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Dr. Oleg Sergiyenko spoke with IGI Global about the benefits and the dangers of facial recognition software.

Facial Recognition Software: Good, Bad, or Unavoidable? Interview with Dr. Oleg Sergiyenko

By Emily Mistishen on Jun 29, 2018
As technology becomes more and more integrated into our everyday lives, automated facial recognition software can present itself as a double-edged sword. Many countries today are searching for ways to apply the technology, such as the U.S. planning to use facial recognition technology to monitor and track those who enter and leave the country at the Mexico borderr. While the software promotes ease of access in technology, it also poses a threat to privacy and consent, calling into question whether the risks outweigh the benefits. Dr. Oleg Sergiyenko, head of the Applied Physics department of the Engineering Institute of Baja California Autonomous University and the editor of Developing and Applying Optoelectronics in Machine Vision, talked with IGI Global about addressing the issues and future developments of facial recognition technology.

In your opinion, what is the biggest threat when dealing with any type of facial recognition software?

Facial recognition is broadly used nowadays, and it is almost impossible to mention all applications where it can be useful. However, this area rises initially from security challenges, and the practical necessity to recognize terrorists, or potentially aggressive persons. So, in this context, the biggest threat for facial recognition software is the punishment of innocent persons due to any imperfection in software or in applied principle of decision. Also, the appearance of automatic facial recognition systems may generate serious privacy concerns, for example, non-authorized usage of private information of individuals. That is why the advances in facial recognition technologies must be used carefully, taking into consideration the human fundamental right to control his or her private information.

Do you think the benefits of facial recognition outweigh the negative effects and/or consequences of the software, and if so, why?

Independent of my opinion, or any other individual in the world, facial recognition systems certainly will develop intensely in upcoming years. So, the most efficient approach to this dilemma is not to discuss whether it is good or bad, but to accept its inevitability and get the benefits while at the same time planning a robust strategy to prevent all possible negative effects.

Despite the possible malicious use of facial recognition software, automatic face recognition is very useful in affective computing and usability testing, robot guidance, distance education, security monitoring, automatic environment inspection, marketing studies and consumption, medical and psychological applications, control and surveillance systems, training people for more effective interpersonal communication, security measuring for unlocking devices by identifying yourself, etc.

Do you see any ethical dilemmas when facial recognition software is used without transparent notification to the public for security camera purposes in order to track criminals, terrorists, etc.?

Recently, it is a common practice to use automatic facial recognition software without transparent notification to the public. The best response is a speech of U.S. Senator Al Franken against apps that use facial recognition. “Unlike other biometric identifiers such as iris scans and fingerprints, facial recognition is designed to operate at a distance, without the knowledge or consent of the person being identified, individuals cannot reasonably prevent themselves from being identified by cameras that could be anywhere - on a lamp post, attached to an unmanned aerial vehicle or, now, integrated into the eyewear of a stranger."

It is important to understand that technological advances keep going on. Therefore, ethical dilemmas in the future will not be related to knowing about the potentials of facial recognition software and massive gathering of personal information, but just how to provide the correct use and authorized access to data repositories of personal sensitive information by governments, companies, or owners of information. In my opinion, it requires the control of well-trained and moral professionals. Such preventive control should be realized not by their direct access to information distribution, but by their prompt reaction on alerts in special software designed for detection of non-sanctioned cases of access.

What direction do you see facial recognition software advancing in? (e.g. smart devices, security programs, tracking devices, etc.)

Among emerging research related to face analysis and recognition, the following trends may be mentioned:

  • Detection by means of facial recognition through the abnormal state of a human operator on any kind of machine (automobiles, aircrafts, high-speed trains, industrial machinery, etc.).

  • Vigilance of hospital patients in rehabilitation, or single and older citizens who are living alone, with an efficient alert system delivered to medical professionals as soon as possible.

  • Provision of continuous automatic face detection and feature extraction invariant to pose, rotation, scaling, translation, changing facial expressions, or age of tested people.

  • Processing of the images with presence of cloth that may occlude part of the face, as well as designing better techniques for face modeling, feature vector generation, improvement of matching process, and similarity score estimation during face classification and recognition.

  • Extending smart sensors and integrating more face-sensing systems that may process both behavioral and physiological features such as facial expressions, speech, gestures, vital signs and others.

  • Improving facial action processing models and developing highly efficient algorithms, particularly based on artificial intelligence approaches to ensure the precision and speed of face recognition and classification.

  • Preventing all tricks through software when an individual tries to mislead or deceive the facial recognition system through grimaces and hiding his person; separation of alive tissues and imitative mask.

  • Scientific use of facial recognition in long-term experiments for observation of aging of the same person, with analysis of all related changes caused by time.


While facial recognition poses a threat to privacy and consent, Dr. Sergiyenko argues that it is important to address possible solutions that lower the risks and increase the benefits of a technology that will undoubtedly become a large part of society. Without addressing the risks, facial recognition can become a danger. Even those who do not typically use devices that utilize facial recognition, such as cellphones and laptops, can be affected. It is rapidly becoming something that is embedded into everyday usage by governments through traffic and security cameras. People can be exposed to facial recognition technology without their knowledge simply by walking down the street.
Read Dr. Oleg Sergiyenko’s publication, Developing and Applying Optoelectronics in Machine Vision, to learn more about the potential threats and benefits of facial recognition software. The nine-chapter publication delves deeper into the applications of optoelectronic technology, including facial recognition, 3D imaging systems, and sensor technologies, making it a valuable resource for academics, researchers, students, engineers, and technology developers to discover more about a growing subject area that bridges technology and society.

For more information around facial recognition and artificial intelligence click here. To ensure this research is made available to the academic community, all of these publications are featured as a part of IGI Global's InfoSci®-Books database which offers institutions access to 4,500+ books containing over 89,000 chapters of peer-reviewed research in core subjects such as Business & Management, Computer Science & Information Technology, Education, Engineering, and Social Sciences & Humanities. InfoSci-Books offers institutions full-text PDF and HTML format with no DRM and an unlimited number of users. Purchase or recommend a free trial for your institution today.

Additionally, view the recommended readings below and recommend them to your library:

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of IGI Global.
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