<s>
Amazon	B-General_Concept
Rekognition	I-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
cloud-based	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
as	O
a	O
service	O
(	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
)	O
computer	B-Application
vision	I-Application
platform	O
that	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
provides	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
computer	B-Application
vision	I-Application
capabilities	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
divided	O
into	O
two	O
categories	O
:	O
Algorithms	O
that	O
are	O
pre-trained	O
on	O
data	O
collected	O
by	O
Amazon	B-Application
or	O
its	O
partners	O
,	O
and	O
algorithms	O
that	O
a	O
user	O
can	O
train	O
on	O
a	O
custom	O
dataset	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
July	O
2019	O
,	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
provides	O
the	O
following	O
computer	B-Application
vision	I-Application
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SearchFaces	O
enables	O
users	O
to	O
import	O
a	O
database	O
of	O
images	O
with	O
pre-labeled	B-Application
faces	O
,	O
to	O
train	O
a	O
machine	O
learning	O
model	O
on	O
this	O
database	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
expose	O
the	O
model	O
as	O
a	O
cloud	B-Architecture
service	I-Architecture
with	O
an	O
API	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Then	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
can	O
post	O
new	O
images	O
to	O
the	O
API	B-Application
and	O
receive	O
information	O
about	O
the	O
faces	O
in	O
the	O
image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
API	B-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
expose	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
capabilities	O
,	O
including	O
identifying	O
faces	O
of	O
known	O
people	O
,	O
comparing	O
faces	O
,	O
and	O
finding	O
similar	O
faces	O
in	O
a	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
Washington	O
County	O
,	O
Oregon	O
Sheriff	O
's	O
Office	O
began	O
using	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
to	O
identify	O
suspects	O
 '	O
faces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
was	O
marketed	O
as	O
a	O
general-purpose	O
computer	B-Application
vision	I-Application
tool	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
engineer	O
working	O
for	O
Washington	O
County	O
decided	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
tool	O
for	O
facial	O
analysis	O
of	O
suspects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
was	O
offered	O
to	O
the	O
department	O
for	O
free	O
,	O
and	O
Washington	O
County	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
US	O
law	O
enforcement	O
agency	O
known	O
to	O
use	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2018	O
,	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
was	O
also	O
used	O
to	O
help	O
identify	O
celebrities	O
during	O
a	O
royal	O
wedding	O
telecast	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
FamilySearch	O
was	O
using	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
to	O
enable	O
their	O
users	O
to	O
"	O
see	O
which	O
of	O
their	O
ancestors	O
they	O
most	O
resemble	O
based	O
on	O
family	O
photographs	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
by	O
the	O
ACLU	O
that	O
Orlando	O
,	O
Florida	O
was	O
running	O
a	O
pilot	O
using	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
for	O
facial	O
analysis	O
in	O
law	O
enforcement	O
,	O
with	O
that	O
pilot	O
ending	O
in	O
July	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
report	O
,	O
on	O
June	O
22	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
Gizmodo	O
reported	O
that	O
Amazon	B-Application
workers	O
had	O
written	O
a	O
letter	O
to	O
CEO	O
Jeff	O
Bezos	O
requesting	O
he	O
cease	O
selling	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
to	O
US	O
law	O
enforcement	O
,	O
particularly	O
ICE	O
and	O
Homeland	O
Security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
26	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
the	O
Orlando	O
police	O
force	O
had	O
ceased	O
using	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
after	O
their	O
trial	O
contract	O
expired	O
,	O
reserving	O
the	O
right	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
ACLU	O
released	O
a	O
test	O
showing	O
that	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
had	O
falsely	O
matched	O
28	O
members	O
of	O
Congress	O
with	O
mugshot	O
photos	O
,	O
particularly	O
Congresspeople	O
of	O
color	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
25	O
House	O
members	O
afterwards	O
sent	O
a	O
letter	O
to	O
Bezos	O
,	O
expressing	O
concern	O
about	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon	B-Application
responded	O
saying	O
the	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
test	O
had	O
generated	O
80	O
percent	O
confidence	O
,	O
while	O
it	O
recommended	O
law	O
enforcement	O
only	O
use	O
matches	O
rated	O
at	O
99	O
percent	O
confidence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
Mapillary	B-Application
was	O
using	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
to	O
read	O
the	O
text	O
on	O
parking	O
signs	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
Amazon	B-Application
had	O
earlier	O
that	O
year	O
pitched	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
to	O
U.S.	O
Immigration	O
and	O
Customs	O
Enforcement	O
agency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon	B-Application
defended	O
government	O
use	O
of	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
1	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
8	O
Democratic	O
lawmakers	O
had	O
said	O
in	O
a	O
letter	O
that	O
Amazon	B-Application
had	O
"	O
failed	O
to	O
provide	O
sufficient	O
answers	O
"	O
about	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
,	O
writing	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
