Albert Fox Cahn

Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)From dumping out water bottles to picking easy to slip off shoes, most air travelers have grown accustomed to the regulatory and bureaucratic dance that is navigating major airports. Increasingly, however, travelers may soon encounter a new accessory en route to their destination: a facial recognition scan. Private airliners, from Delta to American, have experimented with some form of optional facial recognition services for flight check ins for years, as has The Transportation Security…

Photo: Thongsuk7824 (Shutterstock)There’s great news if you’re a fan of gambling and flying, spying robots.Times Square, fifth circle of hell and home of the world’s dumbest ads, could be the site of New York City’s next casino. Caesars Entertainment has teamed up with developer SL Green Realty Corporation in a bid for a casino license, and they’re trying to sweeten the pot with a proposal that is going to drive you wild if you hate privacy. According to a document obtained by the New York Times:In their letter seeking…

Photo: Saul Loeb (Getty Images)The Biden Administration on Tuesday revealed a first-of-its-kind “AI bill of rights” calling on developers and policymakers to address longstanding issues of algorithmic bias and discrimination. The blueprint document details numerous examples where AI can negatively impact communities and urges developers to embed equitable practices into their design philosophy. While the blueprint marks the federal government’s most significant effort to address AI harms to date, the document lacks…

New York City subways are getting an upgrade. No, not more trains, more stops, fewer delays, or updated stations, but instead a ton more surveillance cameras. Every car in the subway system will soon be equipped with two cameras, Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday. “You think Big Brother’s watching you on the subways? You’re absolutely right. That is our intent,” the Governor said during a news conference in a Queens subway yard. “We are going to be having surveillance of activities on the subway trains, and that…

Photo: Jimmy Tudeschi (Shutterstock)Period tracking app Flo ishoping its newly released “Anonymous Mode” will give users the confidence to continue using their product even as state law enforcement authorities around the country appear increasingly interested in soliciting data from apps to prosecute alleged abortion seekers. Privacy experts speaking with Gizmodo welcomed Flo’s update but warned it still falls short of meeting the definition of fully anonymous. Similarly, the experts said privacy-preserving features like…

Photo: John MacDougall (Getty Images)Microsoft’s turning its back on its scientifically suspect and ethically dubious emotion recognition technology. For now, at least.In a major win for privacy advocates sounding the alarm on under-tested and invasive biometric technology, Microsoft announced it’s planning to retire its so-called “emotion recognition” detection systems from its Azure Face facial recognition services. The company will also phase out capabilities that attempt to use AI to infer identity attributes like…

Axon’s controversial and short-lived Taser Drone project is powering down… for now.The company’s CEO announced the company is “pausing” the development of the drones following immense backlash from the public, civil liberty groups, privacy advocates, and a majority of the company’s own independent AI ethics board. The pause comes less than four days after Axon officially announced interest in developing the drones.In his blog post, Rick Smith said his, “passion for finding new solutions to stop mass shootings,” led the…

Axon, the maker of Tasers, police body cameras, and VR training simulations, wants to add a new buzzy product to its tech policing ecosystem: Taser Drones. While the company believes these shoebox-sized shock machines could potentially save lives during school shootings, privacy and civil liberties groups told Gizmodo they believe the drones may do more harm than good and could be used to brutally suppress protestors and other political dissidents.Axon floated its idea in a press release this week announcing it had begun…