report from The Washington Post.In the 52 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, officials there have run more than 8,600 facial recognition searches using software from Clearview AI, a controversial U.S.
tech company that's faced scrutiny for filling its database with photos they never got permission to use. To date, Ukraine’s IT Army, a volunteer group of hackers and activists who work with the Ukrainian government, has reportedly used the technology to notify 582 Russian families about soldiers’ deaths.RELATED: Russia steps up scattered strikes on Kyiv, western UkraineUkraine is also using the technology to identify Russian soldiers who are looting civilian homes and storefronts, the Post reports.The country sees it as a "brutal but effective" war tactic, but opponents say the strategy could backfire, fueling more ire in Russia.
They also say the software is imperfect, which could lead to misidentification and - in a war zone - mean the difference between life and death.
Russian troops are using armored personnel carriers in their invasion of Ukraine. (Gavriil GrigorovTASS via Getty Images) Groups like Privacy International are calling for Clearview AI to end their work in Ukraine.