Boult’s research examined whether facial
recognition algorithms could meet standards for
use by the U.S. Navy. The research then aimed to
improve the technology after Boult’s team found
it wasn’t up to par.
“The study is trying to make facial recognition
better, especially at long range or surveillance
applications,” Boult said. “We wanted to collect
a dataset of people acting naturally in public
because that’s the way people are trying to use
facial recognition.”
The camera recorded people who were walking
on the west lawn of the campus from about 490
feet (150 meters) away. The images resulted in
1,732 unique identities. The dataset was made
publicly available online in 2016 and was taken
down last April.
Boult said he waited five years to release the
dataset online to protect student privacy.
The university’s Institutional Review Board
also examined the research protocol for the
project, university spokesman Jared Verner
said in a statement.
“No personal information was collected or
distributed in this specific study,” Verner said.
“The photographs were collected in public areas
and made available to researchers after five years
when most students would have graduated.”
The project raises questions about whether
technological advancement is crossing ethical
boundaries, said Bernard Chao, a University
of Denver law professor, who teaches the
intersection of law and technology.
“It’s yet another area where we’re seeing privacy
intrusions that disturb us,” Chao said.