On 19 June 2024, 12:30h - 13:30h CET, LSTS visiting scholar Francesco Paolo Levantino (PhD Candidate at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa) will present his work-in-progress, entitled ‘“Early warnings” on emotion recognition uses in law enforcement: Towards the rise of emotional dominance?’, followed by discussion.
Abstract:
Surveillance technologies materialise in urban environments with sensors quantifying and examining physical, physiological, or behavioural characteristics of individuals for the maintenance of public order and security. Yet, a crucial factor frequently overlooked when assessing the intrusiveness and fundamental rights implications of certain disruptive technologies is that these are first developed and deployed in the military domain and, at a later stage, diffuse in the context of law enforcement. This is the case of biometric-based tools such as Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), which allow the unique identification of natural persons through their characteristic facial features, offering unprecedented possibilities in the fight against crime.
Lessons learned from military uses of Biometric Identification Systems (BISs) in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) have shown their role in achieving “identity dominance”; i.e., the denial of anonymity or of the possibility of masking one’s identity to gain an operational advantage against enemies and potential threats. On these grounds, the development and adoption of Emotion Recognition (ERT) and similar technologies for the prevention and detection of crime in internal security settings could bring to a paradigm shift; that is, the rise of “emotional dominance”.
Against this background, after introducing the concept of “identity dominance” in the military domain and its transposition in law enforcement practices to deny anonymity to criminals, this presentation will progressively propose some thoughts on the risks to fundamental rights and freedoms posed by emerging forms “emotional dominance” arising from the serious interferences that the use of “emotional surveillance” in law enforcement could generate.
This event will be in a hybrid format (both on-campus and online). Interested participants wishing to take part can register by sending an email to Pablo.Rodrigo.Trigo.Kramcsak@vub.be.