The point is that all of these decisions are unregulated, and complicated systems are being put into the hands of people who have very different professional backgrounds (and incentives) to Applied Machine Learning Engineers.
- Just because it’s possible to use a better or more representative data set, it doesn’t mean LE agencies can or will
- Just because a particular confidence interval is more suitable, doesn’t mean it will be used. What if there’s pressure to hit targets? What if a senior cop sits on the sys admin’s desk and tells the them that “We’ve really gotta nail this guy. He’s armed, dangerous, and on the run”.
- What if cops are radioed and told that a man who HQ are 95% sure is the armed killer is in the car/room/office ahead? How will the LEO react and behave when approaching the suspect, based on that information? What if 10k faces from CCTV were put through the system to get that match? What if there are 10 other officers drawing their pistols approaching 95% matches for the same subject at the same time?
These are all difficult questions for statisticians and ethicists to answer. We should not be forcing these decisions on LEOs to deal with in real time.
And I, personally, would prefer to live in a free country without facial recognition cameras pointing at me.
There is no democratic consent for any of this.