The U.S. Air Force now has the capability to use facial recognition on drones that could target specific people. Special operations forces can use the drones to gather intelligence and to aid in other missions, according to a contract first spotted by New Scientist. It’s part of a growing movement to develop automated weaponry that raises legal and ethical questions.
The drone software maker, Seattle-based firm RealNetworks, claims the uncrewed craft will use artificial intelligence (AI) to fly itself and discriminate between friend and foe. The company has said that its software can also be used for rescue missions, perimeter protection, and domestic search operations.
The new Air Force drone system isn’t the only drone system to try to use facial recognition. An Israeli company is working on a drone that uses AI to help a drone find the best angles for facial recognition.
In Dubai, police are even using drones equipped with facial recognition to track reckless drivers. But in the U.S., police efforts to use facial recognition systems are meeting resistance from privacy advocates.
In 2021, the Portland City Council adopted one of the nation’s strictest bans on facial recognition technology. The New York Civil Liberties Union noted that drones could be equipped with various surveillance capabilities, including facial recognition, gait recognition, emotion recognition, or behavior detection. The group says that such systems can be inaccurate and lead to false arrests.
Drones are becoming a part of standard military hardware in conflicts. Armed drones became a fixture in the U.S. effort in the war on terror. And Russia recently lost three drones it was using to defend its front line against Ukrainian advances.
Future drones may aid human pilots. The Air Force is studying whether to field a fleet of drone wingmen flying alongside piloted fighter aircraft. The fleet of collaborative combat aircraft, or CCA, as the service calls the concept, could be guided from nearby airplanes and accompany the future Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, and perhaps also the F-35.
As automated weapons like drones proliferate, they are increasingly the subject of debate. Some military experts say drones reduce casualties by putting fewer soldiers in harm’s way. But other observers argue that drones remove the crucial human element when using lethal force.
Sources: yahoo! ; Analytics Insight