DNA to Face

2022: Technology Creation

On January 31, 2022, Corsight AI announced the creation of DNA to Face technology, using DNA to create a face model, which can then be passed through a face recognition system. The system was sharply criticized by the scientific community.

The tool "builds a physical profile by analyzing genetic material collected in a DNA sample," the product presentation said. The system automatically builds a physical profile, thus compiling a sketch - a more accurate image of a suspected criminal or missing person than forensic experts can draw up by describing eyewitnesses.

Corsight AI created a system that draws a person's sketch of his DNA

Marketing materials show that the company is focused on the use of its technologies in government and law enforcement agencies. His advisory board consists only of James Woolsey, the former director of the CIA, and Oliver Revell, the former assistant director of the FBI.

Experts say that the scientific developments necessary to support such a system do not yet exist, and added that the product will aggravate the ethical, privacy and bias problems that face recognition technology already causes. Moreover, this is a signal of the ambition of the industry for the future, where facial recognition will become one of the facets of a broader effort to identify people by any available means - even inaccurate ones.

The Corsight idea is not entirely new. Human Longevity, founded by Craig Venter and Peter Diamandis and engaged in genetics research, claimed to have used DNA to recreate facial photos back in 2017, but these statements caused skepticism from experts. Yaniv Erlich, chief researcher of the genealogical platform MyHeritage, published an article in which he outlined the main doubts regarding the development.^[1]

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