Critically Exploring Biometric AI Futures

In this short 4.5-month project, we will build on our prior work exploring the EU attempts to create an ‘ecosystem of trust’ around emerging AI systems (Urquhart, Laffer, Miranda, 2022). We are interested in regulation of intelligent facial surveillance and biometric systems, and the challenges of fostering trust around deployment of these technologies. We have developed design fiction scenarios in the past to help envision future uses of biometric technologies, and the tensions/issues (Laffer, 2021; Urquhart, Laffer, and Miranda, 2022). We propose to develop 3 new scenarios as part of this project, using the platform Twine as a means to situate regulatory challenges and social tensions these technologies pose through this creative tool. The process would involve constructing these scenarios, informed by legal analysis, and then holding a roundtable in Edinburgh with relevant experts (e.g., academics, policing, regulator) to critically reflect on the challenges our scenarios pose and use this to shape policy debates to ensure trustworthy deployments.