6 ms·

There is no federal database to verify biometrics against. The state ones are not shared federally. How could a post office implement that?

toomuchtodo 3y ago
If the person seeking proofing is enrolled in Global Entry or PreCheck, the USPS could support automated facial recognition proofing at USPS kiosks, as CBP maintains facial biometrics for trusted traveler programs. Can USPS kiosks run a sandboxed app to do this? Can you trust the data connection between the kiosk and federal agency systems with such sensitive data? Great questions. Definitely a stretch goal considering resourcing, inter agency partnership challenges, and uptake of trusted traveler programs across the general populace, but not technically infeasible. TSA is already testing automated credential proofing terminals at airport checkpoints, for example, and CBP Global Entry terminals for international arrivals are already automated kiosks. https://uspsblog.com/usps-self-service-kiosk/ https://uspsblog.com/usps-self-service-kiosk/ https://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometrics https://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometrics https://thepointsguy.com/news/global-entry-facial-recognition/ https://thepointsguy.com/news/global-entry-facial-recognitio... https://thepointsguy.com/news/tsa-facial-recognition-software/ https://thepointsguy.com/news/tsa-facial-recognition-softwar... (you probably don't need this if you have global entry, but fun thought experiment considering data sources and technology implementation feasibility; maybe upgrade someones IAL automatically at Login.gov when they're doing their Global Entry or PreCheck interviews at CBP?)
- kylehotchkiss 3y ago
  Trusted traveler programs have pretty wide latitude for removing members (for example, for something as small as not declaring a banana in your bag or bringing a spouse without global entry into that lane) and aren’t setup for use as identity verification. Plus it’d be a very small percentage of Americans - remember only around 55% have a passport. The amount with global entry will be a small percentage of that.
- taway_6PplYu5 3y ago
  So, another "pay to skip the line" government service. Because that's how you build a strong society. Instead of, you know, investing in building a well functioning government.
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    I said it could be done, not that it was a good idea. My apologies if that wasn't more clear from my comment. I agree we should be investing more broadly in government to maximize accessibility. Tangentially, to share what is inside my head when I think of problems like this, I think "How could these events that would normally need to be explicit be automatic in the background? So that when it happens, it delights the government service consumer and feels like magic." If someone goes, "Wow, that was fast!" or "Wow, that was painless!", or just "Wow!" in general, government is delivering on its mission, and removes excuses for folks who would say "government is ineffective."
- Animats 3y ago
  This confuses trust with identity verification. Anybody should be able to get identity verification, to verify that they are the same person they were at some previous time. That's useful for recovering accounts, from bank accounts to social media.

toomuchtodo 3y ago

If the person seeking proofing is enrolled in Global Entry or PreCheck, the USPS could support automated facial recognition proofing at USPS kiosks, as CBP maintains facial biometrics for trusted traveler programs. Can USPS kiosks run a sandboxed app to do this? Can you trust the data connection between the kiosk and federal agency systems with such sensitive data? Great questions. Definitely a stretch goal considering resourcing, inter agency partnership challenges, and uptake of trusted traveler programs across the general populace, but not technically infeasible. TSA is already testing automated credential proofing terminals at airport checkpoints, for example, and CBP Global Entry terminals for international arrivals are already automated kiosks. https://uspsblog.com/usps-self-service-kiosk/ https://uspsblog.com/usps-self-service-kiosk/ https://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometrics https://www.cbp.gov/travel/biometrics https://thepointsguy.com/news/global-entry-facial-recognition/ https://thepointsguy.com/news/global-entry-facial-recognitio... https://thepointsguy.com/news/tsa-facial-recognition-software/ https://thepointsguy.com/news/tsa-facial-recognition-softwar... (you probably don't need this if you have global entry, but fun thought experiment considering data sources and technology implementation feasibility; maybe upgrade someones IAL automatically at Login.gov when they're doing their Global Entry or PreCheck interviews at CBP?)

kylehotchkiss 3y ago
Trusted traveler programs have pretty wide latitude for removing members (for example, for something as small as not declaring a banana in your bag or bringing a spouse without global entry into that lane) and aren’t setup for use as identity verification. Plus it’d be a very small percentage of Americans - remember only around 55% have a passport. The amount with global entry will be a small percentage of that.
taway_6PplYu5 3y ago
So, another "pay to skip the line" government service. Because that's how you build a strong society. Instead of, you know, investing in building a well functioning government.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  I said it could be done, not that it was a good idea. My apologies if that wasn't more clear from my comment. I agree we should be investing more broadly in government to maximize accessibility. Tangentially, to share what is inside my head when I think of problems like this, I think "How could these events that would normally need to be explicit be automatic in the background? So that when it happens, it delights the government service consumer and feels like magic." If someone goes, "Wow, that was fast!" or "Wow, that was painless!", or just "Wow!" in general, government is delivering on its mission, and removes excuses for folks who would say "government is ineffective."
Animats 3y ago
This confuses trust with identity verification. Anybody should be able to get identity verification, to verify that they are the same person they were at some previous time. That's useful for recovering accounts, from bank accounts to social media.