Does the technology solve the problem that you are trying to solve? If so, is it the best way to solve your problem? And does it solve the problem without creating new problems?
The security guard couldn’t hear Beth Williams over the screeching alarm. LED strobe lights danced up and down the powder-blue and pastel-pink walls of the Cub House day-care center. The guard moved to block Maria Sanchez from walking toward a classroom to pick up her daughter. He extended his arm toward her chest. Maria looked frightened, and Beth, Cub House’s founder and director, was horrified. She rushed to the guard and hissed, “She’s fine!” directly into his ear.
But the morning the system went live, it was an immediate disaster. The alarm sounded on five occasions, none of which was a security breach. Each time, it frightened the staff, the children, and the caregivers in the facility. The fifth incident had been the one involving Maria Sanchez. Beth was again horrified. If false alarms disproportionately affected women and people of color—which described the vast majority of those who came to the center each day—not only would it be a huge and frequent disruption and a potential reputational and legal-liability risk, but it would go against everything she tried to teach the children about fairness and empathy.
“Even if it makes us safer?” Beth asked.
Pew Research has found that only 36% of people say they trust technology companies to use facial recognition responsibly. The next morning Charles brought in doughnuts, and he, Beth, and Anthony discussed the results at a picnic table in the Cub House’s backyard. Charles said he was confident that the system had improved and that false alarms, although inevitable, would be less frequent. He recommended lowering the volume slightly so that the alerts wouldn’t be as harrowing.
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