Acculturation and Acceleration: The Impact of Facial Recognition Technology on Youth at Cultural and Sporting Events

ABSTRACT This article aims to explore the impact of the acceleration of and acculturation to the use of facial recognition technologies at sporting and cultural events on youth. As the result of terrorist threats, these events are increasingly seen as needing more security. However, a closer examination reveals that the deployment of facial recognition technology is leading to net-widening and function creep. This technology is now being used to identify stalkers, paedophiles, troublemakers, and individuals on police watchlists. These events are particularly noteworthy because they attract many children and young people, who are especially vulnerable to acculturation processes. Additionally, the focus on surveillance of children and young people brings to light other issues that might have otherwise remained unnoticed. This article employs a rhizomatic approach to examine the acculturation and acceleration of facial recognition technology and its impact on youth. Rather than solely focusing on overarching theories like normalization and acculturation, it incorporates these processes within the broader context of the surveillant assemblage. By expanding the analytical lens and viewing surveillance as rhizomatic, the article examines the extent to which acculturation of youth occurs at sporting and cultural events and argues that processes of acculturation happen in tandem with processes of resistance and unintentional control.

KEYWORDS Facial recognition technology - Culture of surveillance - Youth, sporting and cultural events - Artificial Intelligence

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction. – 2. Normalisation and acculturation of surveillance. – 3. Facial recognition at cultural and sporting events. – 3.1. Facial Recognition. – 3.2. The acceleration of the use of facial recognition technology at sporting and cultural mega-events. – 4. Discussion: the impact on youth of acculturation of facial recognition technology at cultural and sporting events. – 5. Conclusion