---
title: "Even Taylor Swift Is Using Facial Recognition Tech Now"
description: "At a May 2018 concert, pop start Taylor Swift used facial recognition technology to scan the crowd for any signs of her many known stalkers."
date: "2018-12-13"
modified: "2018-12-13"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/taylor-swift-facial-recognition"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Facial recognition"
tags:
  - "facial recognition"
  - "taylor swift"
  - "the digest"
---

# Even Taylor Swift Is Using Facial Recognition Tech Now

![At a May 2018 concert, pop start Taylor Swift used facial recognition technology to scan the crowd for any signs of her many known stalkers.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/taylor-swift-facial-recognition.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: UMG/YouTube/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Look What You Made Her Do

While fans were watching Taylor Swift, they didn't know they were being watched back.

According to a recently published [story](<https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/future-entertainment-technology-music-tv-movies-760659/facial-recognition-concert-security-760696/>) in *Rolling Stone*, the pop star used facial recognition technology at a California concert to search the crowd for any of her known stalkers — without attendees' knowledge.

And it's far from the only example of the tech's increasing ubiquity in American life.

## Stay Stay Stay (Away)

On May 18, fans flocked to Swift's concert at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. On their way to their seats, many stopped by a kiosk showing clips of the artist rehearsing.

While those fans stared at the screens, a facial recognition camera within the display took their photos. It then transmitted the photos to a "command post" in Nashville, Tennessee, where Swift's team could see if any of the faces matched those of her hundreds of known stalkers, security expert Mike Downing told *Rolling Stone.*

Downing was at the concert as a guest of the unnamed company behind the facial recognition tech, which he saw demonstrated onsite. As he told *Rolling Stone*, "Everybody who went by would stop and stare at it, and the software would start working."

## Everything Has Changed

The *Rolling Stone* story leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Did the facial recognition tech actually identify any Swift stalkers? What happened to the photos of fans after the show? Did the pop star's team have a moral obligation to let attendees know they were being filmed?

What we do know, though, is that facial recognition tech is becoming an ever-more-common part of everyday life — and not just in surveillance states such as [China](<https://futurism.com/facial-recognition-china-social-credit>). It's currently in use at [U.S. airports](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/airport-delta-facial-recognition>) and [police stations](<https://futurism.com/amazon-rekognition-employees>), and soon, it could be in the [nation's schools](<https://futurism.com/security-companies-facial-recognition-stop-school-shootings>).

In most of these cases, the idea is that facial recognition tech can help people stay safe — just like the intention behind the facial recognition system at Swift's concert. But right now, the technology simply [isn't accurate enough](<https://www.cnet.com/news/facial-recognition-software-inaccurate-in-98-of-metropolitan-police-cases-reports/>) to warrant the kind of widespread use it's currently getting.

**READ MORE:** [Get Ready for Your Close Up](<https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/future-entertainment-technology-music-tv-movies-760659/facial-recognition-concert-security-760696/>) \[*Rolling Stone*\]

***More on facial recognition: [You Can Now Navigate a US Airport Terminal Using Just Your Face as ID](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/airport-delta-facial-recognition>)***

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)