They say they haven’t been able to access public services due to facial verification services failing, while others have struggled to access financial services. Over the past decade, rapid machine learning and AI advancements have led to the creation of a range of face recognition technologies—meaning that more than ever before, your appearance can be used as a digital identifier. Police have widely deployed face recognition systems, which have frequently been found to be inaccurate and biased against Asian and Black people, while the wider world of face checking has seen government services, anti-fraud systems, and financial institutions using AI to complete identity checks. Most recently, social media and porn websites have adopted face scanning as part of age verification measures. “We’re seeing facial recognition technologies becoming one of those hammers to which everything looks like a nail,” Byrum says.