Vivian Wesson on AI, Facial Recognition and the Law

Technology can both help and hurt in the cause of justice. In a fascinating conversation, Vivian Wesson shares with host David Miranda how artificial intelligence and facial recognition are being used in both criminal and civil law.

Wesson says the technology can unearth biases when it cannot distinguish between races of people and lead to a miscarriage of justice. Wesson points out that facial recognition was widely used to identify protesters following the death of George Floyd in police custody in 2020.

“It’s the dystopian chilling effect that police used post George Floyd’s murder to surveil protesters. If you can pinpoint and identify those who are exercising their right to peaceful assembly, that has a chilling effect on you being able to exercise your constitutional right,” she said.

Listen to the full podcast including the impact of the case involving New York attorneys and Madison Square Garden below. You can also watch the video version using our YouTube link.