Face ID technology used on geese has troubling parallel to communist China: expert

Artificial intelligence is gaining new uses at a seemingly rapid pace, and the technology is now extending to applications in the animal kingdom.

A new AI tool has been developed that allows researchers to use facial recognition to track the faces of geese, which biologists hope will help them understand their way of life and behaviors, according to a report from NPR.

Sonia Kleindorfer, a biologist at the University of Vienna, has long studied the species, telling NPR she built off the work of Konrad Lorenz, who studied the birds and was even able to identify individuals within a flock after studying their faces.

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A pair of white geese (iStock)

But AI technology could now make that easier, Kleindorfer said, creating databases and using facial recognition to track the movements of a goose with 97% accuracy. 

That technology could be used to track other species, opening new ways for humans to understand the animals they share the planet with.

Jon Schweppe, policy director of American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital such advances have "really exciting applications," noting this research is just a "small aspect" of the technology's potential.

Flock of migrating Canada geese in silhouette at sunset. (iStock)

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"There are some really exciting applications of AI, and this shows how innovative this tech is and what it can do for the world," Schweppe told Fox News Digital. "This technology is a game changer, like the invention of the CPU or the microchip. This shows the potential of the innovation possible with AI. AI will be revolutionary for the human condition, and this is just a small aspect of it."

Samuel Mangold-Lenett, a staff editor at The Federalist, agreed the technology will have useful applications such as allowing the study of "species with far more nuance," but he argued that the technology's ability will also "inevitably" find its way to "be used for surveillance."

NYPD surveillance cameras are equipped with facial recognition software, according to the department.  (Timothy Fadek/Corbis via Getty Images)

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"In Red China, AI is being used to enforce a totalitarian social credit system," Mangold-Lenett told Fox News Digital. "Suppose a street camera catches someone jaywalking or just generally offending the sensibilities of the Communist Party. In that case, that person will be subject to fines, legal penalties and possible exclusion from the financial system."

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