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London's Metropolitan Police have been urged to back down on plans to once again use facial recognition software at next weekend's Notting Hill Carnival. Privacy groups including Big Brother Watch, Liberty and Privacy International have written to police commissioner Cressida Dick (PDF) calling for a U-turn on the use of the tech. Automated facial recognition technology will snap the party-goers' faces, and run them against a database. The aim is to alert cops to people who are banned from the festival or are wanted by the police, presumably so they can take immediate action. The tech was first tested at the festival - where relations between police and revellers are often strained - last year, but it failed to identify anyone.

Of course there are a gazillion ways this kind of thing will go wrong. I'm more interested in the general phenomenon of smart devices identifying us automatically and without our knowledge.

Of course there are a gazillion ways this kind of thing will go wrong. I'm more interested in the general phenomenon of smart devices identifying us automatically and without our knowledge.