Taylor Swift used facial recognition technology during a concert at Los Angeles’ Rose Bowl stadium earlier this year in an effort to spot potentially dangerous ‘super fans’, it has emerged.
The Rolling Stone magazine reports that the technology was implemented during the US popstar’s gig at the stadium on May 18.
Fans unknowingly had their faces scanned while watching rehearsal clips of Swift at the stadium. Recordings were then sent to a command centre in Nashville, where they were checked against a database of hundreds of Swift’s known stalkers.
“Everybody who went by would stop and stare at it, and the software would start working,” Mike Downing, chief security officer of Oak View Group, which advises venues on concert operations, told Rolling Stone.
Downing attended the Rose Bowl concert to witness a demonstration of the technology.
The Telegraph newspaper noted that the Rose Bowl would not need to inform fans that they are under surveillance as the stadium is a private company.
Facial recognition technology is on the rise in stadiums and arenas across the world. Earlier this year, Ticketmaster invested in facial recognition firm Blink Identity as part of plans to integrate the company’s technology with its own Presence tool.
Swift’s representatives did not respond to Rolling Stone’s requests for comments.
Image: Eva Rinaldi
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