Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Professor Vir Phoha Examines Ethics of Facial Recognition Software

Wednesday, March 10, 2021, By Alex Dunbar
Share
College of Engineering and Computer Sciencetechnology

The use of facial recognition technology has been controversial and it has been criticized as being prone to misuse and reinforcing existing biases. Cities across the United States have been banning the use of facial recognition software and in the past year, companies like IBM, Microsoft and Amazon decided to suspend selling facial recognition software to police. Electrical engineering and computer science professor, Vir Phoha, says he agrees with taking a deep look at the use of facial recognition technology and holding it back until proper safeguards to prevent unintentional misuse are found  but still believes it can be beneficial.

Vir Phoha portrait

Vir Phoha

On the suspension of selling face recognition technology to police by Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft, he says, “My first reaction was that they did the right thing. At the same time, once I thought about it, it is a very good technology. It has a lot of potential but it is a double edge sword. You use it properly and it can do great things and if you don’t use it properly, it can hurt you.”

Phoha has done extensive research on artificial intelligence, machine learning and security. He says a lot of questions about facial recognition should start with the humans who built them.

“There are many ways to do face recognition, one is geometric. So you look at the points, for example the distance between eyes, the length of the nose—that is geometric,” says Phoha. “There are multiple other ways such as making a base model, looking at variations and storing the variations as a template for a user. There are methods that involve learning and associating specific face types to specific gender or history or behaviors. There is a learning involved. If you use machine learning or artificial intelligence, any learning can be biased by the people who build those algorithms. Unconsciously, people who build those algorithms may be bringing their own biases in regard to gender, race and age.”

An algorithm that reflects biases can have destructive effects. Numerous studies have shown it misidentifies Black and Brown faces at a much higher rate. A Commerce Department test of facial recognition software found that error rates for African men and women were twice as high as they were for Eastern Europeans. Errors can lead to wrongful arrests.

“If you say ten percent more of a specific racial group have been convicted of a crime compared to a majority race, then a random person from that racial group who is completely innocent – their chance of being labeled as a criminal could be ten percent higher just due to this underlying statistic being part of the algorithm,” says Phoha.

Phoha adds it will be an ongoing fight to combat inherent biases in algorithms. “It is good technology but we must make sure there are safeguards. Enough science should be there to make sure the algorithms that are built are impartial,” he says. “In replicating human capabilities, humans have bias.”

Software that attempts to identify people based on their facial structure can easily be misconfigured.

“Facial structure can be very different for differing ethnicities,” says Phoha. “People who are biased without knowing they are biased, implicit bias that will be translated into data.”

If the technology is going to move forward, Phoha and many other experts believe it is an area where sociology, psychology, machine learning, computer science, artificial intelligence need to come together.

“The science will be a mess if we don’t consider all these factors. We want an equitable society,” says Phoha. “The potential of misuse is very high. Social justice, empathy and equity should be part of research in this area. We do not want a group where any groups are marginalized for any reason.”

  • Author

Alex Dunbar

  • Recent
  • Imam Hamza Gürsoy Appointed as Muslim Chaplain at Hendricks Chapel
    Tuesday, July 29, 2025, By Dara Harper
  • Inspiring the Next Generation of STEM Enthusiasts
    Monday, July 28, 2025, By John Boccacino
  • 5 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Use Generative Artificial Intelligence at Work
    Monday, July 28, 2025, By Jen Plummer
  • Art Museum Acquires Indian Scrolls Gifted by SUNY Professor
    Wednesday, July 23, 2025, By Taylor Westerlund
  • Rabbi Natan Levy Appointed Campus Rabbi for Syracuse Hillel and Jewish Chaplain at Hendricks Chapel
    Tuesday, July 22, 2025, By Dara Harper

More In STEM

Inspiring the Next Generation of STEM Enthusiasts

A friendly competition is brewing in the corner of a basement classroom in Link Hall during the annual STEM Trekkers summer program, where students are participating in a time-honored ritual: seeing who can build a paper airplane that travels the…

5 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Use Generative Artificial Intelligence at Work

Not too long ago, generative artificial intelligence (AI) might’ve sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie. Now it’s here, and it’s ready to help you write emails, schedule meetings and even create presentations. In a recent Information Technology Services…

NSF I-Corps Semiconductor and Microelectronics Free Virtual Course Being Offered

University researchers with groundbreaking ideas in semiconductors, microelectronics or advanced materials are invited to apply for an entrepreneurship-focused hybrid course offered through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The free virtual course runs from Sept. 15 through…

Jianshun ‘Jensen’ Zhang Named Interim Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) is excited to announce that Professor Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang has been appointed interim department chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE), as of July 1, 2025. Zhang serves as executive director of…

Star Scholar: Julia Fancher Earns Second Astronaut Scholarship for Stellar Research

Julia Fancher, a rising senior majoring in physics and mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), a logic minor in A&S and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, has been renewed as an Astronaut Scholar for…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.