Santa Fe County commissioners have hit the brakes on a sheriff’s office request for a subscription to powerful software that can identify people from snapshots of their faces. They expressed concerns about the proposed initiative — not just about how the artificial intelligence technology might be used by county deputies, but also how the contractor might use the agency’s data. The proposed contract would make the software available to the sheriff’s office for a yearlong “pilot program” at a cost of $17,100. Commissioners asked the sheriff’s office at a recent meeting to provide more information about its plans for a facial recognition program, including its internal policy on such a program and the terms of use from the vendor, New York-based Clearview AI — which bills itself as having the “world’s largest known database” of facial images and the most advanced facial recognition algorithm. The company, whose controversial software identifies people from photos using an AI-trained algorithm, has faced fines and litigation over its collection of photos, even as it has secured contracts with government agencies large and small around the world. Civil rights advocates, including in New Mexico, have urged lawmakers to ban such technology due to the potential for wrongful arrests and threats to privacy. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza described the software as a tool that would “put the sheriff’s office on the leading edge for technology.” “I do acknowledge and realize the concerns that the public has, but we want to use it efficiently and respectfully and for public safety,” Mendoza said in a recent interview. “I think it will be a good tool.” Mendoza said the software would be available for use by “a few tenured detectives” as well as “select supervisors.” Clearview AI’s interface allows users to upload an image — such as