“脸部识别”付款别想打入加国超市

2017年，CBC报道说，如果你在中区唐人街的金牛城超市偷窃物品，那么该店会把你和其他十几名嫌犯的照片高悬于商店门口的“耻辱墙”上。你肯定短期内是不会再到店内买东西了，至少在你的照片被其他偷窃嫌犯替换了之前是不会去的。但如果该店内使用了脸部识别系统，那你的麻烦就大了去了。

If you shoplifted at Lucky Moose Food Mart, a retailer in Chinatown, then the image of your face—along with a dozen others would end up being pinned on “Wall of Shame” at the store entrance according to a CBC report in 2017. It would effectively ban you from shopping at the store for some time, at least before your picture is replaced by other accused. But the consequences a shoplifter faces could be much more devastating if the store uses a facial recognition system.

你的脸部信息会被记录下来在全系统中共享，即应用脸部识别的所有商店都会将你的脸部信息记录在案，你就别想到任何一家商店买东西。也就是说，你将永远告别逛店的自由和乐趣。

 A digital record of your facial information would be created and shared throughout the system, and as a result, you are banned from visiting all stores across the network. You end up never being able to shop again.



据《国家邮报》报道，加拿大的华人连锁店丰泰超市就在考虑在其卑诗省和安省分店的付款设备中安装中国提供的脸部识别系统。该店老板魏成义表示：“如果脸部识别能在市场中使用，我们店就会用它，因为社会在进步，我们也要与时俱进。”

According to National Post, Foody Mart grocery chain is considering introducing payment by Chinese-made facial recognition devices at its stores in Ontario and B.C. “If it has been used in the market, our company will use it, because society moves forward and we will follow it,” Wei ChengYi, the owner of the store, told the National Post.

偷窃店内物品虽然是不光彩的行为，但却是一种常见行为，那些平常循规蹈矩，遵纪守法的市民都会不小心偶有犯之。一些患有像强迫综合征的精神疾病患者也会犯下偷窃行为，另外那些经济极度窘迫的人士，迫于生计也可能会为了孩子偷窃一些必须的食品，因此沦为“小偷”。

Often impulsive, shoplifting is a frequently occurring act, often committed by otherwise law-abiding citizens. Shoplifting could also be a symptom of a severe mental health condition – such as compulsive disorder, or an action out of desperation, with some stealing necessary items such as food for their children.



将脸部识别技术应用于加国市场会引发广泛的担忧。它不仅给那些因一念之差而失足者带来太过严厉的惩罚，更有甚者，这一尚不成熟的技术会牵累无辜，冤枉好人。研究显示，脸部识别的误认率非常之高，让无辜者遭殃，很多人被警方误认，被按了手印并带到警局质询。据英国Independent发表的文章，在送往警方的扫描信息中，有96%的无辜人士被误认与嫌犯脸部信息相符。

Putting the facial recognition technology in the Canadian marketplace raises concerns about overreach. It imposes a too grave penalty on those who had a moment of lapse in judgment. More dangerously, the inaccuracy of the technology can wreak havoc on the innocent bystanders. Studies have shown that the system produces a high rate of false positives, leading to innocent victims being misidentified or fingerprinted by the police. According to an article on Independent in the U.K., facial recognition wrongly identifies the public as criminals 96% of the time.

如果不对脸部识别技术加以控制，任它在加国市场中泛滥，那我们的隐私和人身自由就会得到侵犯，逛店时会面临被认出和错认的风险。人权和隐私倡导者们称，因为这一技术为了找出嫌犯而需要扫描每一名顾客脸部信息，因此任何一个使用脸部识别系统的国家实质上已沦为一个警察国家。

The rampant growth of the technology will intrude on our privacy and infringe on civil liberty, taking away our freedom and the ability to be anonymous and untracked. Liberty and privacy advocates say since facial recognition requires every face in a crowd to be scanned to identify a single suspect, it will turn any country that adopts it into a police state.



中国是对脸部识别情有独钟的国家。为了强化对百姓的控制，中国政府大规模地使用脸部识别技术，有2亿多个摄像头监控着机场，取款系统和学校，不断地扫描公众的脸部信息。该系统还在中国的西北和新疆得到广泛应用，为中国当局全力打压维族人士尽忠效力。

China has embraced the facial recognition technology enthusiastically. The authority has deployed a surveillance system in large-scale that includes 200 million cameras, at airport check-ins, cash withdrawal, and schools, in a bid to strengthen the state control. North-Western Xinjiang province has also seen a prevalent use of the system, as the authoritarian regime beefs up its effort to crack down on Uighur minorities.

人权人士向Independent表示：“脸部识别技术给他们打造了一个电子监狱……但那是中国，我们这儿可不是中国。”

 “They’ve created digital prisons using facial recognition technology… But that’s China. We’re not China,” a human rights activist told Independent.



金牛城超市的耻辱墙引发了未经司法程序而私自惩罚嫌犯的顾虑和批评，而这些反对声音显示出加国公民强烈的法律和人权意识。由于脸部识别系统会带来比耻辱墙更为严重的后果，寄希望于能在加国超市使用脸部识别者只能是白日做梦罢了!

Wall of Shame in Lucky Moose Food Mart sparked criticisms over lacking the due process of the law, and the opposing voice highlights the human rights consciousness of Canadians. As the facial recognition technology has far more devastating consequences than Wall of Shame, anyone who holds high hopes that it will appear in the Canadian marketplace would suffer a reality shock.