The increasing adoption of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) in public spaces, law enforcement, and commercial applications has sparked debates over privacy and ethical concerns. One such issue is the phenomenon of “Function Creep,” which refers to:
(a) The unchecked expansion of FRT beyond its originally intended purpose, leading to mass surveillance, privacy violations, and potential misuse.
(b) The growing dependence on AI-driven facial recognition, gradually reducing the role of human oversight in security and authentication.
(c) The declining public trust in biometric systems due to frequent data breaches and the unauthorized use of facial data.
(d) The technological limitations of FRT in accurately distinguishing between genetically similar individuals, resulting in authentication errors.

Question

The increasing adoption of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) in public spaces, law enforcement, and commercial applications has sparked debates over privacy and ethical concerns. One such issue is the phenomenon of &ldquo;Function Creep,&rdquo; which refers to:
(a) The unchecked expansion of FRT beyond its originally intended purpose, leading to mass surveillance, privacy violations, and potential misuse.
(b) The growing dependence on AI-driven facial recognition, gradually reducing the role of human oversight in security and authentication.
(c) The declining public trust in biometric systems due to frequent data breaches and the unauthorized use of facial data.
(d) The technological limitations of FRT in accurately distinguishing between genetically similar individuals, resulting in authentication errors.

ONLiNE UPSC · Accepted Answer

Option (a) is correct: Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) is an algorithm-based system that maps and analyzes facial features to authenticate or identify individuals. While its applications range from security to banking and law enforcement, its growing use has sparked ethical and privacy concerns.

One such concern is Function Creep, which refers to the gradual expansion of a technology beyond its originally intended purpose, often without proper oversight or public consent. Hence option (a) is the right answer.

FRT, initially developed for limited use cases such as unlocking smartphones or border security, is now increasingly deployed for mass surveillance, law enforcement profiling, and commercial tracking. This raises serious privacy risks, as individuals may be monitored without their knowledge or consent. Additionally, in the absence of comprehensive data protection laws, governments and private entities can collect, store, and use facial data for purposes beyond security&mdash;such as monitoring public behavior, tracking political dissent, or targeted advertising.

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The increasing adoption of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) in public spaces, law enforcement, and commercial applications has sparked debates over privacy and ethical concerns. One such issue is the phenomenon of “Function Creep,” which refers to: (a) The unchecked expansion of FRT beyond its originally intended purpose, leading to mass surveillance, privacy violations, and potential misuse. (b) The growing dependence on AI-driven facial recognition, gradually reducing the role of human oversight in security and authentication. (c) The declining public trust in biometric systems due to frequent data breaches and the unauthorized use of facial data. (d) The technological limitations of FRT in accurately distinguishing between genetically similar individuals, resulting in authentication errors.