back to article FBI recruits Amazon Rekognition AI to hunt down 'nudity, weapons, explosives'

The FBI plans to use Amazon's controversial Rekognition cloud service "to extract information and insights from lawfully acquired images and videos," according to US Justice Department documents. In its Agency Inventory of AI Use Cases, the DOJ lists the project, code-named Tyr, as being in the "initiation" phase for the FBI, …

  1. Yorick Hunt Silver badge
    FAIL

    "companies and government organizations need to use existing and new technology responsibly and lawfully"

    Yeah, that's definitely going to keep them in check. Just like telling a group of burglars "you must not steal."

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      They only use databases and tools like this 'lawfully and responsibly' by mistake.

    2. EricB123 Silver badge

      Stop Being a Pesamist

      Just like telling a group of burglars "you must not steal."

      Worked great in California.

  2. Snowy Silver badge
    Joke

    The right to bare arms?

    FBI recruits Amazon Rekognition AI to hunt down 'nudity, weapons, explosives'

    All legal in the good old US of A with the right to bare arms?

    1. Yorick Hunt Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: The right to bare arms?

      They do say they have the right to bear arms, but if they have bare arms, that might simultaneously qualify them for the "nudity" category.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The right to bare arms?

        Watch out, they'll be going after the furries next, and then what will the NRA do?

        1. Woodnag

          Re: The right to bare arms?

          Nice Walther in the pic though...

    2. martinusher Silver badge

      Re: The right to bare arms?

      Nudity is banned in the US, at least in the media.

      Weapons -- by that I mean guns that are not obviously for hunting but for 'self-defense' and other militarist fantasizing -- are really only allowed to white people. Anyone else carrying anything that even vaguely resembles a weapon is likely to be shot dead on sight.

      On a more serious note, the collection of street images from Ring doorbell cameras by the police is positively benign compared to what the FBI is planning to do with that Amazon product. Ring cameras just collect street and porch views than can be stitched together to get a picture of street crime (and they're definitely not fair to porch pirates) but Rekognition can -- and will -- be used to stitch up people.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: The right to bare arms?

        >Nudity is banned in the US, at least in the media

        Not totally, wearing sleeveless vests is constitutionally protected

      2. Jimmy2Cows Silver badge
        Childcatcher

        Re: Nudity is banned in the US, at least in the media.

        Imagine! The horror of seeing another human as $DEITY intended.

        Fucking ridiculous. Not to be confused with ridiculous fucking.

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: Nudity is banned in the US, at least in the media.

          >The horror of seeing another human as $DEITY intended.

          I think $DEITY only wants to see most Americans naked when DEITY==Cthulhu

  3. Bilby

    Only an American law enforcement agency would put 'nudity' in the same category of concern as 'explosives' and 'firearms'.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      If they had said 'child pornorgraphy' instead of 'nudity' you might have put two and two together and remembered the recent news story wherein the agents that were supposed to be preventing its distribution were actually distributing it professionally (they had their own FBI webserver distributing it), and producing it (one agent wascreating his own material)...and getting caught.

    2. HereIAmJH Silver badge

      Not to mention that explosives and firearms technically falls under the domain of the ATF. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms [and Explosives]. (granted, an odd mix but at least they wouldn't be confiscating your pron)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be a convenience store chain, not a government agency.

        1. Boo Radley

          Only in Texas

      2. CommanderGalaxian
        Boffin

        Not really a strange mix if you have ever been to America - not untypically a petrol station - or gas station in Amerenglish - will sell you all of those.

    3. An_Old_Dog Silver badge
      Joke

      The FBI is Not Concerned About Nudity, as Such

      ... but since there are all these various prohibitions and bans on using computers for facial-feature recognition, the FBI will be running software (or contracting it out) which will (try to) identify individuals by other-feature recognition. Just don't "free Willy", because someone might take a snap, and you will be mis-identified by the computer as Perpetrator X.

      It'll be Horizon v2.0.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: The FBI is Not Concerned About Nudity, as Such

        >identify individuals by other-feature recognition

        Going to make US immigration even worse

        But TSA are going to be only slightly more invasive

    4. Version 1.0 Silver badge

      This is a new environment these days, otherwise we'd see a prosecution of Michelangelo for too many nude statues.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Naw, it's ok if there are urns

        Cpr Nobby St John Nobbs

  4. CommanderGalaxian
    Joke

    Naked Terrorism!

    Excellent! About time naked people having fun are treated the same as terrorists!

    1. stiine Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Naked Terrorism!

      You've seen me naked, eh?

    2. Version 1.0 Silver badge

      Re: Naked Terrorism!

      A few years ago I was walking past a nudist beach in Florida and the coast guarders shouted at me from their boat on the shore, "We know that you are naked underneath your clothes"

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Terrible name

    Who the hell thought it was cool to put a K in that name? In my opinion, the association screams police state, nazi Germany, and KKK...

    1. Grogan Silver badge

      Re: Terrible name

      Because "Recognition" is not a name they can get a trademark on :-)

      I agree with you though, that's a turn-off for those reasons. It does have connotations of that (though it wouldn't have to, we just associate that shit with Eastern Europe). Especially seeing as it's an authoritarian technology, the way they intend to use it.

      1. JK63

        Re: Terrible name

        Depends on who's granting doesn't it? Microsoft got a trademark on "Word" and "Excel" in the past... Amazon can hire enough lawyers to win the case.

  6. ecofeco Silver badge

    Send lawyers, guns and money

    ...the shite has hit the fan.

  7. disgruntled yank

    search

    Did they train it on James Bond films?

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