Facial recognition technology could be banned in Brisbane after lord mayor Adrian Schrinner announced he wanted to investigate how it could be used in the city.

Cr Schrinner made the surprise announcement immediately after listening to a speech given by former Amazon chief scientist Andreas Weigend at the 2019 Asia Pacific Cities Summit in Brisbane on Tuesday morning.

Amazon's former chief scientist Dr Andreas Weigend and lord mayor Adrian Schrinner in Brisbane at the 2019 Asia Pacific Cities Summit. Credit:Lucy Stone

Dr Weigend detailed how San Francisco, in northern California, had recently banned facial recognition technology in a bid to preserve citizen privacy.

The technology is so refined now it can detect emotion, not just identify people, Dr Weigend said.