Investigator:
Margaret Warthon

Abstract:
Biometric technologies are rapidly achieving impressive accuracy and performance. Yet, they continue to raise significant concerns regarding their potential to produce biased outcomes and facilitate extensive surveillance. As these systems become more complex and sophisticated, implementing effective technical and organizational safeguards to address these concerns becomes increasingly difficult. This challenge is exacerbated by the current practice of designing and developing biometric systems in secrecy. These systems frequently depend on open-source and publicly available datasets. Moreover, emerging techniques like generative AI and the creation of synthetic datasets show how easily large biometric systems can be developed with minimal oversight.

Given this context, both the EU and the US have a vested interest in promoting the responsible design and development of biometric systems across the Atlantic. Despite their differing regulatory approaches, both regions share the common goal of ensuring that biometric technologies benefit society rather than cause harm. This project examines the regulatory frameworks in both the EU and the US related to the design, development, and use of biometric technologies. By analyzing laws, standards, and policy documents from both regions, the project identifies the challenges and opportunities for establishing a functional common framework. Ultimately, it advocates for a transatlantic regulatory approach grounded in human rights by design and an AI lifecycle perspective to effectively address these challenges.