Why Has The World Economic Forum Published At Least 3 Whitepapers On Facial Recognition Since March 2020 ? Big Brother Is Watching.
If you thought that travelling abroad or getting access to pubs and cafes via a vaccine passport was an assault on your body and your rights then I'm afraid that was only the tip of the ice berg. Here’s why…
In February 2020 just before Covid was beginning to shut down the world, the World Economic Forum published a paper called
A Framework for Responsible Limits on Facial Recognition Use Case: Flow Management
The purpose of the paper was to implement the use of facial technology through a project based in France. The opening paragraph is quite telling
“Over the past decade, facial recognition has emerged as one of the most powerful biometric technologies, capable of identifying and verifying a person by comparing and analysing patterns based on that individual’s facial contours”
There you have it “identifying and verifying a person”. That could never be abused, could it ? The WEF continue
“The goal of this initiative is to establish a governance framework for facial recognition technology that has been tested on site”
A governance framework. I think we can all see where this is heading. The WEF naturally throw in their disclaimer in the same introduction when they say
“As this is an issue that concerns questions related to individual and collective rights and freedoms, citizens and their democratic representatives are the only legitimate decision-makers with respect to the uses they wish to promote or restrict and the conditions under which the technology should be used. Our ambition is to empower citizens and representatives as they navigate the different trade-offs they will face along the way”
Have you ever heard such nonsense. All democracy, rights and freedoms have been taken away for the last 2.5 years. There are no trade-offs as far as the WEF are concerned. You will do as you are told.
Within the document they break down the use of how facial recognition can be used such as face access, safety and security of public spaces, marketing and customer services and healthcare services. No stone has been left unturned.
Now you could just claim that it is another coincidence that the paper was published at the same time that Covid was deemed a global health emergency. However, we have seen a lot of coincidences with the WEF these last 2.5 years.
Just 4 months later in July 2020 another Whitepaper appeared called Critical Frontier: Leveraging Technology to Combat COVID-19
This paper was in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group who are in WEF
https://www.weforum.org/organizations/the-boston-consulting-group
They make no bones about how they were planning to use facial recognition when they say
“In cooperation with local governments, technology is being deployed to prevent sick individuals from traveling in public. Technologies include cameras, drones and robots, and are adapted to work during pandemic: e.g. using thermal camera identification, facial recognition of people wearing masks and smart helmet technology, among others”
Remember this was the very early months of Covid. The plan was surveillance from the outset. It is interesting to note that they say “technology is being deployed to prevent sick individuals from traveling in public”. The undoubted long term plan is to use technology to prevent individuals from travelling.
You would think by this stage that 2 white papers on Facial recognition technology would be more than enough. You would however be very wrong. Probably most interesting of all was the paper published 18 months into the “pandemic” in October 2021 called
A Policy Framework for Responsible Limits on Facial Recognition Use Case: Law Enforcement Investigations
What was particularly striking about this paper was the parties involved in writing it. Interpol, UNICRI, Politie and WEF.
Just so we are clear, Interpol on their web site describe themselves as “enabling police in our 194 member countries to work together to fight international crime”
That figure of 194 seems remarkably similar (there or thereabouts) to the number of countries that have signed up to UN Agenda 2030
https://www.weforum.org/organizations/international-criminal-police-organization-interpol
But what do INTERPOL do, what is their role? According to their own web site
“We manage 19 police databases with information on crimes and criminals (from names and fingerprints to stolen passports), accessible in real-time to countries. We offer investigative support such as forensics, analysis, and assistance in locating fugitives around the world”
https://www.interpol.int/en/Who-we-are/What-is-INTERPOL
The President of Interpol is Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi of United Arab Emirates who got the job despite concerns of torture. Human rights groups and MEPs were rightly concerned about his appointment.
This seems to be a common theme in positions of power. The WHOs Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is also facing genocide charges in his home country of Ethiopia.
You have to wonder what blackmail is being used on the like of Nasser al-Raisi and Ghebreyesus. They are merely puppets doing the bidding of their masters. Anyway, I digress.
The 2nd contributor to the Whitepaper is UNICRI which stands for The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. Yet again the UN are never far from the action.
“UNICRI works in specialized niches and selected areas within the fields of crime prevention, justice, security governance and the risks and benefits of technological advances. UNICRI provides a vital foundation for United Nations policy and operations through its specialized training and capacity-building programmes”
On their Wikipedia entry it says
“Its work currently focuses on Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, that is centred on promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies, free from crime and violence”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Interregional_Crime_and_Justice_Research_Institute
Irakli Beridze is the Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at UNICRI and is also one one of the whitepapers contributors. Back in April 2020 in an article on the WEF site called
How to create a trustworthy COVID-19 tracking technology
he said
“There may be no turning back if Pandora’s box is opened,” noted Irakli Beridze, Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI),
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-tracking-technology/
The third group involved in the Whitepaper was Politie who are the Dutch National Police Corps, colloquially in English as the Dutch National Police or National Police Force. Law enforcement in the Netherlands operates primarily through governmental police agencies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Police_Corps_(Netherlands)
Naturally the WEF are doing what they do best. You could say they are being economical with the truth or you could just say they are lying. They are trying to dress up facial recognition as being used to fight crime. Interpol are also WEF members and the world's largest international police organization who facilitate cross-border police cooperation.
https://www.weforum.org/organizations/international-criminal-police-organization-interpol
Would it not be within the realms of possibility to suggest that facial technology could be abused by Interpol or other bodies for law abiding citizens. That would never happen or would it ? In actual fact, it already has. Let me introduce you to Clearview AI.
