The FDA has approved drugs that are specifically intended to target medical issues in specific ethnicities, so I'm not sure about your assessment. That said, this product's market was outside the scope of the FDA, so it's irrelevant.
> It seems a no brainer that the facial recognition software should not be used on African Americans either.
Any data source which produces data that's better than a random guess should be considered when trying to solve a problem. That it offends some people's social sensibilities is a separate issue.
Look, I don't like the mere existence of the FBI's system, and I don't think the public's continued lack of concern for placing constitutional restraints on systems like it is a wise course forward, but to say it's a "no-brainer" when it might produce valuable leads is to focus on one aspect of the problem without considering the rest of it.
Just as it would also be a mistake to consider it more accurate than it is when trying to identify dark-skinned suspects. Witness accuracy is not a new problem.
It's also worth noting that the human eye is just as bad at facial recognition when the light and/or contrast is lower.
the system doesn't work. At least not for african americans. You can't "socialize" away the fact that it doesn't work.
Use it for the races that it works for. DON'T use it for the races it does NOT work for. That is common sense... also known as a "No Brainer".
To argue anything else is making it a matter of social sensibilities.
Because in Eyewitness identification, you're never truly dealing with "random" guesses. Again, my experience is on the medical side of this whole thing. I know, and understand, the rules as my company is obliged to play by them. And there is just no question that we would not be allowed to use that system on african americans. Review boards would look on it the same way you might look on someone using leeches in the middle ages.
Only worse... because we KNOW it doesn't work.
but I actually wrote a pretty successful 3d radiology/cardiology package. So I understand medical devices.
I just wanted to hop in here and say that there is NO WAY the FDA would give you clearance to use the device you describe on African Americans under the circumstances that your posts have postulated.
It seems a no brainer that the facial recognition software should not be used on African Americans either. At least, if it was MEDICAL software... it would DEFINITELY NOT be cleared with that kind of a failure rate. And any provider or delivery network using the facial recognition software on African Americans would be on his or her way to prison.
But the regulations on legal software may be more lackadaisical than the regulations on medical software. Getting things exactly right may not be as important. And the penalties for misuse of medical devices are, without question, far more draconian.