Heard of FindFace? Its an app that a Moscow based artificial intelligence start-up named NTechLab, launched in February, that has since been downloaded over 600,000 times.

What does the app do? Kinda what it suggests, FindFace scans a picture of a person, and then tells you who that person is. 

How? Well the app scans whatever picture you supply it - one snapped in the street, a picture of a photo, whatever, and cross references it with the Russian social network VK.

That then identifies the person whose face has just been scanned, and then gives the public details of the identified person to the app user, and details on how to contact that person via social media. 

Scared yet? 

Google & Facebook have been trying to perfect this technology for a while now, and have developed basic versions, but it seems NTechLabs have beat them to the punch. 

You can download the app here in NZ from the Google Play and IOS App Stores, but as it works in conjunction with VK, and not Facebook, it doesn’t really work here.

But, I promise you this: It's only a matter of time until it, or something similar does make it here. 

Like all technology, it has good uses and bad. It has already been used to identify the arsonists involved in a building in Saint Petersburg - that's good.  

But, how many people up to absolutely nothing, walking the streets of Russia, minding their own business, have had their privacy invaded, and been identified using the app? God only knows. 

Apparently NTechLabs have had over 300 enquires from governments and corporations about their tech since launching in February.  

Do you think this technology should be available for the average joe to use? Do you even think it should be available to the Government?