Mall Of America Partners With Israeli Facial Recognition Company For New AI Security Tool

In a press release issued this week by the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota's megamall announced they are "proud to announce the integration" of some new security technology into their security systems.

The new technology they are referring to is what they refer to as an "advanced facial recognition technology" from a security technology provider named Corsight.

Corsight is a company based in Israel that describes itself as an industry leader in facial recognition technology. On their website, they explain their technology boasts "unrivaled speed, accuracy and privacy." Their technology is powered by an artificial intelligence platform called Autonomous AI. 

The company's technology is used by retail establishments, law enforcement agencies, baking institutions, prisons, and construction firms around the world.

What does this new technology mean for the average visitor to the MOA?

According to information from the Mall of America, this new technology really won't mean anything more than a safer mall experience for the average visitor.

In the MOA's FAQ about this new AI facial recognition technology, they say this technology will not track or keep any facial measurement data on most mall visitors.

The only data that they say is actively being used is for something they call person[s] of interest (POI).

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The mall's documentation explains that the use of facial recognition is solely to "help our security team to detect the presence of a person of interest (POI)" and is not being stored or used for any other purpose.

Mall officials say they are implementing the new technology as part of a "mult-layered approach" to security to help keep guests, tenants, and team members safe, noting that "At 5.6 million square feet, Mall of America’s security team cannot be everywhere at once."

How does this technology work? How does the POI thing work?

Mall officials say photos of persons of interest (POIs)are uploaded into the facial recognition system, which will then monitor security camera footage from around the mall to look for facial signatures that match a POI in the database.

If a scanned face does not match a POI, the mall says the data is not stored. If a face does get flagged as a potential match, the technology will alert security that a POI might be on the property, and security can then investigate further.

Who is or could be a POI?

The MOA says a POI could be one of a few different types of individuals:

• Individuals who are on a current trespass at Mall of America
• Those who may be a threat to the mall environment
• Persons identified to the mall by law enforcement
• Individuals who are missing or may be in danger

Using one or more photos of a POI, the mall will create and retain facial measurement data extracted from the photo(s) of the POI.

How would you know if you are on the POI list at the mall?

MOA officials say anyone who is interested to see if they are on the list can contact the mall. The person making the request will be required to provide proof of their identity as part of the request, which can be made via email to privacy@moa.net.