One of Clearview AI’s main investors is Peter Thiel. Thiel was one of the founder members of Paypal and also happens to be one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders as well as being a WEF member.
https://www.weforum.org/people/peter-a-thiel
In January 2020 the New York Times ran an article on Clearview AI where they called Clearview
The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It
They referred to them as “A little-known start-up helps law enforcement match photos of unknown people to their online images — and “might lead to a dystopian future or something,” a backer says.
It would certainly lead to a dystopian future, a future we are already living in.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/technology/clearview-privacy-facial-recognition.html
Who and What are Clearview ?
According to Wikipedia “Clearview AI is an American facial recognition company, providing software to companies, law enforcement, universities, and individuals”
On the Clearview AI web site they say
“Clearview AI’s unbiased facial recognition platform is protecting our families and making our communities more secure. We help law enforcement disrupt and solve crime, and we enable financial institutions, transportation, and other commercial enterprises to verify identities, prevent financial fraud, and identity theft”
Yet again the concept is being sold under the guise of public protection. Remember that only the state can protect you.
In a Buzzfeed article from Feb 2020, Clearview AI, a facial recognition company was revealed to be working with more than 2,200 law enforcement agencies, companies, and individuals around the world.
“The United States’ main immigration enforcement agency, the Department of Justice, retailers including Best Buy and Macy’s, and a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates are among the thousands of government entities and private businesses around the world listed as clients of the controversial facial recognition startup with a database of billions of photos scraped from social media and the web”
Naturally the CEO said new facial recognition tech was 'loved' by law enforcement
https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6133890195001#sp=show-clips
The article really hits the nail on the head when it says
“Clearview’s software, which claims to match photos of persons of interest to online images culled from millions of sites, has been used by people in more than 2,200 law enforcement departments, government agencies, and companies across 27 countries, according to the documents. This data provides the most complete picture to date of who has used the controversial technology and reveals what some observers have previously feared: Clearview AI’s facial recognition has been deployed at every level of American society and is making its way around the world”
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-fbi-ice-global-law-enforcement
And yet the WEF claim it would only be used for law enforcement. Think of Clearview AI as being in the area of Predictive policing and Pre Crime. Now where have we come across that before ? That’s right, it was in Tom Cruise’s Minority Report. Just another coincidence of course.
Of course it would just be used for law enforcement.
How would this play out in the real world. You never have to look further than China.
Students are now paying with facial recognition in a school cafeteria in China. Not only facial recognition but food recognition. No identification or payment is required. Simply place your tray and stand in front of the camera. The cost of the meal is automatically deducted from your account.
Just think for a second how this all plays into the matrix of a Digital ID, CBDC, Carbon Credits and Social Credit Score. It’s hardly a conspiracy theory any more.
Chinese companies are way further down the path than the West in the area of facial recognition. Tencent, a huge Chinese company deployed something called ‘Midnight Patrol’ to identify underage gamers via facial recognition in China.
WeChat is a Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile app in 2018, with over 1 billion monthly active users.
In a fascinating tweet from 2019 it was revealed cyclists were fined via facial recognition and the fine was deducted through WeChat automatically.
For anyone who thinks this isn’t coming to the west, they need to wake up quickly. The other minor point is that Tencent is also a WEF member.
https://www.weforum.org/organizations/tencent-holdings
The World Economic Forum and China are also encouraging an AI facial recognition assistant in the classroom to read body language, attention span, and mood of the student. Not remotely dystopian at all.
Big brother in China is watching you through video surveillance cameras. China already had more than 20 million cameras installed in public spaces in 2017 and about 450 million new cameras by 2020. The West isn’t far behind. During lockdowns multiple cameras were installed globally. All you have to do is to look up when outside to see them.
Whenever you are out and about in China you are being watched 24/7. Your privacy and freedom is effectively over.
However not all Chinese are taking it lying down. Protestors have cleverly found a way to avoid police facial recognition software by pointing an array of lasers at the police.
This is fast coming to the west. The World Economic Forum and Air Canada collaborated for a new, official digital ID program coming October 2022. A new digital ID tracking system is being implemented this October with Digital ID and facial recognition booths being put in Toronto International Airport.
In actual fact facial recognition technology has been trialled covertly in Toronto International Airport since 2016. Now they are ramping it up to a different level entirely.
We have all seen what has happened to Canada for the last 2.5 years and it hasn’t been pretty. It’s time to wake up and push back or else before you know it facial recognition technology will be monitoring you 24/7 from the moment you get up to the time you switch the lights off.
Do you really want to spend the rest of your days living in a Digital gulag…
A very well researched article.
I remember the debate about the snooping charter some years ago. At the time I thought they only wanted to legalise what the govt and intelligence services were already doing.
I feel the same for facial recognition. They’re already using it without consent. All those passport photos you send in, finger print scans if you go to USA - all go into the giant database.
They don’t even need facial recognition. There are many ways to track us.
Gait, heart beat monitoring, shape of ears.
I spoke to someone who owned a tech company.
Every time you speak to someone from
Customer services on the phone and it says the call may be recorded. Well they all are recorded and importantly they are analysed looking at pitch, rate, volume of speech, is the person agitated etc. that data is worth a lot of money.
Posted to Twitter.
Unfortunately the usual blinded, deluded public will swallow up the ‘for your own good mentality’ and sign up to the latest dystopian trick.