Ukraine: Using Clearview AI to identify Russian soldiers

Ukraine: Using Clearview AI to identify Russian soldiers

Kiev, 4/2/2022

Ukraine has confirmed that it is using facial recognition technology from U.S. company Clearview AI to identify Russian soldiers killed in action.

According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, this information will be used to contact the families of fallen soldiers.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry recently received free access to Clearview’s facial recognition system, which fills its database with more than 10 billion photos from social media and the Internet, including 2 billion photos from the Russian social media service Vkontakte.

The biometric technology matches photos of people with images in the database. The Ukrainian military uses Clearview’s technology to locate the social media accounts of Russian soldiers and contact their families to collect their remains, Fedorov said.

Earlier, Clearview’s EO, Hoan Ton-That, said the company had offered Ukraine access to the controversial system.