Further to my earlier update on the Facial Recognition Technology system recently established by the Fund (link at the end of this post), a further email exchange with Rosemarie McClean, Chief Executive of Pension Administration, UNJSPF, produced additional information. I note some remaining information gaps in my response.
I also noted in my email to Ms. McClean that the issue is only partly one of information gaps. It also encompasses concerns about transparency and trust relating to the operations and oversight of our Fund.
See the full exchange below.
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Email to Rosemarie McClean
From Loraine Rickard-Martin
12 February 2021
Thank you for this additional information, including your assurances that the digital facial recognition CE system is optional and will not replace the paper-based process.
Regarding my questions about what proportion of the photographic data in setting up the system was of women and people of color, the accuracy of the technology, and procedures in place to address misidentification, no doubt because I do not have the necessary technical expertise, and while I appreciate your response, I'm unable to evaluate it.
You state that “no photograph database [was] set up for the Digital CE because users biometrics are not identified and compared against any other individuals’ photo or visual features”.
Yet the Fund’s webmail article states that “The Digital CE App uses an advanced facial recognition algorithm based on “learning” mechanisms that included data related to all ethnic groups.”
If not photographs, what is the nature of the “data related to all ethnic groups”?
On the cost of the system, as owners of the Fund, and for the sake of transparency, participants and beneficiaries should be able to know the actual cost of the system and ongoing maintenance, and not simply that it falls within “the approved IT budget for 2021.”
Finally, there are many reports by retirees about technical difficulties they’re encountering in registering for the system. One recent message received today from a retiree is typical of reports I'm receiving by email and those posted on social media: “I downloaded the app and the code they sent doesn’t work at all. They [the Fund] also failed to respond, it’s three days now….”
You’ve often said publicly, and stated in your presentation to the pension board meeting last July, that “the Fund need[s] a clear strategic direction and improved trust among its stakeholders.”
To your point, and a reality I’m sure you recognize, this issue is only partly about a gap in specific information on a new alternative CE system. The overarching issue is that a new system was put in place without prior consultation or outreach to Fund members about the what, why, and how’s of the system.
The result is the current widespread confusion, uncertainties, and concerns on the range of issues on which we've been corresponding. Many of the current concerns could have been mitigated had the Fund shared specifics of the pilot project, the third-party review on security issues, and provided guidance on specific technical issues, prior to launching the system.
