You're right! This is a critically important conversation that we absolutely need to have within our profession. It's very often ignored and there's no support system for people who take ethical stands.

So. Let's talk about ethics. I, personally, subscribe to the ACM code of ethics.

I think Rekognition, as built and presented, falls fully within that strict ethical code. It can be put to uses that are unethical, but that does not fall upon the people who made it. Certainly, an engineer creating a system such as the one the ACLU created would be acting unethically.