"	O
serious	O
concerns	O
that	O
this	O
type	O
of	O
product	O
has	O
significant	O
accuracy	O
issues	O
,	O
places	O
disproportionate	O
burdens	O
on	O
communities	O
of	O
color	O
,	O
and	O
could	O
stifle	O
Americans	O
 '	O
willingness	O
to	O
exercise	O
their	O
First	O
Amendment	O
rights	O
in	O
public.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2019	O
,	O
MIT	O
researchers	O
published	O
a	O
peer-reviewed	O
study	O
asserting	O
that	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
had	O
more	O
difficulty	O
in	O
identifying	O
dark-skinned	O
females	O
than	O
competitors	O
such	O
as	O
IBM	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
study	O
,	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
misidentified	O
darker-skinned	O
women	O
as	O
men	O
31%	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
but	O
made	O
no	O
mistakes	O
for	O
light-skinned	O
men	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon	B-Application
called	O
the	O
report	O
"	O
misinterpreted	O
results	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
research	O
with	O
an	O
improper	O
"	O
default	O
confidence	O
threshold.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2019	O
,	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	O
shareholders	O
"	O
urged	O
Amazon	B-Application
to	O
stop	O
selling	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
software	O
to	O
law	O
enforcement	O
agencies.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon	B-Application
in	O
response	O
defended	O
its	O
use	O
of	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
,	O
but	O
supported	O
new	O
federal	O
oversight	O
and	O
guidelines	O
to	O
"	O
make	O
sure	O
facial	O
recognition	O
technology	O
cannot	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
discriminate.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2019	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
Amazon	B-Application
was	O
collaborating	O
with	O
the	O
National	O
Institute	O
of	O
Standards	O
and	O
Technology	O
(	O
NIST	O
)	O
on	O
developing	O
standardized	O
tests	O
to	O
improve	O
accuracy	O
and	O
remove	O
bias	O
with	O
facial	O
recognition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2019	O
,	O
an	O
open	O
letter	O
regarding	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
was	O
sent	O
by	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
prominent	O
AI	O
researchers	O
to	O
Amazon	B-Application
,	O
criticizing	O
its	O
sale	O
to	O
law	O
enforcement	O
with	O
around	O
50	O
signatures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2019	O
,	O
Amazon	B-Application
was	O
told	O
by	O
the	O
Securities	O
and	O
Exchange	O
Commission	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
to	O
vote	O
on	O
two	O
shareholder	O
proposals	O
seeking	O
to	O
limit	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon	B-Application
argued	O
that	O
the	O
proposals	O
were	O
an	O
"	O
insignificant	O
public	O
policy	O
issue	O
for	O
the	O
Company	O
"	O
not	O
related	O
to	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	O
ordinary	O
business	O
,	O
but	O
their	O
appeal	O
was	O
denied	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
24	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
2.4	O
%	O
of	O
shareholders	O
voted	O
to	O
stop	O
selling	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
to	O
government	O
agencies	O
,	O
while	O
a	O
second	O
proposal	O
calling	O
for	O
a	O
study	O
into	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
and	O
civil	O
rights	O
had	O
27.5	O
%	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
ACLU	O
again	O
used	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
on	O
members	O
of	O
government	O
,	O
with	O
26	O
of	O
120	O
lawmakers	O
in	O
California	O
flagged	O
as	O
matches	O
to	O
mugshots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon	B-Application
stated	O
the	O
ACLU	O
was	O
"	O
misusing	O
"	O
the	O
software	O
in	O
the	O
tests	O
,	O
by	O
not	O
dismissing	O
results	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
meet	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	O
recommended	O
accuracy	O
threshold	O
of	O
99%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
August	O
2019	O
,	O
there	O
had	O
been	O
protests	O
against	O
ICE	O
's	O
use	O
of	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
to	O
surveil	O
immigrants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2019	O
,	O
Amazon	B-Application
announced	O
a	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
update	O
that	O
would	O
improve	O
emotional	O
detection	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
August	O
2019	O
,	O
"	O
fear	O
"	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
emotions	O
that	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
could	O
detect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2020	O
,	O
Amazon	B-Application
announced	O
it	O
was	O
implementing	O
a	O
one-year	O
moratorium	O
on	O
police	O
use	O
of	O
Rekognition	B-General_Concept
,	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
George	O
Floyd	O
protests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
images	O
were	O
run	O
through	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
facial	O
recognition	O
platforms	O
from	O
Face++	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2019	O
,	O
researchers	O
Inioluwa	O
Deborah	O
Raji	O
and	O
Joy	O
Buolamwini	O
published	O
a	O
follow-up	O
paper	O
that	O
ran	O
the	O
experiment	O
again	O
a	O
year	O
later	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
latest	O
versions	O
same	O
three	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
facial	O
recognition	O
platforms	O
,	O
plus	O
two	O
additional	O
platforms	O
:	O
Kairos	O
,	O
and	O
Amazon	B-General_Concept
Rekognition	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
