Microsoft Strengthens Ban on Facial Recognition for U.S. Police Departments
Microsoft has reinforced its ban on the use of generative AI for facial recognition by U.S. police departments through Azure OpenAI Service. The language added to the terms of service for Azure OpenAI Service now explicitly prohibits integrations with the service from being used “by or for” police departments in the U.S. for facial recognition purposes. This includes integrations with OpenAI’s current and future image-analyzing models.
A notable addition to the new terms is a separate bullet point that covers “any law enforcement globally.” It explicitly prohibits the use of real-time facial recognition technology on mobile cameras such as body cameras and dashcams to attempt to identify individuals in uncontrolled environments.
These changes in policy come shortly after Axon, a company specializing in tech and weapons products for military and law enforcement, announced a new product that utilizes OpenAI’s GPT-4 generative text model to summarize audio from body cameras. Critics of this product were quick to highlight potential issues such as hallucinations and racial biases introduced through training data.
It is unclear whether Axon was using GPT-4 via Azure OpenAI Service, and if so, whether the updated policy was a response to Axon’s product launch. OpenAI had previously restricted the use of its models for facial recognition through its APIs.
It is worth noting that the complete ban on Azure OpenAI Service usage only applies to U.S. police departments and does not cover international police agencies. Additionally, while the terms prohibit any use of facial recognition by U.S. police, it does not cover facial recognition performed with stationary cameras in controlled environments.
This aligns with Microsoft’s and OpenAI’s recent approach to AI-related law enforcement and defense contracts. OpenAI, which had previously banned providing its AI to militaries, is now working with the Pentagon on various projects, including cybersecurity capabilities. Microsoft, on the other hand, has proposed using OpenAI’s image generation tool, DALL-E, to assist the Department of Defense in building software for military operations.
Azure OpenAI Service was made available in Microsoft’s Azure Government product in February, offering additional compliance and management features tailored to government agencies, including law enforcement. Microsoft’s government-focused division, Microsoft Federal, has pledged to submit Azure OpenAI Service for additional authorization from the Department of Defense for workloads supporting DoD missions.
After publication, Microsoft clarified that the ban on facial recognition only applies to the U.S. and is not a blanket ban on police departments using Azure OpenAI Service.