EAB Virtual Events Series – Demographic Fairness in Biometric Systems

Algorithmic decision systems have frequently been labelled as “biased”, “racist”, “sexist”, “unfair” by numerous media outlets, organisations, and researchers. Are such assessments justified? Should citizens and policymakers be concerned? What is the current state of the research? How can variation across demographic groups be quantified in evaluations of such systems? These and other related matters have recently become a hot topic in the context of biometric technologies, which are ubiquitous in personal, commercial, and governmental applications. Biometrics represent an integral component of many surveillance, access control and operational identity management systems, thus directly or indirectly affecting billions of people all around the world.