Bunnings, Kmart and The Good Guys say they use facial recognition for ‘loss prevention’. An expert explains what it might mean for you

Tue, 5 Jul 2022 06:25:27 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/bunnings-kmart-and-the-good-guys-say-they-use-facial-recognition-for-loss-prevention-an-expert-explains-what-it-might-mean-for-you-185126>

"Once the purview of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, facial
recognition is now being used to identify consumers in Australian stores.

If you’ve seen the movie Minority Report, you’ll remember how Tom Cruise’s
character John Anderton is identified through iris recognition to perform his
duties, and later tracked with it when he’s a wanted man. When he replaces his
eyes to evade identification, Anderton is bombarded with advertisements
targeting his new assumed identity.

This once-futuristic idea from a movie could soon be a reality in our lives. An
investigative report published by consumer magazine Choice reveals three major
retailers (out of 25 queried), Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys, have admitted
using facial recognition technology on customers for “loss prevention”.

The companies say they advise consumers of the use of the technology as a
condition of entry. But do consumers really know what this entails, and how or
where their images could be used or stored?"

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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