FCC's Starks Warns of Job Losses Tied to 5G, Backs HUD Facial ID Ban

As 5G launches, everyone and every community must benefit, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference Friday. We're “talking about a world with smart manufacturing, automation, and driverless cars,” Starks said: “I don’t have to tell you how many people drive cars for a living -- whether it is a taxi cab or an Uber or a Lyft. The benefits of a 5G world need to do just that -- benefit all of us.” Starks said the U.S. must “re-train and up-skill our most senior workers who will be displaced” by new technology. Low-income communities are taking a hit because of technology, he said. “These communities are disproportionately targeted by biased artificial intelligence systems yet at the same time they are not captured by hiring algorithms that scour the internet to make determinations about job candidates,” he said. Starks said Congress should pass HR-4008 by House Democrats to ban the Department of Housing and Urban Development from using facial recognition technology in most of its housing (see 1907250062).