The United States Air Force has reportedly developed AI-powered facial recognition techechnolgy (FTR) for autonomous drones.
The drones will be used by special operations personnel for missions overseas and for gathering intelligence and other operations, according to a contract between the Department of Defense (DoD) and Seattle-based company RealNetworks.
"The U.S. Air Force has completed a project to develop face recognition software for autonomous drones, sparking concerns that individuals could be targeted and killed," New Scientist reported on Wednesday.
The contract between the Department of Defense and RealNetworks is worth $800,000 and allows drones to fly autonomously with little to no human assistance, while the software uses machine learning (ML) techniques to identify faces.
According to RealNetworks, the technology may potentially be utilized for perimeter security, domestic search operations, and rescue missions.
The drones are to be tasked with expeditionary roles, including special operations, to "open the opportunity for real-time autonomous response by the robot," said the report.
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