groundbreaking biometric privacy law not only in Illinois, but nationwide, this settlement demonstrates a strong Our privacy laws can provide real protection against abuse. Clearview can no longer treat people’s unique biometric identifiers as an unrestricted source of profit. Other companies should take heed, and other states should follow Illinois’ lead in enacting strong Biometric Privacy Act.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, while Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology has wide-ranging applications in law enforcement and other sectors, its potential infringement on personal privacy has raised concerns. Although Clearview AI is not banned in the US, its use has sparked controversy and faces legal challenges and scrutiny from privacy advocates. A balance must be struck between protecting public safety and preserving individual privacy when considering the use of such technology.