Skip to content
Apply
Stories

Is facial recognition identifying you? Are there ‘dog whistles’ in ChatGPT? Ethics in artificial intelligence gets unpacked

08/01/23 - Boston, MA - Graduate students in the summer long AI and data ethics research program present to one another on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Renaissance Park. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Graduate students in the summer long AI and data ethics research program present to one another in Renaissance Park.

The proliferation of cameras in so many public spaces raises an ethical issue: Is facial recognition technology identifying us as we go to the airport or visit our favorite store? The development of artificial intelligence prompts many ethical issues, whether it’s facial recognition or ChatGPT. 

“There’s a lot of interesting work on facial recognition and the privacy concerns that come with the use of facial recognition in public spaces,” says Clint Hursham, one of a dozen graduate students who took part in the Northeastern University Ethics Institute’s summer training program to expand the Al and data ethics research community.

Hursham, a doctoral student at the University of Kansas, focused on privacy and facial recognition technology for his final project. He analyzed the role consent plays in individuals being recorded in public and the ethical issues that arise in that conversation. “What I tried to show even on some alternative counts of privacy, we end up with the same conclusion that facial recognition technologies are really problematic for privacy,” he says.  

Continue reading at Northeastern Global News.

More Stories

Workers and volunteers prepare to pack the Bayeux tapestry to transfer to the British Museum, at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, in Bayeux, northwestern France, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (Lou Benoist, Pool via AP)

The 70-meter Medieval tapestry captivating London

08.12.2026
Brazil's Casemiro (5) battles for the ball with Haiti's Frantzdy Pierrot (20) during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Brazil and Haiti in Philadelphia, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Former Northeastern soccer player Frantzdy Pierrot played for native Haiti in World Cup

08.04.2026
A text is viewed on a mobile device Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Washington, as across the U.S., people's phones are pinging with text messages from Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and their allies in the presidential campaign's final days. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Political texts can boost voter turnout, but only slightly, study finds

08.12.26
Northeastern Global News