Watch Ashton Kutcher brag about his ‘terrifying’ facial-recognition app on ‘Hot Ones’

Ashton Kutcher has access to a powerful facial-recognition app and even he thinks that’s “terrifying.”

This past September, the actor, tech investor, and advocate for digging up dirt on journalists who dare to criticize a company he’s poured money into, was asked about the future of privacy on the show Hot Ones. In response, Kutcher launched into a description of an app on his phone at that moment which sure sounds a lot like Clearview AI. 

“Like, I have an app in my phone, in my pocket right now,” he told host Sean Evans. “It’s like a beta app. It’s a facial-recognition app. I can hold it up to anybody’s face here and, like, find exactly who you are, what internet accounts you’re on, what they look like.” 

Kutcher goes on to note that, “It’s terrifying.”

The relevant part of the interview takes place around the 14:31 minute mark in the below video. 

Notably, the app Kutcher describes sounds a lot like Clearview AI — the controversial app exposed by The New York Times in January. The app relies on scraped photos from the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and other sites, and has raised many red flags among privacy experts. 

As the Times reported today, despite the company’s public promises to the contrary, the app has become a plaything of the rich and powerful who use it as a party trick and give access to their children. 

SEE ALSO: Uber investor Ashton Kutcher is cool with investigating ‘shady’ journalists

We reached out to Kutcher in an attempt to determine if he was talking about Clearview AI while on Hot Ones and, if so, whether or not he has invested in the company. We received no immediate response. 

Either way, we know that what Kutcher described — both the app itself and that a celebrity investor like himself could get access to it — are both possible. Whether it’s Clearview AI or not, that’s troubling enough.