Logging on and authenticating yourself through facial recognition went from science fiction to commodity status during the last decade. The new Danish “Nem ID” app for iPhone uses facial recognition to allow users access to their bank or when contacting a public service. So why mention this as a prediction for 2020? Well, I believe we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. Sensors, cameras, and AI are developing at lightning speed, and new innovations are popping up faster than we can write about them.

Examples include: paying with a smile on Alibaba – a solution that Nets have plans to implement in Europe in 2020; checking in at airports with your face (you’re then recognized at security and around the airport where smart signs automatically guide you to your gate or nearest lounge); checking out of supermarkets without having to do anything; and the rise of autonomous vehicles that rely heavily on computer vision technologies in order to drive safely. India has also introduced one of the largest biometric ID programmes in the world with more than 1.2 billion people registering their face, iris and fingerprints to get an individual ID. This smooths out the process of getting the right social services and everything from a bank account to a loan or cell phone (this project is powered by NEC, our mother company).

As touched on previously, the obvious downside to this technology is the possible surveillance and loss of privacy that may follow. The Chinese example of a social credit system linked to observed behaviour sounds like an episode of Black Mirror or a science fiction movie gone wrong. Police around the world are already deploying this technology more and more every day – in October 2019, the Danish police asked for the right to use facial recognition in their work. Where is all this data stored? Who owns it? Who controls it?

In 2020 we will see the roll-out of emotion detection – the ability to read your state of mind and maybe your intent through computer vision. This could be used in a multitude of ways, from crime prevention to marketing tricks and techniques. Computer vision will be used for the first time to identify athletes and authorized persons at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. It will grant them access automatically, and hopefully, vastly enhance their experience and safety. With high-profile events like this and new uses, I predict that development in this area will explode in 2020.